First-year head coach Mike Locksley‘s Maryland defense has slammed headfirst into its first significant roadblock of the 2019 offseason.
Tuesday, Locksley confirmed that Antwaine Richardson has been diagnosed with a torn ACL in one of his knees and will undergo surgery later this week to repair the damage. Richardson, who tore an ACL in high school as well, suffered the injury this past Saturday.
As a result of the injury and subsequent rehabilitation, the defensive back is expected to be sidelined for the entire 2019 season.
“Losing him obviously is a guy that has played a lot of football around here,” Locksley said according to the Baltimore Sun. “[He] has shown tremendous leadership, so we’ll obviously miss that experience and leadership he brought to the table for us from the defensive side of the ball.”
A rising fourth-year senior, Richardson has started 13 games the past two seasons, with 10 of those starts coming at safety in 2018. His 41 tackles were fifth on the team, while he also accounted for an interception and two pass breakups.
Richardson does have a redshirt available, which means he could return to play for the Terrapins in 2020.