Michael Penix Jr. to miss the rest of 2020 season with a torn ACL

Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is going to miss the remainder of the 2020 football season with a torn ACL.

The report was first made by The Athletic’s and Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman and later confirmed as an ACL tear by head coach Tom Allen during his weekly press conference on Monday.

#IU QB Michael Penix Jr is expected to miss the rest of the season because of the lower leg injury he suffered on Saturday, per source.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 30, 2020

This news comes two days after Penix left Indiana’s game against Maryland on Saturday. Penix ran the ball to the outside during a 21-yard run in the third quarter and went down after the play. Team personnel helped him off the field, but Penix never returned to the game.

Allen said postgame on Saturday that Penix’s injury was a lower-leg injury and needs further tests.

Here's the play where Michael Penix got hurt. He was down for a bit before being helped up as the ESPN broadcast cut away from it. He did not finish this drive. No update from Indiana yet. pic.twitter.com/a7Qbz7j8I8

— Tyler Greever (@Tyler_Greever) November 28, 2020

This is the third consecutive season Penix has suffered an injury forcing him to miss the rest of a season. He had an ACL injury and then a right sternoclavicular joint injury knocking him out of the 2018 and 2019 seasons respectively.

Allen said Monday that Penix’s recent ACL injury is in the same knee he hurt against Penn State in 2018.

Backup quarterback Jack Tuttle took snaps the rest of the way for Indiana on Saturday. Tuttle completed 5-of-5 passes for 31 yards. The former 4-star quarterback has played in just six games while at Indiana. However, Tuttle was the eighth best pro style quarterback according to 247Sports composite rankings.