Golden Gophers starting quarterback Mitch Leidner suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his knee in Minnesota’s 35-24 win over Middle Tennessee State on Saturday, and his status for this week’s game at Texas Christian University is in doubt.
“Any time you have a knee [injury], you’re concerned,” head coach Jerry Kill said Sunday, according to the Star Tribune. “We haven’t had a lot of good luck [with recent knee injuries].”
The former Lakeville North High School star suffered the injury when a Middle Tennessee State player hit him in the knee with 14 minutes remaining in the game. Leidner limped off the field and didn’t return.
The next update on Leidner’s status may not come until Thursday, when the team releases its weekly injury report.
If Leidner can’t play Saturday in the Texas heat, Minnesota will turn to freshman backup quarterback Chris Streveler. Streveler is basically a clone of Leidner – a big, mobile quarterback who isn’t afraid to take a hit. Check out offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover’s thoughts on Streveler in the video below.
Jacques Perra, a star quarterback at Roseville High School who made the team as a walk-on, would back up Streveler if Leidner can’t play, according to the Pioneer Press.
Leidner’s injury isn’t as serious as defensive tackle Scott Epke and former Blaine quarterback-turned-Gopher-athlete Duke Anyanwu, who both are out for the season with a torn ACL.
