LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger will not play in the team’s bowl game due to a season-ending knee injury, the school announced Wednesday.
Mettenberger was injured in the fourth quarter of the Tigers’ 31-27 win over Arkansas last Friday.
The Tigers (9-3, 5-3 SEC) will find out Sunday which bowl game they will play. It is expected to be the Cotton Bowl.
The school did not disclose Mettenberger’s specific injury but multiple media outlets have reported he has a torn ACL.
“We are very disappointed for Zach,” coach Les Miles said in a statement. “He’s been a tremendous leader for our team and he’s as competitive a guy as I have ever been around. He’s had a great impact on our program.
“I know Zach will work extremely hard to rehabilitate his knee and I don’t anticipate this injury having any impact on what should be a great future in the NFL.”
Mettenberger is ranked the No. 52 overall prospect and fifth among quarterbacks, according to NFLDraftScout.com.
He became just the third player in school history to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season this year and completes his LSU career ranked in the top 10 in completion percentage (third at 61.7 percent), yards per game (third at 192.8), touchdowns (fifth with 35), yards (sixth with 5,783), completions (sixth with 407) and attempts (seventh with 659).
This year, Mettenberger threw for 3,082 yards with 22 touchdowns and completed 64.9 percent of his passes — all rank third in school history in a single season.