Rutgers QB Carter retires because of injuries

Reuters

Published Oct 09, 2019 11:14AM ET

Rutgers QB Carter retires because of injuries

Rutgers quarterback McLane Carter is retiring because of medical issues.

Carter, a graduate transfer from Texas Tech, announced via social media that he was giving up football. Carter won the starting job in the summer but hasn't played since Week 2 when he suffered a concussion in a 30-0 loss to Iowa. He led the Scarlet Knights to their only win of the season on Aug. 30 when he threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns against UMass.

"Along with all of the happiness and opportunities football has given me, it has also resulted in a fair amount of pain, surgery, physical rehabilitation, etc, especially within the last year and a half. With the being said, I've made the difficult decision to medically retire," he wrote on social media Tuesday night.

"I've played football for as long as I can remember. I will truly miss being on the field playing this game, but it's time to move on and contribute in another way."

It's the latest setback for the Scarlet Knights (1-4, 0-3 Big Ten). Rutgers last won a Big Ten game in 2017 and will play Saturday at Indiana.

Coach Chris Ash and second-year offensive coordinator John McNulty were fired on Sept. 29 amid a 1-3 start that included two shutouts.

Quarterback Art Sitkowski started the next two games but asked interim coach Nunzio Campanile to keep him out of Saturday's game against Maryland, which was a 48-7 loss. A sophomore, Sitkowski wants to preserve his redshirt and might transfer. He started 11 games as a freshman last season but lost the starting job to Carter.

Next up at quarterback for Rutgers are redshirt freshman Johnny Langan, who started against Maryland and was 13-for-25 passing for 163 yards, and freshman Cole Snyder.

Langan, who also ran for 59 yards and a touchdown, played for Campanile at Bergen Catholic High School in New Jersey.