NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State sophomore quarterback Drew Kiel will have surgery to repair a torn ligament on his right thumb early this week. Recovery time after surgery will be at least six weeks for the Redbird signal-caller.
An MRI done over the weekend revealed a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in the thumb on Kiel's throwing hand. The Columbus, Ind., native suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of ISU's season-opening loss at Eastern Illinois on Sept. 3.
"It's a shame this injury happened because Drew played very well all spring and throughout fall camp to earn his starting spot," ISU head coach Brock Spack said. "He played extremely well against Eastern Illinois, but unfortunately he suffered the injury late in the game. This type of injury is very bad for any player that has to grip the ball a lot during the game so we have to get it fixed. The most important thing now is to get Drew healthy and help him through the recovery process."
Kiel's first start in a Redbird uniform was an impressive one. He completed his first 15 pass attempts en route to a 20-for-22 effort with 140 yards and a touchdown against the Panthers. Kiel's .909 percent completion percentage is the best ever by a Redbird quarterback in a single game with more than 20 attempts. The mark surpassed Dusty Burk's 31-of-37 effort against Hofstra (Dec. 4) in the quarterfinals of the 1999 FCS Playoffs.
Redshirt freshman Matt Brown has now been elevated to the No. 1 spot on the depth chart for next Saturday's game at Illinois.
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