According to ESPN Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg, Northwestern running back Mike Trumpy is out for the season with a torn ACL.
The sophomore was pulled as a result of the injury in the third quarter of Saturday’s 38-35 loss to Illinois, after starting the second half with four straight carries. He finished with 63 yards on 12 carries.
Freshman Treyvon Green took the bulk of the carries after Trumpy’s departure, finishing with 67 yards on 17 carries. Green will be one of the leading candidates to replace Trumpy as the Wildcats’ starting tailback.
As for Trumpy, this marks the second straight year in which a game against the Fighting Illini ended his season. Last year, a wrist injury sustained against Illinois put an end to his season after he had rushed for 580 yards on just 116 carries as a redshirt freshman. He was also a talented receiver out of the backfield, recording 182 receiving yards in 2010.
He was having similar success in 2011, leading all NU running backs with 182 rushing yards on 5.2 yards per carry when he was pulled from Saturday’s game.
Early indications are that he would not qualify for a medical hardship year, since NCAA rules stipulate that in order to qualify, an athlete can only play in 20 percent or less of a team’s scheduled games. Trumpy appeared in four of NU’s 12 games.
