Dan Persa’s injury toward the end of Saturday’s Northwestern-Iowa game served as a bit of a damper on the Wildcats’ big 21-17 win over No. 13 Iowa. After the game, some awful news has emerged regarding the quarterback’s injury. Persa’s injury is a ruptured Achilles tendon, and he’s expected to miss the rest of the season. The Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein tweets:
Dan Persa Injury: Ruptured Achilles To Sideline Northwestern QB For Rest Of Season
Fitz on persa: ruptured achilles. Out for remainder of season. Surgery tonight. What a blow.
It can only be described as a freak injury: within the final two minutes of the game, Persa threw for what ended up being the game-winning touchdown, and though he was barely touched by Iowa defenders, he hit the ground and grabbed his right leg after being forced to scramble.
Persa, a junior, had been the subject of some Heisman talk during this season. This season, prior to Saturday’s game, he’d thrown for 2,263 yards and 13 touchdowns while throwing only three interceptions. To boot, Persa had rushed for 167 yards. On Saturday, he threw for 302 yards and rushed for 59 more against Iowa’s defense.
Evan Watkins, a freshman, figures to start in place of Persa from here on out. For more on Watkins, Persa, and the Wildcats, check in with our Northwestern blog, Sippin’ On Purple.
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