For the fourth consecutive year, the quarterback that started the season for Utah will not be finishing it. On Monday evening, Utes’ team physician David Petron released the following statement regarding sophomore quarterback Travis Wilson:
“Evaluation showed what appears to be a previous injury to an intracranial artery. We do not believe it is life threatening, and there is a possibility he could play football in the future if it remains stable. It will be further evaluated with follow-up testing in approximately three months.”
Intracranial arteries supply blood to different areas within the brain. The injury was diagnosed after Wilson received a CT scan for a concussion sustained while playing Arizona State. If not for the concussion and consequent examination, Wilson’s preexisting head trauma could have likely gone on undiscovered.
Wilson addressed the team on Monday afternoon and expressed gratitude to his teammates.
“Travis wanted to tell these guys that he loves them and how, more than anything, he’s just grateful to be a part of this team,” said quarterback coach and co-offensive coordinator Brian Johnson. “He explained what the  deal was and talked about the process of moving forward from there … We all love Travis and respect what he’s done as a capJohnson. “He explained what the tain and how tough he’s been.”
Wilson now joins the ranks of several other players who came to Utah to play quarterback but, because of injury, transfer or position change, did not finish at the QB position. In fact, the last quarterback to start and complete the same season was Johnson, who led the Utes to a perfect 13-0 record in 2008 and a Sugar Bowl victory.
At the beginning of this season head coach Kyle Whittingham expressed hope that with Wilson, the team’s struggles with quarterback consistency would finally be finished. Although that appeared to be the case early on, the Utes have been stricken by the quarterback curse again.
Although Johnson doesn’t believe in any curse, he cannot offer any explanation as to why the Utes have struggled so mightily in this area.
“I have no idea,” Johnson said. “I wish I knew. If I had the answer I promise you we’d have the same guy start and finish a season … Act of God, I guess? I have no idea.”
Curse or no curse, the Utes’ struggles in the Pac-12 can be directly tied to their trouble keeping a quarterback.
“Having great quarterback play is everything,” Johnson said. “Great teams in this conference have that. It’s the one constant. If you have great quarterback play, you have a chance, no matter who you’re playing in the country.”
With two games left in the season and the future looking uncertain, sophomore Adam Schulz takes the reins. He spoke with former Utah QB Jordan Wynn about how to tackle the challenge ahead.
“I talked to Jordan earlier on in the week, and he said to go out there and do what you can do, play within yourself and don’t try to make the big play because that’s when you get in trouble,” Schulz said. “There are big shoes to fill obviously, because Utah has a winning tradition. They’re not used to not going to a bowl game.”
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