MSU QB Garrett Shrader Suffers Facial Injury After Alleged Fight with Teammate

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

The Mississippi State Bulldogs are reportedly down a quarterback for Monday's Music City Bowl against Louisville.

According to Brad Logan of the Clarion-Ledger and Hattiesburg American, signal-caller Garrett Shrader broke his orbital bone during an alleged altercation with linebacker Willie Gay. He will miss the contest as a result.

Logan noted Gay was suspended for academic fraud and ejected for fighting in the past.

Shrader arrived at Mississippi State as a 4-star prospect, per 247Sports' composite rankings, and threw for 1,170 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions as a freshman this year. He also added 587 yards and six touchdowns on the ground as a dual-threat playmaker.

He ran for two touchdowns during the Bulldogs' victory over archrival Ole Miss to finish the regular season.

If there is a silver lining for Mississippi State, it is the fact Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens is an experienced backup option who has played plenty of snaps this year. He threw for 934 yards, nine touchdowns and five picks during the season while adding 310 yards and three scores on the ground.

He saw significant playing time in wins over Louisiana, Southern Mississippi, Arkansas and Abilene Christian.

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Stevens will have a chance to put up solid numbers against a Louisville team that allowed 45 points in its regular-season finale against the Kentucky Wildcats.