Quarterback Rusty Smith talks with FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger and quarterback coach Jeff Brohm shortly after learning that a shoulder injury had ended his season. (FAUOwlAccess.com photo)
Farewell to arm
Our No. 9 story of the year is FAU quarterback Rusty Smith going down with a season-ending shoulder injury giving an early start to the Jeff Van Camp era.
Originally published on
6/24/2010
by
Marcus Nelson
Late in FAU’s 27-20 loss to Middle Tennessee at Lockhart Stadium on Oct. 31, Owls quarterback Rusty Smith was knocked to the ground, landing on his non-throwing shoulder.
Smith knew it was injured and tests a few days later confirmed he had sprained his sholder and his college career was over.
Smith finished his career with 10,113 yards passing, threw for 76 touchdowns and owns virtually every passing record in FAU history.
The next week, Jeff Van Camp made his first career start at UAB.
What we wrote
Why it’s important
It was an unceremonious end for Smith, the face of the program for so many years, and no one wanted to see his career come to an end in such a fashion.
While Van Camp, the heir apparent to Smith, was pressed into action earlier than the coaching staff would have liked, he played well in the final five games of the season. Van Camp now enters this season with experience he wouldn’t have received if Smith had finished out the season.