One of the most electrifying players west of the Mississippi is apparently done for the season.
Utah State announced on Wednesday night that starting quarterback Chuckie Keeton would "likely" miss the rest of 2014 due to a knee injury.
Keeton was injured in a 36-24 victory over Wake Forest last month. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound signal-caller previously tore his ACL last season and had worked his way back in order to start the Aggies' first three games.
Head coach Matt Wells previously ruled Keeton out for two weeks after the Wake Forest game and said the quarterback would be reevaluated leading up to this week's BYU game. Despite some optimism around the program regarding the star senior returning this year, Keeton did not get the clearance he needed.
"Chuckie's health is our top priority and he has not been cleared to play by our medical staff," said Wells in the release. "We will continue to monitor his progress throughout the fall, but given his current condition it is unlikely that he will play in any games in the foreseeable future."
The announcement on Wednesday does make the comments made by BYU defensive linemen Remington Peck earlier in the week that much more interesting.
"I heard they're actually medical redshirting him, as of now," Peck said on BYUtv. "That could be different. If he is there, obviously, it's a whole different deal with his legs. He's very good on the ground. You'd have to prepare more for a two-dimensional quarterback. ... As far as we know, they announced last night that they're medical redshirting him, but I still think we need to prepare just in case he doesn't."
Utah State has been in this position before considering Keeton went down last season and the Aggies still contended for the Mountain West title. Backup quarterback Darell Garretson is 6-2 as a starter in relief of Keeton, but will face a tough task this week with a road trip to in-state rival BYU on Friday.
Hopefully for Keeton the time off will allow him to get healthy because when he is, scouts think he's one of the best college quarterbacks in the country.
Follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter @BryanDFischer.
