By Juan G. Rodriguez
Michael Coulter drops back into the pocket during Stony Brook's loss to Brown on Sept. 17, 2011. Photo by Jordan Gibbons.
The Seawolves (1-3) will return from their bye week without senior quarterback Michael Coulter, who is having season-ending knee surgery, according to a statement made by head coach Chuck Priore on Thursday.
Coulter originally injured his knee in the preseason, tearing his ACL. He opted for rehabilitation rather than undergoing surgery. He was later cleared for the season by Stony Brook’s medical staff, but re-injured the knee in the second game of the season against Buffalo.
The injury will effectively end Coulter’s college football career at Stony Brook. He will not appeal to the NCAA for another season of eligibility and plans on graduating in December.
Coulter has started 26 straight games for the Seawolves and has thrown for 4,218 yards and 32 touchdowns with a 56.8 pass completion percentage. He led Stony Brook to consecutive Big South Championships in 2009 and 2010. Prior to Stony Brook, Coulter played one season at Santa Ana College where he threw for 1,600 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Coulter’s surgery leaves the Seawolves with just two quarterbacks on the roster: junior and likely starter Kyle Essington, who has already received significant playing time as Coulter’s backup and Junior Lyle Negron, who has yet to see the field as a Seawolf, but passed for 1,950 yards and 17 touchdowns for Bakersfield College in 2010.
Kyle Essington has completed 9-of-22 passes for 98 yards and one touchdown in his two years at Stony Brook. He also has a rushing touchdown, which he scored on an 18-yard scramble against Brown earlier this season. In 2009, Essington passed for over 680 yards and six touchdowns for Fullerton College in a back-up roll.
For added depth at the quarterback position the Seawolves could potentially turn to redshirted freshmen JeVahn Cruz, who is currently a running back and special teams player. Cruz is a Wheatley Heights resident who went to high school at Half Hollow Hills West and won the Hansen Award in 2009 for best football player in Suffolk County. He threw for 1,531 yards and 24 touchdowns and rushed for 1,789 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Stony Brook will be looking to win their second game in a row when they return to action on October 8Â in their first Big South conference home game of the season against Presbyterian.
