Lucas Johnson may need season-ending surgery

Wednesday’s update for Georgia Tech quarterback Lucas Johnson was grim. Coach Paul Johnson said that the quarterback, who suffered an apparent lower-leg or foot injury Saturday, will be evaluated Thursday for season-ending surgery.

Lucas Johnson suffered what the team termed a lower-body injury in the Yellow Jackets’ scrimmage Saturday. At the team’s fan day that afternoon, his lower right leg and foot were encased in a walking boot.

“He’s going in (Thursday) and they’re going to look. They may have surgery,” Paul Johnson said. “We’ll see.”

A tweet from Lucas Johnson suggested that he is braced for season-ending surgery. He wrote “Stay prayed up and believe in his plan” with the hashtags “#LordKnows,” “BiggerPlan” and “#2019ourYear.”

If Lucas Johnson’s sophomore season does indeed end Thursday with a surgical procedure, it would be a tough break both for him and the team. Johnson has been competing with Tobias Oliver for the No. 2 job behind TaQuon Marshall. Being the No. 2 could be an advantage in the competition to be the starting quarterback next year after Marshall, a senior, graduates.

For the team, losing Johnson would mean that the backup for Marshall would be a redshirt freshman who has yet to play a snap at the college level. Johnson played a handful of snaps at quarterback last season behind Marshall.

“It’s frustrating,” Paul Johnson said. “It’s non-contact again. That’s the second time in three years we’ve lost a quarterback with non-contact injuries just planting.”

Last year, quarterback Matthew Jordan tore a ligament in his foot in spring practice, an injury that opened the door for Marshall to win the starting job. In 2015, quarterback Tim Byerly suffered a season-ending knee injury early in the season, also in practice.

An additional slight complication to Tech’s quarterback situation is that James Graham, a freshman who had been shifted last week to wide receiver because of a depth shortage there, has not practiced since Saturday because of an injury. Graham will return to quarterback when he’s cleared to practice. Until then, the No. 3 quarterback is freshman walk-on Ryan Lantz.