Mark Stoops gives injury update on Nik Scalzo

It looks like we won’t be seeing Nik Scalzo this season.

During his Monday call-in show, Mark Stoops said Kentucky is planning to hold Scalzo out of competition this fall as he recovers from a torn ACL.

Last year, Scalzo tore his ACL in a team scrimmage, the same knee he previously tore during the 2018 high school playoffs. By all accounts, he was playing well and challenging for the backup quarterback spot behind Terry Wilson, but the injury forced him to redshirt, and 2020 will effectively be another redshirt season since the NCAA ruled any athlete who plays this fall won’t lose a season of eligibility.

A redshirt freshman out of Cardinal Gibbons High School in Florida, Scalzo was a three-star recruit in the Class of 2019. He was the 28th-ranked dual-threat quarterback via 247 Sports composite.

Scalzo is one of three quarterbacks featured in the Netflix documentary series QB1: Beyond the Lights.

It’s unfortunate Scalzo has missed so much time due to injury over the last two years. Hopefully, he benefits as much as anyone from this extra year of eligibility and is able to challenge for playing time next year when current starter Terry Wilson has departed.