Freeman's run with ACU likely finished
Broken left arm will keep senior QB out 3-6 weeks
ABILENE -- ACU senior quarterback Colby Freeman has a broken ulna in his left arm and his career in a Wildcat uniform is probably finished.
Junior quarterback Greg Wiggins, who is 9 of 12 for 132 yards and one touchdown on the season, will start at quarterback Saturday when the Wildcats host Midwestern State at 2 p.m. in a key Lone Star Conference South Division battle at Shotwell Stadium. Redshirt freshman Caleb Ensor of Abilene Wylie High School is now the Wildcats' backup quarterback.
Freeman suffered the injury in last Saturday's 39-23 win over the Angelo State Rams in San Angelo. The injury occurred with 11:07 left in the third quarter when Freeman was sandwiched by a pair of Ram defenders as he crossed the goal line for his third touchdown of the night.
He went to the bench and did not return, spending the rest of the game on the sidelines with an ice pack on his left arm. He finished his night 5 of 12 passing for 102 yards and 29 yards and three touchdowns on seven rushing attempts.
Freeman, the Lone Star Conference South Division Pre-Season Player of the Year, is out "3-6 weeks," according to head coach Gary Gaines, which means the Wildcats will have to win their remaining four games and reach the NCAA Division II playoffs for Freeman to play again.
After a slow start, Freeman was rounding into the form he showed last season when he threw for 2,093 yards in leading ACU to the LSC South Division championship, the school's first football championship of any kind since the 1977 team won the NAIA Division I national Championship.
"I thought Colby had gotten better each week, and he really played well against Angelo State," Gaines said. "You always hate to see any player go down, but especially a senior in his final year of eligibility. Colby has had some tough luck in his career at ACU."
Freeman transferred to ACU in December 2000 and was the Wildcats' starting quarterback when ACU opened the 2001 season on Sept. 1 at Central Arkansas. But in what was a sign of things to come for the former all-state quarterback at Brownwood High School, Freeman was knocked out of the game with a concussion in the first half of the ballgame. Then on Sept. 29 of that season, he broke his left ankle on the first play of the second half against Easter New Mexico and was lost for the rest of the season.
Wiggins had been Freeman's backup for each of the last three seasons, so stepping into this situation will not be strange for the junior from Austin
"I feel good about Greg playing and what he can do to help us win games," Gaines said. "He's done this before, so it's nothing new for him. He's prepared each week to be the guy in case something happens to Colby."
Wiggins had the best passing debut of any quarterback in ACU's history by throwing 387 yards (29 of 52) and two scores on Oct. 6, 2001 in a 52-38 loss at Southeaster Oklahoma State. He went on to throw for 1,342 yards in 2001 and has 1,735 career passing yards in 13 career games (six starts).
