Peters to Miss Spring Drills
June 21, 1999 | Football
March 2, 1999
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech quarterback Rob Peters will miss spring football practice after undergoing surgery last week to repair damage to his right thumb sustained in the team's season-opener last fall against Texas-El Paso, assistant athletic director for sports health Natalie Steadman announced today.
Peters, a 6-4, 235-pound rising senior from Katy, Texas, suffered a broken right thumb in the first half of Texas Tech's 35-3 win over the Miners and missed the next two full games. He suffered a sprained shoulder in the second quarter of the UTEP game and did not return. He became aware of the thumb injury after experiencing soreness prior to practice the following Monday. He underwent x-rays the following day and at that time the fracture was discovered.
The loss of Peters will give redshirt freshman Kliff Kingsbury (New Braunfels, Texas) an opportunity to direct the first team offense throughout spring drills. Kingsbury is the only other scholarship quarterback currently on the team. Walk-ons David Kelly (Houston, Texas), Shae McCutcheon (Amarillo, Texas) and Brad McDaniel (Sterling City, Texas) will serve as the backups.
Other Red Raiders that will miss the spring practice sessions are fullback Jonathan Hawkins (Wichita Falls, Texas) and tight end J.P Jansen (Buda, Texas). Both players had shoulder surgery and should be ready to play in the fall. Current Raiderback Jamaal Crisp (Dallas, Texas) began his college career as a quarterback and was moved prior to two-a-days to the defensive side of the ball. He will also miss spring drills after undergoing knee surgery last fall.
Kingsbury was last season's Most Valuable Player in the Texas High School Coaches All-Star Game at quarterback and placekicker. He passed for 3,009 yards and 34 touchdowns led his team to the Class 5A Division II semifinals in 1997. Kingsbury was a second-team all-state selection.