Tuttle Proves Toughness Playing Through Shoulder Injury

Image: Indiana University Athletics

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Indiana sophomore quarterback was clearly in pain late in the second quarter as he grabbed his shoulder after each throw. As it turned out Tuttle, who finished 26-of-45 for 201 yards and an interception, had a separated shoulder.

“(Tuttle) had a shoulder separation in his throwing shoulder.” Allen said postgame. “It definitely affected him. I thought he was a warrior today. He played through some serious pain.”

After losing Michael Penix to injury in late November, the only other scholarship quarterback on the roster is true freshman Dexter Williams who had not seen the field this year.

Allen said that the injury could’ve been way worse. “Did an x-ray on it. Thought he might have broken the collarbone at first.” Allen explained. “That was not the case. So basically he just had to kind of suck it up. It was very painful. But it was his throwing shoulder, so I think it affected some of our throws, some of the things we thought he could do with that situation. Even though when he had it, he's still running, diving. He competed his tail off. But there's no question, he was dinged up pretty good, just trying to fight through it. He's a tough, tough kid.”

Tuttle struggled, but would not use the injury. “There's no excuse, right? But, yeah, it sucks. Like I just said, it's for my team. I got to find a way to get the job done. I love them. We're going to come back stronger.”

Tuttle couldn’t recall when he got injured but said it was early on. Him toughing it out got the attention and respect of his teammates.

Indiana running back Stevie Scott, who had 133 total yards and two touchdowns, said a short-hopped throw keyed him into Tuttle’s injury. “I didn't actually really even notice till I seen one of his passes was kind of short to Whop.” Scott said. “I asked him what was wrong. He said his shoulder was a little messed up. For him, he just stay in, still try to get the job done, be a leader, be our starting quarterback. It just shows that he's very strong and mentally tough. I really appreciate Jack for everything he's done this season stepping up, especially when Mike going down, him trying to be that great guy he is, being a leader.”

Even the defense took notice of Tuttle’s warrior performance.

“He's a tough son of a gun, for sure.” Indiana linebacker Micah McFadden said of Tuttle. “I didn't know that shoulder was popped out. I think a little bit after halftime or before, I saw him grabbing at that shoulder. I could tell there was something up. But I don't think any player knew it was out of place or anything like that. I already knew he was tough before that. That just adds on to it. That guy's a baller.”

It would have been interesting to see what Tuttle could have done with a healthy shoulder in the second half when the IU offense woke up. One can also wonder about Dexter Williams and why, if Tuttle was seriously hurt, was he not put in the game.