COLLEGE PARK — Maryland football coach DJ Durkin said at his weekly news conference Tuesday that senior safety Denzel Conyers will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his ACL against Central Florida on Sept. 17 in Orlando, Fla. He will have surgery later this week.
Josh Woods (McDonogh), a 6-foot-1, 203-pound junior from Baltimore, will make his first career start in Saturday's Big Ten Conference opener against Purdue (2-1) at Maryland Stadium. The Terps are looking to start 4-0 for the first time since 2013.
"You obviously feel for Denzel; he's a senior player," Durkin said. "He was playing really well for us. He was and will continue to be a great member of our team, but obviously just in a different way now. He won't be on the field."
Conyers was in his second year at Maryland after transferring in from junior college. The 6-3, 211-pound senior had a scare in the preseason when he was taken by ambulance to Maryland Shock Trauma Center after suffering a concussion in practice.
In three games this season, Conyers was credited with 13 tackles. His 11 solo tackles rank third on the team, behind linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr. and cornerback Will Likely, both of whom have 14.
After playing mostly on special teams his first two years, Woods has played in all three games behind Conyers. He made a career-high seven tackles in the season opener against Howard, had three at Florida International and added one at Central Florida.
"He and Denzel were really competing all along for that spot," Durkin said. "Josh came into the UCF game [after Conyers was injured] and I thought played really well. He did a really nice job."