JONESBORO — Arkansas State University Coach Blake Anderson said Monday that starting quarterback Justice Hansen will be out until at least Thursday with a strained muscle in his lower back, which he sustained during the 44-21 loss at SMU on Saturday.
Anderson said he could wait as long as Oct. 4, when ASU plays at Georgia Southern, to decide whether Hansen has recovered from the injury, which was diagnosed after an MRI.
Hansen, a redshirt junior, entered the SMU game as the NCAA’s sixth-ranked passer (375.5 yards per game), and he was 13 of 22 passing for 209 yards and two touchdowns when he was sacked during the second quarter while attempting a fourth-down pass.
He came up rubbing his lower back and was removed from the game.
At halftime, Hansen was given a steroid injection.
“Which is how you would treat it regardless,” Anderson said. “We were hoping that it would respond immediately, but it didn’t. That’s part of the process to treat it in the long term. If you don’t get the immediate effect of it, it’s something you would do anyway to work toward long-term treatment.”
Redshirt freshman Logan Bonner replaced Hansen before halftime and went on to go 7 of 17 passing with 50 yards and an interception.
Hansen returned for one series before the end of the third quarter, when ASU was down 37-14, but was pulled by Anderson when he noticed Hansen was playing with evident pain.
Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.