With Larson Injury, Rybarcyzk to Finish Season as Bulldogs Starting QB

Junior Mike Rybarcyzk will make his first start since Week 2 of last season.

DULUTH, Minn. – It was a bittersweet start to the week for the UMD football team. First, the Bulldogs made it to #5 on the latest AFCA poll. Then the team found out that they’ve lost their starting quarterback.

Head coach Curt Wiese confirmed Tuesday that sophomore QB John Larson will be out for the rest of the season with a lower body injury. Junior Mike Rybarcyzk will take over after coming in last weekend against Southwest Minnesota state and rushing for over 100 yards.

“John is a good friend of mine and we spend a lot of time together so it sucks to see a teammate go down. But you got to be ready to go and I always practice like I’m the starter and try my best in practice. I wasn’t really that nervous. I just got in there and stuck to the game plan and just played Bulldog football,” said Rybarcyzk.

“Eight weeks ago, we were trying to decide between the two on who was going to start and it was a tough decision going with John. John did a really good job starting and definitely solidified his spot moving forward. But Mike Rybarcyzk is ready to go. Mike was ready to go last year. He was our starter last year and we’re excited to have him on our football team to give us an opportunity to compete this weekend,” Wiese said.

The Bulldogs will be back in action this weekend as they travel to Winona State.