Alex Montgomery
Kentucky freshman wide receiver Alex Montgomery was attempting to chest bump his teammates when his knee buckled. YouTube Screenshot

A Kentucky wide receiver will miss the rest of the 2013 college football season after tearing his ACL during a particularly jubilant touchdown celebration.

The incident occurred during the second quarter of the Kentucky Wildcats’ game against Alabama State last Saturday, Larry Brown Sports reports via the Kentucky Herald Leader. Freshman wide receiver Alex Montgomery had just caught a touchdown pass, giving the Wildcats a 21-7 lead and firm control of the game. Unfortunately, Montgomery’s night went downhill from there.

The Kentucky wide receiver attempted to celebrate the score by leaping into the air and giving teammates Demarco Robinson and Anthony Kendrick a chest bump, Larry Brown Sports notes. However, Montgomery knee buckled as he landed, causing the freshman to lie on the ground in a good deal of pain.

During a postgame interview, Robinson described the circumstances behind the injury, the Kentucky Herald Leader reports. “It was three of us that jumped, so I guess when he came down it came down wrong on his knee,” Robinson said.

On Monday, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops announced that Montgomery would miss the rest of the reason with a torn ACL. “It’s not good,” Stoops told reporters. “It’s not good news with Alex. He’ll be out for the remainder of the year.”

Montgomery’s freak knee injury was a sore blow to Kentucky’s offense. He was the team’s third-leading receiver, and had amassed 16 catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns before the ACL tear.

Surprisingly, Montgomery isn’t the first football player to suffer a serious knee injury while celebrating a score. In 2001, former Arizona Cardinals kicker Bill Gramatica tore a knee ligament after leaping into the air to celebrate a successful field goal. He missed the rest of the 2001 NFL season.

[h/t Larry Brown Sports]

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