STARKVILLE – Mississippi State’s already shaky quarterback situation ventured near collapse Sunday when its two top signal-callers were sidelined indefinitely with injuries.

Starting quarterback Omarr Conner is out with a severe right groin strain and there was no word this morning whether the former wide receiver would be able to return this year.

Backup Tray Rutland, who became a starter after season-opening starter Michael Henig went down early in the season against South Carolina, tore both his ACL and MCL in his left knee. The freshman will be lost for the season.

That leaves Henig, who missed five games with a broken collarbone, is the only Bulldog quarterback with playing experience and is scheduled to start on Saturday against Jacksonville State. Redshirt freshman Ty Evans will back up Henig.

&#8220I don’t think it’s a hex. It’s just the way the game is going right now,” said Conner, who completed 10 of 19 passes for 135 yards in a 42-14 loss to No. 4 West Virginia on Saturday.

Conner, who had started the last three games, suffered a pulled groin late in the third quarter against West Virginia.

He scrambled for a 6-yard gain, and had his ankle grabbed by West Virginia linebacker Jay Henry at the end of the play. Conner was injured as he tried to twist out of the tackle and did not return to the game.

After Saturday’s game, Conner showed guarded optimism that the injury was not serious.

&#8220I just pray to God that it’s not too serious. But if it is, I’ve just got to stay positive,” said Conner, who completed 10 of 19 passes for 135 yards and.

a touchdown against the Mountaineers. &#8220I’ve just got to take it one day at a time.”

Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom told reporters on Sunday during a news conference that his team must move forward.

&#8220Michael Henig is our quarterback now. We have to move forward and play a good Jacksonville State team,” Croom said.

Henig started the season-opener against South Carolina but broke his collarbone in the first half. He gave way to Rutland, who was benched two weeks later for his ineffective play.

That brought Conner back under center. Conner was the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback last season but lost his job to Henig in spring practice and moved to wide receiver.

Conner surpassed the 200-yard passing mark in two out of three starts at quarterback and was heading toward it again on Saturday until his injury. And now that he’s on the shelf, the quarterback wheel in Starkville has settled on Henig once again.

State wide receiver Tony Burks, who caught four balls for 118 yards against West Virginia, said the seemingly endless quarterback rotation was unusual, but not difficult to adjust to.

&#8220In practice they rotate like that all the time, so it’s no biggie,” Burks said. &#8220I’d say it’s a little weird, but we’re quick to adjust. I never did.

this in a game situation, but we do it in practice.”

Henig had mixed success in his return. He completed 7 of 15 passes for 115 yards, led the Bulldogs to one score and drove them deep into West Virginia territory two other times. Unfortunately, his first two drives ended in interceptions, killing an upset bid by State.

West Virginia led 21-7 when Henig threw a pass into the end zone that was bobbled by receiver Burks and intercepted. On State’s next drive, Henig was hit as he threw and the ball was easily picked off by West Virginia linebacker Bobby Hathaway.

West Virginia took the turnover and drove in for a score, starting a 21-point outburst in the last 8 minutes that made the game seem like more of a blowout than it actually was.

Once the game was out of hand, he pulled Henig for Rutland when State got the ball with 2:55 remaining. On his first play, Rutland took a hit to the knee and left the game. He was replaced by Evans, who threw one incompletion and was sacked the only two times he dropped back.

&#8220At the end of the game we sat Mike down, because I was not going to risk the chance of hurting our best remaining quarterback, especially since we do not know Omarr’s situation yet,” Croom said after the game. &#8220I should have run the clock out, but I wanted to see what Tray could do, and unfortunately he got hit on the knee.”