CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Clemson quarterback Kyle Parker's football career came to an abrupt end when he broke ribs in the first half against South Florida in the Meineke Bowl.
Parker, who is leaving to pursue a baseball career with the Colorado Rockies in the spring, completed 11 of 17 passes for 134 yards and an interception on Friday before he was apparently injured on a play near the goal line at end of the first half.
The school announced at the start of the third quarter that he wouldn't return.
It ends a disappointing year for Parker, a first-round pick of the Rockies who left $800,000 on the table to play one more college football season. Parker, who was benched in Clemson's final regular-season game, finishes the year with 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
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