Head coach David Shaw confirmed following Sunday’s football practice that Stanford senior wide receiver Ty Montgomery will not play in Tuesday night’s Foster Farms Bowl against Maryland at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
“He tried it. He can’t protect himself,” Shaw said at City College of San Francisco, where the Cardinal has been working out since returning from Christmas break. “We tried a couple of different options but it’s not wise.”
Montgomery has not played since a sprained right shoulder suffered early in the Big Game against California five weeks ago.
“If this game was in a week he’d be full go,” Shaw said. “It’s basically healed. There’s still a lack of strength and there’s still some soreness.”
Montgomery was Stanford’s leading receiver with 61 catches this year and is considered one of the top return men in the college game.
Freshman Christian McCaffrey will assume returning punts and kickoffs, with Kelsey Young and Barry Sanders serving as backups.
“This was not an NFL decision,” Shaw said. “It was a make-it-through-the-game decision. If we felt like he could get tackled and protect himself we would, of course, let him play.”
Montgomery averaged 128.6 all-purpose yards this season, easily outdistancing the combined totals of the next two runners, McCaffrey and Remound Wright, who averaged a combined 110.5 yards.
Austin Hooper and Devon Casjuste have combined for 938 yards on 65 receptions and six touchdowns. Quarterback Kevin Hogan has thrown to 17 different receivers.
Stanford (7-5) plays Maryland (7-5) in the Foster Farms Bowl, which will be televised by ESPN.