HAWAII GROWN: Family says Milton’s surgery successful

A day after UCF junior quarterback McKenzie Milton suffered a gruesome right leg injury in a 38-10 win over South Florida, his family released a statement to the public.

“The Milton family would like to express gratitude for all of your thoughts, prayers and concerns. McKenzie’s surgery was successful, and he is recovering well. We would like to thank the medical staffs at Tampa General Hospital, University of South Florida and the sports medicine staff at UCF for their superb care. McKenzie looks forward to joining his teammates in Orlando and supporting them in their quest to bring another conference championship to our program. Remember what Ohana means. No one gets left behind. #UCFamily.”

Milton underwent surgery to repair his knee and other “internal issues,” according to ESPN’s Andrea Adelson.

Mark Milton’s father also texted the Honolulu Star-Advertiser with the following comment Saturday: “We appreciate the support. The surgery last night appears to have gone pretty well to stabilize the knee.”

A Heisman Trophy candidate this season after finishing eighth in the voting last year, the 2016 Mililani alumnus was carted off the field in the second quarter following a hit to his knee on a third-down running play.

It was apparent immediately that the injury was serious. ESPN, which televised the game, refused to show a replay of the hit.

The entire UCF team came onto the field and took a knee as Milton was being tended to by training staffs of both teams.

He was 5-for-10 for 86 yards with a touchdown and an interception at the time of the injury.

Milton entered the game with 2,577 passing yards and 24 touchdowns with only five interceptions. He’s also rushed for 291 yards and nine scores. UCF is 22-0 in games he started over the last two seasons.