SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said Tuesday that tight end RJ Maryland will be out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL after a hit on his knee in the third quarter of Saturday's game against Stanford. Billy Embody at On3 Sports was first to report.

Maryland, a junior from Southlake Carroll, is SMU's leading receiver with 24 receptions for 359 yards and four touchdowns, building off a breakout sophomore season in which he tied for the team lead with seven touchdown receptions. In the Florida State game, he broke a program record for most touchdown catches by a tight end with 15.

SMU has morphed into a more balanced attack with the emergence of running back Brashard Smith dual-threat quarterback Kevin Jennings, but Maryland gave the offense a vertical threat the team's wide receivers have lacked since Rashee Rice was drafted. However, Key'Shawn Smith did have a 45-yard touchdown and Kelvontay 'Moochie' Dixon had an 87-yard score of his own against Stanford.

Maryland will have season ending surgery on the ACL, but Lashlee mentioned there are "some other things" that they're waiting on the specifics of. Expect 

SMU plays Duke this Saturday, the ACC's No.1-ranked passing defense. Sophomore Adam Moore is the only other tight end on the roster with receptions this season (two for 12 yards.)

This is a developing story.