Forecast cloudy for Macho Man ...
Greetings, Blog Nation. I come bearing bad news. Sorry. It looks highly unlikely star corner/kick returner Victor “Macho” Harris will play Saturday against East Carolina.
Harris sprained his left foot in last Friday’s scrimmage when his shoe came off during a kick return and someone fell on his foot. Harris has been in a green jersey (no activity) and a protective boot all week. No practicing.
Tonight, Harris offered a mixed review of his situation. First, his own hopeful perspective. Asked about a sort of unspoken policy by the staff that if a player can’t practice by Wednesday, he doesn’t play on Saturday, Harris shook his head.
“Not in this case,” he said. “We’ve still got a couple days to determine whether I’m playing or not. I’m feeling good. It’s just a little bit stiff.”
He said he was headed to the training room to get some more work done on the foot and re-evaluate it. “I’m planning to play,” he said.
Then came the reality of the situation. When it was pointed out that, despite his own desire to play, both the coaches and medical staff would have some say in whether he’s on the field … Harris changed his tune.
How likely is it he’ll really play? “It’s a very slim chance. Slim.”
Ah, so there we have it. Tech is likely to be without its most dynamic player in an already tough opener against ECU. Here’s betting the Vegas line on this game will be moving.
Now, on to a few other quick observations from today’s practice …
* Ryan Williams is wearing No. 33 this week, not his chosen No. 34. He’s working largely with the scout team, mimicking ECU’s No. 33, tailback Norman Whitley – an explosive-type runner (like Williams) who’ll likely factor into the Pirates’ rotation.
* While I didn’t see this happen, several defensive players have said Tyrod Taylor is working during one of the practice periods as the scout-team QB, mimicking ECU’s shifty QB, Patrick Pinkney. Boy, that’s an incredible asset in preparation for a mobile QB … since Taylor’s probably better than any they’ll actually face.
* WR Danny Coale is very solid in everything he does. During a period where the first-string offense and first-string defense went head to head, Coale had a nasty block on the outside to spring Darren Evans on a tailback screen. Later, on a deep comeback route, Coale had a nice sliding catch, cradling the ball to keep it off the turf.
* QB Sean Glennon did his best Tyrod impersonation against the second-team defense on one option play. He kept the ball, made a defender miss and squirted through a BIG hole up the middle.
* TE Greg Boone is going to be on a lot of SportsCenter highlights this year. Big boy ripped off a long run right up the gut of the defense.
* WR Dyrell Roberts seems ready to play. He’s going to make mistakes, but he brings more good than bad to the table. His acceleration is top-notch. Kid took a flanker screen – here’s guessing we see a few of those again this year, huh? – and got up the field in a HURRY. Best word for Roberts is smooth.
* Frank Beamer commented recently on Josh Oglesby’s “burst.” He showed that off on one play today, taking a toss left and then … gone. He galloped into the secondary. These backs are good.
* If Sean Glennon goes down this year and Tyrod Taylor’s redshirt doesn’t come off, I’m betting the Cory Holt offense will feature a lot of option plays. Holt is a big, physical guy who can still really run. He broke loose on a keeper today and raced through the first-string secondary.
* No, Taylor’s not planning to play, but boy can he make things happen. He absolutely embarrassed some second-string linebacker. Just lost him. Tech will certainly miss that with Taylor shirted.
* Glennon was on target in drills with the receivers one-on-one with defensive backs. He threw a gorgeous deep ball down the right sideline to freshman Xavier Boyce, who out-jumped corner Stephan Virgil for the ball. He had it in his hands, but dropped it on the way down.
* Three times Glennon threw short strikes over the middle to rookie Jarrett Boykin. He’s strong (can take a pop over the middle) and has great hands (a good possession receiver-type). I think Boykin could be a nice bail-out option when things are covered deep. Glennon was on the money every time to Boykin, sticking it in his gut while LB Purnell Sturdivant was draped on him.
* Freshman CB Eddie Whitley, as we’ve mentioned many times now, is a playmaker. He jumped an out route from Glennon to Coale. Whitley broke, closed and nearly intercepted the ball at the sideline.
* Holt was picked off, throwing deep into traffic. The ball was tipped and intercepted by Dorian Porch – and over-the-shoulder pick. Soon after, though, Holt threw a BEAUTY of a ball to Boyce, who didn’t drop this one. Holt stuck the deep pass between to defenders. Very nice.
* DT Demetrius Taylor, undersized for the spot, flashed his quickness against the first team. He came flying up the middle for an easy sack on Tyrod Taylor. That’s right, TT is still getting reps with the first offense. Remember, HE is the guy who’ll come in if Glennon gets hurt in these first couple of games. Not Holt.
And … that’s about all I wrote. Nothing groundbreaking today, sorry. But I have a HEAP of interviews coming your way in an hour or so. So click back here a bit later.
