Injuries force Miami to shake up its scrimmage
Instead of breaking into two teams today, the RedHawks offense will square off against the defense.
Friday, April 25, 2008
OXFORD — Shane Montgomery would prefer to watch his RedHawks play in a regular, feels-like-a-game scrimmage at the annual Miami Spring Game, but he can't afford to take that chance.
Miami's head coach will have a few more players on hand tonight, April 25, than he did in the team's scrimmage last weekend, when he said 25 to 30 players were sidelined with various injuries.
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But the team remains too thin at some positions for Montgomery to be able hold a regular session in which the team would be split into two fairly equal squads, like the Red-White Game that concludes preseason each summer.
"We've decided, based on numbers, that we're going to do offense versus defense," Montgomery said. "We're doing this instead of having a couple people play both sides. We are going to set it up as close to a game situation as possible."
The offense will receive points, he said, for touchdowns, first downs, 25-yard gains, and achievements like that. The defense will receive points for stops, turnovers, etc.
One position in which the RedHawks should be at full strength is quarterback.
Junior Daniel Raudabaugh and red-shirt freshman Clay Belton are vying for the starting position and both are expected to play tonight. Belton missed the scrimmage last Saturday, April 19, due to a slight sprain in his left hand.
"Clay's practiced and he's feeling better," Montgomery said. "He's still a little sore, but he should be ready by (today)."
An interesting competition has popped up this spring at wide receiver, where several of the main targets among the veterans have been unable to play, either because they are recovering from offseason surgeries or were injured during the spring practices.
Junior Dustin Woods, who has accumulated 65 receptions for 1,109 yards and five touchdowns the last two seasons, is recovering from shoulder surgery. Sophomore Eugene Harris, Miami's leading receiver in 2007 with 46 catches, and sophomore Jamel Miller, who caught 19 balls while also serving as the team's primary kick returner, have been banged up.
That has given the lesser-known receivers a chance to show what they can do, and sophomore Mitchell Anderson and junior Brayden Coombs took advantage of the opportunity last weekend by combining for three touchdowns catches, two by Anderson. If Anderson and Coombs perform well again tonight, there could be some very crowded competition at wideout in August.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197
or pconrad@coxohio.com.
