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College-Football Notebook: Georgia Tech may start Shaw at QB
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Published: October 1, 2008
■ Quarterback Josh Nesbitt of Georgia Tech was held out of practice yesterday with a strained right hamstring.
Freshman Jaybo Shaw, who played all but eight snaps of Georgia Tech's 38-7 win over Mississippi State on Sept. 20 after Nesbitt was injured, could make his first start when the Yellow Jackets play Duke on Saturday.
Shaw practiced with the first-team offense yesterday.
Nesbitt also missed practice Monday and wasn't available for comment yesterday.
Georgia Tech (3-1 overall, 1-1 ACC) will be playing its first home ACC game after winning at Boston College and losing at Virginia Tech.
Georgia Tech had a season-high 500 total yards, including 438 yards rushing, the fifth-highest total in school history against Mississippi State. Shaw threw a touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas and had a 3-yard touchdown run.
■ Tennessee expects to play both Jonathan Crompton and Nick Stephens at quarterback Saturday against Northern Illinois.
Crompton has struggled to get the Volunteers (1-3) into the end zone.
Crompton and Stephens are competing this week to start against the Huskies (2-2). But even if Stephens doesn't practice well enough to start, offensive coordinator Dave Clawson wants to see him in a game.
■ Washington quarterback Jake Locker said he'd play a different position while his broken right thumb heals if it would help the team.
Locker is wearing a sling and a soft cast around his right hand as he recovers from surgery Monday to stabilize his broken thumb. He was injured in the Huskies' 35-28 loss to Stanford on Saturday.
Locker, speaking for the first time since the injury, said yesterday he thinks his right hand caught on a defender as he tried to make a block. Locker stayed in for two more plays before leaving.
As for a new position, Locker was an all-state defensive back in high school. He said he'll do what's best for the team and would rather be playing than sitting on the sidelines.
■ Running back Shonn Greene of Iowa is expected to play Saturday when the Hawkeyes face Michigan State.
Greene suffered a head injury early in the fourth quarter of last week's 22-17 loss against Northwestern and didn't return.
Coach Kirk Ferentz of Iowa said that Greene isn't expected to miss any practice time.
Greene ranks sixth in the nation with 133 yards rushing per game. He's rushed for over 100 yards in every game this season.
■ Coach Steve Spurrier of South Carolina said standout cornerback Captain Munnerlyn might not start against Ole Miss because of missed classes and weight-lifting sessions.
Munnerlyn, a junior, started 10 games last season and all five games this season. But Spurrier said he wants to get Munnerlyn's attention about going to class and attending scheduled workouts.
Spurrier said that Munnerlyn normally does things the right way at South Carolina and that he doesn't expect this to be a lasting problem.
Sophomore Addison Williams is listed as a co-starter with Munnerlyn on this week's depth chart.
Even if Munnerlyn doesn't start at Ole Miss, Spurrier said he'll see plenty of action.
■ Demarcus Granger and Frank Alexander, injured Oklahoma defensive linemen, could return to practice next week and be ready to play against Texas.
Coach Bob Stoops of Oklahoma said yesterday that there's a chance both players could be back by Monday.
Granger was expected to miss about four weeks with a left foot injury suffered two weeks ago at Washington.
Alexander has been out since he was stabbed in the right arm during a melee at a Norman nightclub after the Sooners' opening game.
■ Running back Jahvid Best of California will miss at least one game with a dislocated left elbow, but Best, a versatile speedster, won't require surgery.
Best was injured in the third quarter of the Golden Bears' 42-7 victory over Colorado State last Saturday.
Best, a sophomore, is third in the nation with 215.5 all-purpose yards per game, and third in the Pac-10 with 105.3 yards rushing.
Best, who fumbled two times while rushing for 85 yards against the Rams, was hurt while putting out his arm to cushion a fall. Freshman Shane Vereen has played well in the Bears' first four games as Best's backup or his replacement in the backfield when Best lines up as a receiver.
Also, Coach Jeff Tedford reopened Cal's quarterback competition yesterday, giving equal practice time to Kevin Riley and Nate Longshore this week before choosing a starter for Saturday's game against Arizona State.
Not many teams averaging 445 yards and 43 points per game would be contemplating a quarterback change, but Tedford is wary of the Golden Bears' (3-1, 1-0 Pac-10) slow offensive starts in a loss at Maryland and even last Saturday's 42-7 win over Colorado State.
With a looming visit from the Sun Devils (2-2, 1-0) that could have a big impact on both schools' hopes for a major bowl game, Tedford is acting aggressively to shake up Riley, the starter who struggled in last Saturday's start against the Rams.
■ Louisville's Hunter Cantwell will be ready to go when the Cardinals play at Memphis on Oct. 10, Coach Steve Kragthorpe said on Monday.
Cantwell injured his left ankle in the third quarter of Louisville's 26-21 loss to Connecticut last week when he was hit from behind while scrambling. Cantwell returned to the game but struggled the rest of the way and threw an interception with 2:45 remaining that UConn's Lawrence Wilson returned for the go-ahead touchdown.
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