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Mountaineers may redshirt Robertson, Moore
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Published: September 24, 2008
Coach Jerry Moore of Appalachian State said that there is a good chance that running back Devon Moore and defensive end Tony Robertson could be redshirted as result of injuries they sustained in last Saturday's game against James Madison.
Moore injured an ankle and Robertson a foot, and both were scheduled for surgery this week and are expected to be out at least six weeks.
"I think a lot of it depends on how we're doing, what the circumstances are, and how quickly those injuries heal," Moore said. "And it would depend on how the other players are doing that we've replaced them with … We're set to go any direction with that, but probably leaning a little bit more toward the hardship."
Moore, a backup to Kevin Richardson the past two seasons, became the starting running back this season as a junior and has 897 career rushing yards. But the Mountaineers have considerable depth at running back and the loss of Moore is offset by the emergence of sophomore running back Robert Welton.
Welton is the team's top rusher through three games with 256 yards. He has scored six touchdowns and is averaging 9.1 yards a carry.
The loss of Robertson, and a bruised knee that has left the status of fellow starter Quavian Lewis uncertain for Saturday's game against Presbyterian, has left the Mountaineers with more uncertainty at defensive end.
Robertson is a junior who tied for the team lead with 5.5 sacks last season. Lewis, playing in his first season since transferring from Vanderbilt, leads the team in tackles for losses. The Mountaineers lost Gary Tharrington, a third-team All-American at defensive end last season, before the season because he was declared academic ineligible.
Much will now fall on less-experienced defensive ends, including sophomore Jabari Fletcher and freshman Lanston Tanyi.
"I think we're alright at defensive end," Moore said. "We've taken a couple of hits there but we think we've got some good young players and we're fetching them up, so to speak, and getting them ready to play. They've got decent size and they can run and they've had a lot of reps now. It's not like this happened during two a days. We feel relatively comfortable with those guys there."
■ Tommy Bowman can be reached at 727-7320 or at tbowman@wsjournal.com.
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