A Need for Depth: WSSU is short on receivers after injuries

By: By John Dell | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: October 06, 2008

Winston-Salem State finally had something good happen to it on Saturday night, but that doesn't mean it was all good.

Senior Bryant Bayne, the team's best wide receiver, suffered a broken ankle and is likely out for the season. Bayne leads the Rams with 26 catches and, before he left the game late in the first half, was having his career game with four catches for 150 yards.

"We hate that because Bryant had an excellent game for us tonight and was having a heck of a senior season," Coach Kermit Blount said after Saturday's 34-10 win against Howard.

The Rams were already without wide receiver Brent Thomas for the second straight game after he suffered a concussion against Morgan State on Sept. 20. With Bayne out and Thomas likely out for Thursday's game at Florida A&M, the Rams are suddenly short on receivers.

Freshman Dominique Fitzgerald has started to come into his own. Mike Scarborough, a fifth-year senior, along with Brian Wynn, will have to pick up the slack in Bayne's absence.

Quarterback Jarrett Dunston had his best game, passing for 248 yards and two touchdowns and running for another touchdown. He said that the Rams have capable replacements for Bayne.

"We have a few guys that can step up with Dominique Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Barr and we have some slot guys who can help us as well," Dunston said. "And we should get (Thomas) in the next game or so and that will help."

What helped the Rams on Saturday in getting their first win of the season was a solid effort from the much-maligned offensive line. Senior tackle Joe Blanks said he could tell early that the line was going to dominate the smaller Bison defensive line.

"We had a solid week of practice and we were all on the same page as far as our assignments," Blanks said about the resurgent offensive line that helped the Rams generate a season-high 429 yards of offense. "Everybody was just clicking together.… You could just tell we were going to have a good game."

After committing 15 turnovers through four games, the offensive line gave Dunston plenty of time to throw and he responded. The Rams were playing without their best running back, Nic Cooper, who dressed for the game but didn't play because of disciplinary reasons.

Aaron Federspiel, the offensive-line coach, said that his unit produced because of an attitude adjustment.

"We talked all week how we've struggled with just assignments and technique as well as our overall attitude and swagger," Federspiel said. "The swagger is starting to come back and we played with an attitude and that made a world of difference."

To put what the Rams did into perspective, they had gone 0-4 and scored a total of 45 points in those four losses. On Saturday they nearly equaled their scoring output in one game with the 34 points.

Despite putting together their best game of the season the Rams didn't get to enjoy it very long. They were back at practice yesterday in preparation for playing on Thursday night on ESPNU against Florida A&M.

"We got a win and there's a whole different atmosphere in that locker room," Blanks said after Saturday's win. "It was nice to see guys smiling in there."

Earlier this season Blount had singled out the offensive line for its lack of production. On Saturday night he praised the line.

"They played much better," Blount said. "In hindsight as I look back we had a great week of practice, and that's where it starts. If we can continue to do that we'll be OK.

"We still have a lot of injuries and we still have to overcome those but if we do we'll be fine."

■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com.