Jones back on field, to don new cast Thursday
In uniform two Saturdays ago, Roddy Jones was itching to get on the field and play.
But trainers and coaches felt otherwise and wanted to give him another week to fully heal from an offseason right wrist injury. So there he stood in his white No. 20 jersey cracking jokes with teammates, cheering for them and just doing anything he could to keep his anxiety down.
?Yeah, knowing I was able to play and everything, it really was frustrating,? Jones said Saturday morning, sporting a thin, white cast around his wrist, ?but I knew why we were doing it; for safety reasons. And just to get me a little more practice and to get my legs under me a bit more.?
So last Thursday, the speedy A-back took to the field for the first time this season and wasted no time getting in on the action.
After Georgia Tech?s first play against Clemson was negated on an interception by Tigers safety DeAndre McDaniel, Jones and the Yellow Jackets offense returned on its next series to break a big play.
As quarterback Josh Nesbitt prepared to deliver an option pitch to fellow A-back Anthony Allen, Jones went in for a hard block on a Clemson cornerback to get Allen loose.
?It was one of our basic option plays,? Jones said. ?We called a crack block with Bay-Bay (receiver Demaryius Thomas), and Bay-Bay went in and made a great block on the safety ? de-cleated the safety. And the corner fell in with Bay-Bay, and so I was able to hook him. And then Ant just did a great job getting downhill outrunning the defense.
?It ended up being a great first play for us and a great momentum builder.?
While Jones went on to end the night with just 11 yards rushing on five carries, the play still helped him get ready for the rest of the game.
?It helped my confidence a lot, and it really satisfied some of the hunger I had,? Jones said. ?I really wanted to go out and get a big block on one of the first plays, and to get a play like that and for me to have a block that kind of sprung it was really fortunate.?
Jones said that beginning this week, he?ll be wearing a new, lightweight cast for much of the season after donning his usual thick hard cast during last Thursday?s game.
?I might be able to wear a glove over it, and I?ll still have to get used to some of it like catching the footballs and tucking the footballs,? Jones said. ?That?s just some of the stuff I?ve got to work on because the strength isn?t there, but it?s something I?m working hard on.?
SHAW, MELTON UPDATES
Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson said Sunday that he expected sophomore quarterback Jaybo Shaw and receiver Tyler Melton to make their season debuts in time for the Yellow Jackets? next home game.
For Shaw, who broke a collarbone halfway through preseason camp, the Sept. 26 comeback will be sooner than expected.
An injury that has already kept him out just more than four weeks, it was believed that he would return in time for Oct. 3?s road contest at Mississippi State at the earliest.
Johnson said Shaw has been practicing in recent workouts, participating in non-contact exercises.
Melton, who has a knee injury, should also be OK to play in Georgia Tech?s Sept. 26 game against North Carolina, Johnson said.
In uniform two Saturdays ago, Roddy Jones was itching to get on the field and play.
But trainers and coaches felt otherwise and wanted to give him another week to fully heal from an offseason right wrist injury. So there he stood in his white No. 20 jersey cracking jokes with teammates, cheering for them and just doing anything he could to keep his anxiety down.
?Yeah, knowing I was able to play and everything, it really was frustrating,? Jones said Saturday morning, sporting a thin, white cast around his wrist, ?but I knew why we were doing it; for safety reasons. And just to get me a little more practice and to get my legs under me a bit more.?
So last Thursday, the speedy A-back took to the field for the first time this season and wasted no time getting in on the action.
After Georgia Tech?s first play against Clemson was negated on an interception by Tigers safety DeAndre McDaniel, Jones and the Yellow Jackets offense returned on its next series to break a big play.
As quarterback Josh Nesbitt prepared to deliver an option pitch to fellow A-back Anthony Allen, Jones went in for a hard block on a Clemson cornerback to get Allen loose.
?It was one of our basic option plays,? Jones said. ?We called a crack block with Bay-Bay (receiver Demaryius Thomas), and Bay-Bay went in and made a great block on the safety ? de-cleated the safety. And the corner fell in with Bay-Bay, and so I was able to hook him. And then Ant just did a great job getting downhill outrunning the defense.
?It ended up being a great first play for us and a great momentum builder.?
While Jones went on to end the night with just 11 yards rushing on five carries, the play still helped him get ready for the rest of the game.
?It helped my confidence a lot, and it really satisfied some of the hunger I had,? Jones said. ?I really wanted to go out and get a big block on one of the first plays, and to get a play like that and for me to have a block that kind of sprung it was really fortunate.?
Jones said that beginning this week, he?ll be wearing a new, lightweight cast for much of the season after donning his usual thick hard cast during last Thursday?s game.
?I might be able to wear a glove over it, and I?ll still have to get used to some of it like catching the footballs and tucking the footballs,? Jones said. ?That?s just some of the stuff I?ve got to work on because the strength isn?t there, but it?s something I?m working hard on.?
SHAW, MELTON UPDATES
Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson said Sunday that he expected sophomore quarterback Jaybo Shaw and receiver Tyler Melton to make their season debuts in time for the Yellow Jackets? next home game.
For Shaw, who broke a collarbone halfway through preseason camp, the Sept. 26 comeback will be sooner than expected.
An injury that has already kept him out just more than four weeks, it was believed that he would return in time for Oct. 3?s road contest at Mississippi State at the earliest.
Johnson said Shaw has been practicing in recent workouts, participating in non-contact exercises.
Melton, who has a knee injury, should also be OK to play in Georgia Tech?s Sept. 26 game against North Carolina, Johnson said.
