Renewed by a 34-6 victory over Richmond Saturday but uncertain about his team's health, Virginia football coach George Welsh spoke about his squad's outlook at a press conference yesterday.
Sophomore running back Arlen Harris continues to recover from last week's knee surgery and will not play Saturday against Duke. Sophomore linebacker Devon "Boo" Battle will also miss the game, though he has been attending practice.
Junior running back Tyree Foreman and freshman defensive lineman Larry Simmons also are uncertain for the Duke game. Foreman complained of stiffness in his knee and is awaiting an MRI. Simmons also suffered a knee injury Saturday.
"The word that the trainer told me was that [Simmons' knee] didn't look good, and when the trainer says that, that usually means several weeks," Welsh said. "But they always wait until they get an MRI."
Offensive lineman Josh Lawson, cornerback Tim Spruill and linebacker Yubrenal Isabelle will return from injuries this week. Lawson starts practice today and Spruill likely will play Saturday while fighting off turf toe.
Isabelle has a slight knee sprain, but according to Welsh, "he told me this morning he's ready to go," and is expected to play Saturday. "He's the kind of guy who wants to play with broken legs."
Sophomore safety Jermaine Lauzon remains day-to-day with a pulled hamstring. Welsh mentioned the possibility of a medical redshirt for Lauzon, though he has been practicing as a quarterback with the scout team.
As for the Spiders, Welsh said while most fans were confident the Cavs had the game in hand at 34-0, he was careful not to take the Division I-AA opponent too lightly.
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However, Welsh had to admit that the Cavaliers' tackling and pursuit on defense was far better than in the loss to BYU.
But it is too bad there weren't many people there to see the improvement. Attendance for Saturday's game was down more than 10,000 from last week.
"I thought the crowd was all right until the second half when it looked like they all disappeared," Welsh said.
Welsh mentioned the policies of other stadiums where crowds are not allowed to leave during the half, and asserted, "I don't think they should be."
However, he also said his team should not rely on the crowd, especially when its first away game is this Saturday in Durham, N.C.
Welsh also broke down Georgia Tech's penalty-heavy 26-21 loss to Florida State Saturday: "You can't have your hangnail in the neutral zone now on defense or they're gonna call it," he said. "But I can't understand 30 penalties"
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