Matt Rhule mentioned yesterday that wide receiver Brodrick Yancy has recovered well from the injury he sustained at Cincinnati two weeks ago that led him to be stabilized and immobilized while being carted off the field. "We're hopeful he'll play against Charlotte," Rhule said.
When I asked Rhule if there are other players on the verge of contributing or seeing more snaps, he talked about how they want to get more backs involved in the running game considering Thomas has worn down and fumbled in consecutive weeks to create turnovers that almost lost both games. Rhule then mentioned Ryquell Armstead and Jager Gardner. He did not mention T.J. Simmons.
So it sure seems Simmons is the fourth back in the mix right now. It's not uncommon at all for a highly-recruited player to not start or play right away or even get redshirted, but I am curious about how Simmons will respond. Although Rhule didn't say anything more than that Simmons was banged up during camp, a source familiar with the situation said Simmons did suffer a concussion at one point, and that slowed his progress, so that's a tough break and would perhaps explain why Rhule didn't get into specifics about his injury.
After seeing some special teams snaps at Cincinnati, Simmons did not travel to UMass. I think Thomas came out of the gate better than even the coaches expected, but it's still clear they need to build depth and options behind him. And for now, it seems Armstead and Gardner are ahead of Simmons in that mix. The bye week and the team they take to Charlotte will likely tell us a lot about where Simmons stands.
When I asked Rhule if there are other players on the verge of contributing or seeing more snaps, he talked about how they want to get more backs involved in the running game considering Thomas has worn down and fumbled in consecutive weeks to create turnovers that almost lost both games. Rhule then mentioned Ryquell Armstead and Jager Gardner. He did not mention T.J. Simmons.
So it sure seems Simmons is the fourth back in the mix right now. It's not uncommon at all for a highly-recruited player to not start or play right away or even get redshirted, but I am curious about how Simmons will respond. Although Rhule didn't say anything more than that Simmons was banged up during camp, a source familiar with the situation said Simmons did suffer a concussion at one point, and that slowed his progress, so that's a tough break and would perhaps explain why Rhule didn't get into specifics about his injury.
After seeing some special teams snaps at Cincinnati, Simmons did not travel to UMass. I think Thomas came out of the gate better than even the coaches expected, but it's still clear they need to build depth and options behind him. And for now, it seems Armstead and Gardner are ahead of Simmons in that mix. The bye week and the team they take to Charlotte will likely tell us a lot about where Simmons stands.
