Tech’s Roddy Jones optimistic he’ll start season

Roddy Jones said on Monday that he’s optimistic that he will be able to play in Georgia Tech’s season-opener against Jacksonville State on Sept. 5.

Jones, who rushed for 690 yards and four touchdowns last season, dislocated his right wrist doing a power clean weightlifting exercise in mid-June.

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Johnny Crawford/jcrawford@ajc.com

Tech A-back Roddy Jones injured his wrist weightlifting in offseason.

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“Kind of one of those freak accidents,” said Jones, a 5-9, 192-pound A-back.

During the power clean, the weightlifter snatches the weight off the floor and brings it up to his chest. On his last rep of the day, Jones had lifted 325 and was putting it on the rack when his elbow hit his thigh as he was lowering the bar. The sudden stop, combined with the momentum of the weight, bent his wrist back.

“I’ve been power-cleaning since I was 13 or 14 years old and never had a problem with it,” said Jones, a graduate of Chamblee High.

He is wearing a black brace and said he’s not in any pain. If, for some reason, he isn’t cleared for Jacksonville State, he said he will be back for the Clemson game on Sept. 10.

Now, Jones said he’s learning to write left-handed (he laughed and said he’s up to about a fifth-grade level). He said he will wear a red jersey, which signifies an injured player, when practice starts on Aug. 3. He said he can participate in the non-contact drills and exercises, as long as he doesn’t fall down.