Defensive lineman Patrick Gamble also out for Georgia Tech vs. Duke
Defensive lineman Patrick Gamble can be added to the list of Georgia Tech players who will be sidelined by injury for Saturday’s ACC opener at Duke.
Gamble was ruled out with a head injury in the team’s Thursday injury report. Coach Paul Johnson had previously announced that A-back Qua Searcy (ankle) and wide receiver Micheal Summers (shoulder) were not going to play because of injuries suffered at Notre Dame last Saturday. It’s not clear when Gamble suffered his injury.
That’s two starters (Gamble and Summers) out plus Searcy, part of the A-back rotation and one of the most productive players at that position. Additionally, starting defensive end Rod Rook-Chungong (shoulder) is listed as questionable.
First-year freshman Brad Stewart is expected to replace Summers in the lineup at receiver for his first career start. Jabari Hunt is the likely starter at defensive tackle in Gamble’s place. If Rook-Chungong doesn’t play, Antonio Simmons will likely replace him in the lineup and make his first career start.
The injuries will shorten Tech’s rotation at those positions or cause coaches to go deeper into the depth chart. At defensive end, for instance, Rook-Chungong, Simmons and KeShun Freeman played in a rotation at Notre Dame. The most likely options would be to ask Freeman and Simmons to significantly increase their load or depend on Tyler Stargel or Anree Saint-Amour. Saint-Amour, a first-year freshman, did not get into the Notre Dame game and Stargel’s role is largely on special teams.
One notable absence from the report is A-back Broderick Snoddy, who left the Notre Dame game with an undisclosed injury and did not practice Monday but is evidently healthy.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
