Georgia State coach Trent Miles wasn’t kidding by much when he joked on Monday that he had a half a team intact after Saturday’s 45-14 loss at Washington.
Scheduled for MRIs on Monday because of injured knees sustained in that game are running backs Kyler Neal and Jonathan Jean-Bart and outside linebacker Mackendy Cheridor.
Miles said he has “major concerns” for those players.
Neal, a starter, has rushed for 209 yards and a touchdown this year. A sophomore, Neal can’t redshirt this year because his injury occurred in the fourth game, past the quarter-mark allowed by the NCAA.
Cheridor, also a starter and sophomore, has 13 tackles and a sack this season. If he can’t go, Melvin King, also nursing a minor injury, will likely move into the starting lineup.
Jean-Bart, a sophomore, re-injured the same knee that he injured as a senior at Henry County High School in 2011.
Players who won’t be able to practice this week because of minor injuries, but who should be able to play in next week’s game at Louisiana-Lafayette, are defensive backs Chandon Sullivan and Antreal Allen, wide receiver Donovan Harden and defensive lineman Carnell Hopson.
The team will be boosted by the return of running back Gerald Howse, who hasn’t played this season because of a broken hand sustained in August, and offensive lineman Taylor Evans (shoulder), who will practice this week in no-contact drills, but who should be cleared for the game against the Cajuns.
Howse can challenge Krysten Hammon, Duvall Smith and Dontavis Crocker for carries at running back. Hammon was suspended for the game against Air Force and didn’t travel with the team to Washington. He is Georgia State’s second-leading rusher with 197 yards and two touchdowns.
