A shoulder injury has dealt Georgia Tech B-back Zach Laskey an unfortunate cut.
Laskey, who has Pittsburgh roots, will not play in the Yellow Jackets’ game Saturday at Pittsburgh because of an injury suffered in Tech’s loss to North Carolina. After Monday’s practice, coach Paul Johnson said he is ruled out for the game.
“You hurt for him, because he’s a guy that puts so much into it,” quarterback and B-backs coach Bryan Cook said. “It means a lot to him – that’s a place that he’s from – and I’m sure he had a lot of people coming.”
Laskey started the first seven games of the season and has run for 595 yards on 120 carries, a 5.0 yards-per-carry average. His 85.0 yards per game average is fifth in the ACC. He has been credited with only two yards for loss this season, testament to his hard-charging running form.
Tech has three possibilities to replace Laskey. Synjyn Days was his backup for the first six games, but was moved back to A-back, where he played 2012-13, prior to the North Carolina game. Matt Connors was the No. 3 behind Laskey and Days and moved up to No. 2 last week. C.J. Leggett is a first-year freshman who has yet to play, although Johnson has been keeping an eye on him to see if he is ready to contribute enough to merit removing his redshirt.
“We’ll have a guy that can play in there,” Johnson said. “I feel good about it.”
Days, while lacking Laskey’s experience, is bigger than Laskey and runs at a low pad level, making it hard for him to be tackled. Connors, like Days a senior, has ample knowledge of the offense. Leggett lacks experience but is considered an explosive player.
“C.J. will determine whether he plays or not,” Johnson said.
Days said he traded text messages with Laskey and asked him how he could honor him if he scored a touchdown. Laskey responded told him to point to his shoulder and make the No. 1 sign with his index finger.
“It (stinks) that Zach got hurt and banged up, but I know he’s a great player, and I know he’ll come back strong,” Days said. “Hopefully I do justice in his name doing B-back.”
About the Author
