Marianna HS, Marianna, FLBy Heath A. Smith, DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
Florida A&M freshman running back Phillip Sylvester just may have sprinted to the the top of the depth chart with his performance in Saturday's scrimmage.
The former Marianna football and track standout rushed for 96 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries Saturday, showing the breakaway speed that head coach Rubin Carter coveted when he recruited him.
"Sylvester is exactly what we expected of him," Carter said. "He is going to be a good player for our team and for the conference. He has ability and the breakaway speed. He showed a lot of elusiveness today running the football."
A question mark heading into the 2006 season, FAMU's backfield suddenly seems loaded with talent, albeit mostly injured right now.
Sophomore Demitric Henry and senior Anthony Edwards shared much of the load in 2006 and were expected to compete for the starting job in preseason camp.
Henry has been nursing a sore hamstring, however, and Edwards has been battling soreness in his right foot. Both sat out Saturday's scrimmage along with redshirt-freshman Andre Jacobs, who had a strong spring.
Jacobs hurt his right knee in practice last week and his status is uncertain. Coming back from a season-ending knee injury last year is redshirt-junior Greg Arline, who was competing for the starting job heading into the 2006 season.
Arline and Sylvester both got work with the first-team offense in the first half of the scrimmage.
Sylvester rushed for 20 yards on four carries in the first half and had a 75-yard touchdown run called back because of holding.
"I guess I'm kind of used to it because last year I had about five of them called back that were over 60 yards," said Sylvester, who rushed for 1,369 yards at Marianna last year. "It felt good, though. The line was blocking really good. I've never ran behind a line like that.
"I really have to work on my technique and reads better. I'll gain more yards if I do that."
Sylvester exploded in the second half with the rest of the offense carrying the ball four times for gains of nine yards or more.
"He did real good," said senior receiver Willie Hayward. "He got a lot of speed and he showed me a lot of heart. He showed a lot of confidence in his game."
It will be interesting to see who starts in the backfield for the Rattlers in their first game September 1 against Southern in Birmingham, Ala. Whoever starts, Saturday's scrimmage showed the future may be now for Sylvester.
"He's a good kid," said senior quarterback Leon Camel. "He wants to learn so it's not going to be hard for him to catch onto the offense. He's a bright kid."
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