WSSU Rams' tailback depth to be tested

Photo: Winston-Salem State's Jed Bines (1) suffered a high-ankle sprain against Morgan State.

By John Dell, Winston Salem Journal

McRae out for season with broken wrist; Bines questionable for Saturday

With the exception of minor bumps and bruises, Winston-Salem State’s football players stayed healthy through their first two games of the season.

That all changed in Saturday’s 19-17 win over Morgan State, and the Rams played the second half without their two top running backs, Brandon McRae and Jed Bines.

McRae, the team’s leading rusher last season with 623 yards, suffered a broken wrist and is out for the rest of the season.

Bines suffered a high-ankle sprain in the first quarter and did not return. He is questionable for Saturday’s game at South Carolina State.

Coach Kermit Blount said that adjusting to the injuries this week will be a primary focus heading into Saturday’s game.

“We’ll know by (today) or Thursday if Jed can get back on the field,” Blount said. Bines missed practice Monday and yesterday and is wearing a protective boot on his left ankle.

Bines said he hasn’t missed a game because of an injury since his senior year at Parkland in 2002, and plans to play Saturday. He did miss all of last season because he was academically ineligible.

“It’s getting better by the day, and I’ve been doing a lot of treatments with our trainer (Darrell Turner),” Bines said of his ankle. “I think the way it stands now is, I’ll try to run on it a little bit on Thursday to see how it responds.”

Blount sounded optimistic that Bines, who needs just 18 yards to reach 3,000 for his career, could return this week.

“It’s going to be hard to keep him out because he’s such a competitor, and I know he wants to play,” Blount said.

With Bines and McRae sharing time, the tailback position was one of the Rams’ strongest assets. That’s no longer the case.

Rod Fluellen, who was a reserve tailback last season but was moved to slotback this season, will likely be the starter on Saturday even if Bines can play.

Fluellen moved to tailback in the second half against Morgan State but had just 10 carries for 20 yards.

Blount said that freshman Nic Copper, one of the Rams’ top signings who was expected to redshirt this season, will travel to Orangeburg on Saturday. Copper, 6-0 and 220 pounds, starred for Clinton High School where he ran for more than 2,000 yards as a junior. Cooper hasn’t played this season but has excelled on the scout team during practice.

“It’s kind of up in the air to see how things play out this week in practice,” Blount said.

Blount said that the rest of his team is healthy.

“This is going to be probably a more physical game than the Morgan State game,” Blount said, “so we’ll need to be a full strength.”

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