Junior wide receiver Griffin Roelle practiced at full speed Tuesday after being hampered by a nagging hamstring injury. Roelle, who led the team in receptions with 35 receptions in 2011, told The Valdosta Daily Times Saturday that he was around 85 percent. Head coach David Dean is optimistic that Roelle will be 100 percent by the Blazers' season opener Sept. 1 against Saginaw Valley State. Dean is also optimistic that Roelle will scrimmage in VSU's final scrimmage of the fall Friday night.
"He is able to go through everything," Dean said. "He is not able to go the entire practice because it gets kind of tight on him. So we are being very cautious with him. But it is good to have him back, his leadership back. I think he will be ready towards the end of the week, and I think he will be able to scrimmage Friday night."
Roelle was seen catching passes and returning punts at Tuesday's practice.
Defense looking to rebound in scrimmage
The starting Blazer offense dominated the first scrimmage of the fall Saturday, especially quarterback Cayden Cochran. Friday could be a different story."What I told (the defense) was just make sure they don't give up the big plays," Dean said. "They gave up too many big plays, and then tackling better. We can't give up extra yards. I'm sure our defensive coaches got in their ear pretty good. That was not a typical defensive scrimmage that we had."
