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| Roelle |
"I'm sure he is (frustrated)," Dean said. "Anybody that is a wide receiver wants to catch the football."
Roelle missed the Blazers' season opener Sept. 1 with a hamstring and quad injury that has continued to nag him through this point of the season. He has dressed in both the Blazers' last two games, seeing minimal action and failing to record a catch.
"He missed the first game so he has really only played two (games)," Dean said. "But yeah, he doesn't have a catch right now."
At Tuesday's practice, Roelle was not seen participating in passing skeleton, a portion of practice that features the starting offensive skill players competing against the defensive skill players. Instead, Dean said Roelle was working "mental reps" on the sideline because of his nagging injury.
"It is one of those deals where with his injury, you can't do a whole bunch," Dean said. "He kind of took a lot of mental reps on the sideline."
Along with his injury, Roelle is also seeing limited action because he plays the same position as fellow junior wide receiver Gerald Ford, the two-time Gulf South Conference Offensive Player of the Week, that has stepped up and become the go-to target for quarterback Cayden Cochran.
Through the first three games, Ford has hauled in a team-high 17 catches for a team-leading 331 yards and five touchdowns, which also leads the team.
"Well right now, (Roelle) is playing behind a guy that has been, for two weeks in a row, the Gulf South Conference Player of the Week," Dean said. "It is hard to step up in front of a guy that is playing that well."
Roelle joined the Blazers in 2010. As a freshman, he recorded nine catches for 133 yards with a touchdown in just five games. He missed the final six games of the year with a broken collarbone. Last year, Roelle implemented himself into the offense, making himself a viable weapon for the Blazers. He led the team with 35 catches for 395 yards with a pair of touchdowns. He also returned five kickoffs for 55 yards with no touchdowns.
