UM running back Cooper expected to play Saturday
RB COOPER EXPECTED TO PLAY SATURDAY
Here's some good news for UM, which netted minus-2 yards rushing at Virginia Tech last week: Coach Randy Shannon said Wednesday he expects running back Graig Cooper to play Saturday at Boston College.
''He's not hobbled,'' Shannon said of Graig Cooper, who practiced full-strength for the first time in a week. ``We did some cutting with the running backs. He was full-speed, full-go, he looked real good today.''
Here's some bad news for UM's defense: safety Kenny Phillips might not be available. Shannon said Phillips practiced ''halfway'' Wednesday, participating in passing situations, but missed ``the run game stuff.''
''That's not very good,'' Shannon said when asked if Phillips' partial practice was a bad sign. ``But at least he got some work done . . . he moved around pretty decent and stuff. That was the pleasing part. But we won't know until tomorrow if he's sore or not.''
Shannon also said defensive end Courtney Harris will not play and safety Joe Nicholas ``may be out.''
SHANNON DOES `HARD YARDS'
One of the lighter moments from the end of practice was seeing Shannon do his own punishment. Shannon spent several minutes doing ''hard yards,'' for an apparent mistake earlier this week when he yelled at one of his players for doing something wrong.
''He had ripped somebody on the field,'' guard Derrick Morse explained. ``It turns out the player was right. Once he watched film, [Shannon] realized he was right. He did the hard yards, five yards up and down the field. It was pretty funny.''
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