The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central. The two rivals have both suffered more than their fair share of injuries during the first quarter of the season.
The first three weeks have seen several players lost for the entire season already. The Eagles lost defensive back Mike Jones and receiver Khalil Stinson for the season against Florida International. Despite the misfortune of losing a staring receiver and the team’s top defensive back and punt returner in Jones, Mack says there’s no reason to panic.
“The challenge for our team going forward is to replace a guy like Jones, a guy like Khalil Stinson,” Mack said during the MEAC weekly teleconference. “We’re beat up a little bit, but nothing is too major.”
Mack said that the extra week off will help him get an idea of who would be able to step up and fill in for the shoes of the injured.
The Aggies have had it even worse in the injury department. Head coach Rod Broadway says that five players are out for the year, and five more players wouldn’t be ready if his team had to play this week.
“We’re not Ohio State, we can’t go three deep,” Broadway said when asked how the injuries would effect his team.
The receiver position has taken the most hits for A&T, as the team has already lost three players at that position for an extended period of time.
“The only choice we got is coach up the guys that are coming in behind them,” Broadway said. “Second-teamers don’t play like first-teamers, so we’ve got to coach those guys up.”