FROM THE SPORTING NEWS: Late returns: key players coming back from injury April 15, 2002 Print it The play still is fresh in Virginia Tech running back Lee Suggs' mind. The sun was shining on Lane Stadium for the Hokies' 2001 season opener against Connecticut. During a third-quarter romp around the left end, Suggs' left knee buckled. He flopped in a heap. His season followed, as he had torn his ACL and medial meniscus. Suggs doesn't like to talk about it. He would rather tell you how he is making progress with the knee, how he is ready to show he still has the stuff that made him one of the nation's top running backs in 2000, when he led the country in scoring (15.3 ppg) and touchdowns (28) en route to rushing for 1,207 yards and getting Big East co-offensive player of the year honors. "(My knee) is feeling really good," he says. "I got hit there (in our first scrimmage). I wasn't fearful. My first thought was, 'It didn't hurt.' I got hit and I didn't feel anything." His contact work this spring is being limited, but it is important that the 6-0, 201-pounder is out there taking a few hits so his psyche heals as well as his knee apparently has. With Suggs healthy, the Hokies will boast one of the nation's best tailback tandems. Sophomore Kevin Jones was the conference rookie of the year in 2001 after rushing for 957 yards. Suggs is one of several key players working out the kinks this spring after missing more than half of last season because of injury. These players figure to have the biggest impacts upon their return:
I can't wait either! I can't even wait until the Spring Game to see who is gaining an edge in some of the battles for starting OL, DL, and LB, and seeing how Mauck and Randall are going to look in game situation. I'm pumped! September 1 is only about 18 weeks away. It'll be here . . .
