Harmon battles back
Notebook: FAU tight end Jason Harmon responds after being thrown into extra duty when starter Jamari Grant was injured
Originally published on
9/26/2009
by
Marcus Nelson
FORT LAUDERDALE – Florida Atlantic senior tight end Jason Harmon wanted to get back into the gameplan for the Owls’ offense.
This just wasn’t the way he wanted to do it,
Harmon missed most of this week with the flu, but didn’t have much of a choice to become a focal part of the offense after starter Jamari Grant re-injured his left ankle in the first quarter and didn’t return to the game.
With Grant sidelined, Harmon responded with a 11 catches and 132 yards receiving – both career highs.
“I was pretty prepared, but I was winded at the end because we only have two tight ends and we run a lot of ‘Moose’ with two tight ends,” said Harmon who missed all of last season after undergoing knee surgery. “It was a little hard to breathe out there.”
FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger knew he was asking a lot from Harmon.
“He ran out of gas and that was too bad,” Schnellenberger said. “Jason played well, but he’s not anywhere close to being back to being himself. He’s hurt and a little bit out of shape. He needs time like the other guys do to get back to being a well-conditioned athelete.”
Schnellenberger did not reveal the seriousness of Grant’s injury.
Morris' day: It was also a big day for redshirt sophomore running back Alfred Morris, who scored his first career touchdown and rushed for 122 yards against ULM’s 3-3-5 defense.
“It really didn’t cause too many problems,” Morris said. “It actually kind of helped. They really didn’t have any up-front guys so the holes were there.”
Last season FAU had its first 1,000 yard rusher in program history when Charles Pierre ran for 1,040 yards. After three games this season Morris has 296 yards rushing and is on pace to break a school record with 1,184 yards this season.
“He’s a very young guy ,” Schnellenberger said. “This is his first year of playing and it’s just his third game. You can imagine how much more savvy he’s going to become as he plays more and how much more impact he’s going to have on our team.”
Lineup notes: Safety Marcus Bartels started for the fist time in his career. Bartels’ brother Kris also played for the Owls from 2003-07. They are the first brothers to start for FAU. ...Wide receiver Avery Holley started in place of Lester Jean, who also had the flu this week.