Blankenship on TU quarterback: ‘The jury is still out on Cody’
BY BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
Friday, October 26, 2012
Cody Green continues to make progress in his recovery from a throwing-shoulder injury, coach Bill Blankenship said today, but the University of Tulsa quarterback was limited in three practice sessions this week.
While the 6-foot-4, 245-pound junior is expected to play at Arkansas on Nov. 3 – in an 11:21 a.m. showdown at Razorback Stadium – Blankenship admitted that he remains “concerned” about Green.
“Dave (TU head trainer Dave Polanski) says he’s on progress, but until I see it with my eyes, I can’t affirm that Cody is ready because he hasn’t done it yet,” Blankenship said. “As we speak today, I haven’t seen Cody throw like he’s going to have to throw. But according to the trainer, he’s where he needs to be.”
“The jury is still out on Cody,” Blankenship added.
If Green is destined to start at Arkansas, Blankenship said, the TU coaches need to see him practice well on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Green sustained the injury during TU’s Oct. 6 victory at Marshall, but was able to play against UTEP five days later. He was sidelined, however, during last week’s 28-24 win over Rice. Golden Hurricane sophomore Kalen Henderson was 8-of-23 passing for 201 yards, with one touchdown pass against one interception.
In advance of its only open-date weekend of the regular season, the Hurricane had three practice sessions.
“I think our players feel really good about what they’re doing,” Blankenship said. “We asked them for a certain level of commitment in practice, and we got it in spades.”
With a seven-game win streak, Tulsa is 7-1 overall and 5-0 in Conference USA. After visiting Arkansas next week, the Hurricane plays at Houston on Nov. 10. On Saturday, Arkansas hosts Ole Miss.
The Razorbacks are 3-4 overall, 2-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
Also sidelined for the Rice game was Tulsa tailback Trey Watts, who was burdened by a lingering ankle injury and other health issues.
“Trey looked really fresh this week. He didn’t miss a beat,” Blankenship said. “Of course, he wasn’t getting hit, but his movement looked really good.
“We haven’t done much with Cody yet, and that’s intentional. He has thrown about 50 balls a day. It’s been very light. Trey has been full speed all week.”
