Whitehurst Missed Practice Time Before Tech Game

by Dan Scott - Correspondent - Sun Oct 30 15:50:02 GMT-04:00 2005

CLEMSON - If Charlie Whitehurst appeared rusty in Saturday's 10-9 loss at Georgia Tech, there may be good reason.

According to head coach Tommy Bowden, Whitehurst missed practice time last week with a sore right (throwing) shoulder. Bowden insisted the soreness is nothing unusual.

"When I had Shaun King (at Tulane) and we did a lot of throwing he would get a little sore," Bowden said. "It happened with Woody Dantzler, too. I can even go back to Damien Craig and Patrick Nix at Auburn. It's not uncommon at toward end of season to have a little soreness. It's nothing out of the ordinary."

Perhaps not, but apparently the missed repetitions led to Whitehurst having occasional trouble making correct reads on certain routes.

Bowden cited one example which occurred in the second quarter Saturday. Without going into specifics, he recalled one particular route called for which Proctor - not Whitehurst - had taken every snap during practice.

"In a tight game, where preparation is of the essence, if you miss some reps that can make a difference," Bowden said. "If it continues to be this way, that's when Will would become more of a factor. He's prepared to play. We'll just have to see how much time Charlie has to have off during the week.

One would think, then, that there might have been discussion during the game about playing Proctor. But Bowden said that wasn't the case. Bowden did say that offensive coordinator Rob Spence has talked in recent weeks about finding playing time for Proctor, but the head coach said he has consistently vetoed the idea.

Why?

"More than anything because he's (Whitehurst) a fifth-year senior," said Bowden. "But I forget sometimes we're in a new offense."

NOTES

- Bowden is displeased with the continued trend of offensive penalties, several of which came at inopportune times Saturday.

"They're (almost) all nailed down to one position (tight end). I think Bobby (Williamson) had one, Thomas Hunter had two, and Cole (Downer) didn't get on the field for one."

- A poor first punt had Cole Chason's job perhaps hanging in the balance Saturday. But the two which followed - including a booming kick from the back of his own end zone - earned Chason a bit of breathing room.

"That's what he's capable of doing. He just needs to be consistent," Bowden said.