As bad as Saturday’s 51-7 loss to Virginia Tech was, it might not have been the Syracuse football team’s biggest loss.

Running back Damien Rhodes will not play Saturday against Boston College after injuring his left ankle against the Hokies. Rhodes’s playing status beyond Saturday is uncertain.

‘There’s no sense in trying to play him,’ SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. ‘We’ll re-evaluate his injury next week.’

Pasqualoni decided to sit Rhodes after doctors reviewed X-rays of Rhodes’s ankle earlier this week. Rhodes has fought an injury to his left ankle all season, but the injury he suffered at Tech is a new, different injury.

Rhodes said he hurt the ankle as Tech defensive tackle Darryl Tapp dragged him to the ground on a fumbled third-quarter carry.

‘Here we go again,’ Rhodes said Tuesday, a cast-like boot on his left foot and crutches at his side. ‘I was trying to get myself up and I couldn’t do it.’

Saturday’s game against Boston College will be the second he’s missed this season. After the original injury occurred this preseason, Rhodes played against North Carolina and Louisville but was visibly affected by the injury.

After further injuring the ankle against Louisville, Rhodes sat out against Central Florida and returned a week later at full strength against Toledo. Before playing against Toledo, Rhodes, a sophomore, could have been redshirted. The topic was never broached, though, and Rhodes said he didn’t want to redshirt.

‘It’s never been brought up,’ Rhodes said. ‘No one expected me to get hurt again. It’s part of the game.’

In the last game Rhodes sat out, junior Walter Reyes received a career-high 31 carries and rushed for a Carrier Dome-record 241 yards and four touchdowns. Against BC, either Reyes will again shoulder a full load or backup Tim Washington will pitch in.

‘We’ll have to wait and see on Saturday,’ Reyes said. ‘I would think (Washington) would get some action.’

Besides affecting SU’s running-back rotation, Rhodes’s injury is starting to frustrate the sophomore from Manlius.

‘He’s down,’ Reyes said. ‘He’s been messing around with this injury for a while. I wish he could be out there with me. That’s my partner.’

Switching sides

Marcus Clayton can’t imagine what it would be like to catch a pass on a college football field. He better start trying.

Clayton, a true freshman defensive back and punt returner, moved to wide receiver. He played just one snap against Virginia Tech on Saturday but says the switch should lead to more playing time.

‘I wanted to go to receiver, really,’ Clayton said. ‘I might get more action at receiver than at defensive back.’

At 5 feet, 6 inches and 164 pounds, Clayton fits the mold of Jamel Riddle, SU’s leading receiver last season. He has a sub-4.3-second time in the 40-yard dash and has shown big-play potential with his quickness.

‘He’s very fast and has great hands,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘He has very good potential. He’s one of the freshmen we’re most impressed with.’

Learning a new position in midseason means it could be a while before that potential is fully realized. Pasqualoni asked Clayton to switch during the week leading up to SU’s game against Toledo three weeks ago. Since then, he’s had to bury his eyes in SU’s thick playbook with the help of Rashard Williams, another diminutive SU receiver.

‘Offensive plays are way harder than defensive plays,’ Clayton said. ‘It’s just hard, like exams during school.’

Clayton, who played wide-out at Amos P. Godby High School with SU freshman Landel Bembo, said he’s not finished with cornerback yet. After all, his role model is Deion Sanders, whom his father, William Evers, played with on the Atlanta Falcons in the early 1990s.

‘I hope I play both ways,’ Clayton said. ‘I want to do what they do, break some records, set some history.’

Still healing

Jameel Dumas practiced this week and might return to play Boston College on Saturday, Pasqualoni said. He said he’ll have to ‘wait and see’ until a decision is made.

Dumas, a senior outside linebacker, hasn’t played since the end of SU’s 49-47 triple-overtime win at North Carolina on Sept. 6, when he injured his left knee.

‘He practiced (yesterday) and ran around,’ Pasqualoni said.

Johnnie Morant, who’s been dealing with a nagging left ankle injury for four weeks, reinjured the ankle Saturday. He’ll probably play Saturday against Boston College, Pasqualoni said.

This and that

A final decision concerning Riddle’s eligibility is ‘very close’ to happening, Pasqualoni said. He said he’ll find out at the end of this week. … Syracuse, which received votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for two weeks, got no recognition this week. Boston College received three votes.

Published on October 14, 2003 at 12:00 pm