LARAMIE, Wyo. -- Wyoming running back Ivan Harrison said he
may not be able to play until Oct. 1 because of his repaired right
knee, which is keeping him largely on the sidelines.
Instead of participating in team drills during practice this
week, Harrison has been restricted to such things as agility drills
and running ropes.
The 5-foot-7, 190-pound junior from Kansas City underwent two
offseason surgeries to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his
knee and to repair an injured right shoulder.
"The shoulder feels good. It just amounts to getting the pads
on and taking a hit," Harrison said following Wednesday's
practice. "The knee is not really bothering me. It's just getting
the strength back. I'm probably 75 to 80 percent right now."
Harrison said he doesn't like standing on the sideline, but he
understands his knee needs more time.
"I'm not going to rush back too early and risk injuring it
again," Harrison said.
Harrison is coming off a sophomore season where he started all
10 games in which he played. Harrison missed home games with Ole
Miss and Louisiana-Monroe after spraining his left shoulder in a
31-0 loss at Texas A&M in the second game of the season.
He then returned and shared the running back spot with Joseph
Harris, who is also recovering from offseason knee surgery. Harris,
who re-injured his knee while rehabbing at home this summer, is not
as far along as Harrison.
Overall, Harrison carried the ball 159 times for 587 yards, an
average of 3.7 yards per try, and scored five touchdowns. Harris
finished with 409 yards in 94 attempts (4.4 average) and four
touchdowns.
Harrison tore his ACL during the second quarter of Wyoming's Las
Vegas Bowl game with UCLA.
"I made a cut, the same cut I've probably made a thousand times
before, and I felt something go," Harrison recalled. "It just
gave out on a plant nobody hit me or anything."
Harrison anticipates returning to action possibly as early as
Sept. 17 for the Air Force game in Colorado Springs, but he's aware
that he could be out until the Oct. 1 game with UNLV.
As Harrison waits, a foursome of less experienced backs -- junior
Alex Renshaw, redshirt freshmen Wynel Seldon and Devin Moore and
true freshman J.R. Moore -- is battling it out for the starting job.
"The young guys are looking good," Harrison said. "Wynel,
Devin, Alex and J.R. are all doing well. We'll be OK there."
UW practiced on its new artificial turf in War Memorial Stadium
for the first time on Wednesday.