TicketsBy Bill Koch
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI – The wait is finally over for University of Cincinnati running back Gerrid Doaks and quarterback Ross Trail.
Both players have been biding their time as they healed from injuries that occurred late in the preseason and both have reached the stage in their recoveries where they could make a significant impact on the Bearcats' offense this week when they play at rival Miami.
Doaks, a 6-foot, 222-pound redshirt freshman from Indianapolis, made his first appearance of the season last week at Michigan and gained 15 yards on his first career carry.
"It was a quick outside zone," Doaks said. "I saw I was outrunning their outside linebacker and once I got past him I saw a whole lot of open field, so I just got vertical, like how my running game is. It was downhill and I took it. It was one of those moments when you get to the sidelines, you're like, man, that was my first college carry and it was pretty good."
Doaks finished with 25 yards on six carries. After the game and at his weekly press conference Tuesday, UC coach Luke Fickell said Doaks will assume a larger role beginning this week against the RedHawks.
"We had a plan for him all through spring ball," Fickell said. "We had a big plan for him going in. It was just unfortunate that he hurt his elbow three weeks ago so that plan had to change a little bit. So it was finally the first week where he was actually able to get back in there and do some things for us."
Doaks, who said he tore ligaments and had a slight fracture to his left elbow during the final week of the preseason, is a bigger, more physical back than Boone, who has gained 144 yards in two games, with an 4.6-yard per carry on 31 carries. Assuming that Boone is OK after twisting an ankle in the final play of the Michigan game, he's expected to get the bulk of the carries.
But Doaks will assume a larger role as his backup.
"He gives us a little bit of a different punch," Fickell said. "There's a lot of plays back there. If you don't have three of those guys throughout the entire season you're gonna struggle. So we know we need to get him back and we're excited to have him back."
Trail, who played in four games last year and started two, has yet to get on the field this season after a pre-season battle with Hayden Moore for the starting position, with Moore getting the nod. Almost a month has passed since Trail strained a muscle.
Fickell said Tuesday there's "a very good chance" Trail will play this week, but he didn't specify how much he'll play or at what point he'll enter the game.
"The game will dictate that as well as how he does this week in practice," Fickell said. "He missed four weeks of practice, so even if he's healthy that doesn't mean he's ready to go. It's based on how sharp he is and knocking the rust off of being out four weeks."
Trail said the injury is the first one he's had since he incurred a hairline fracture in his hand in the seventh grade. He still doesn't know how this one happened. He was simply throwing a pass when he felt it while the Bearcats were still out at Camp Higher Ground in West Harrison, Ind.
"I was just doing what I do every day," he said. "It was just a regular throw. It's been frustrating. Not only physically is it frustrating that you can't go out there and be with your guys, but mentally just feeling like you're on an island, coming out here every day having to lock in and take mental reps. It's something you've got to do and I did a really good job of it and I feel really good coming back. I'm excited. I'm out there practicing with goose bumps because I haven't played for a while. It's exciting to be back and I couldn't be happier."
Trail, from Wynne, Ark., is considered a more mobile quarterback than Moore, although it should be noted that Moore had a 46-yard run last week at Michigan.
The hope is that Doaks – and maybe Trail – depending on how the game unfolds Saturday in Oxford, could put a jolt into a UC offense that ranks last in the American Athletic Conference in total offense with 224 yards per game and ninth in scoring with 20 points per game.
"I've been waiting for the chance to come out here and show what I can do and contribute to my team," Doaks said.
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January, 2015.
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI – The wait is finally over for University of Cincinnati running back Gerrid Doaks and quarterback Ross Trail.
Both players have been biding their time as they healed from injuries that occurred late in the preseason and both have reached the stage in their recoveries where they could make a significant impact on the Bearcats' offense this week when they play at rival Miami.
Doaks, a 6-foot, 222-pound redshirt freshman from Indianapolis, made his first appearance of the season last week at Michigan and gained 15 yards on his first career carry.
"It was a quick outside zone," Doaks said. "I saw I was outrunning their outside linebacker and once I got past him I saw a whole lot of open field, so I just got vertical, like how my running game is. It was downhill and I took it. It was one of those moments when you get to the sidelines, you're like, man, that was my first college carry and it was pretty good."
Doaks finished with 25 yards on six carries. After the game and at his weekly press conference Tuesday, UC coach Luke Fickell said Doaks will assume a larger role beginning this week against the RedHawks.
"We had a plan for him all through spring ball," Fickell said. "We had a big plan for him going in. It was just unfortunate that he hurt his elbow three weeks ago so that plan had to change a little bit. So it was finally the first week where he was actually able to get back in there and do some things for us."
Doaks, who said he tore ligaments and had a slight fracture to his left elbow during the final week of the preseason, is a bigger, more physical back than Boone, who has gained 144 yards in two games, with an 4.6-yard per carry on 31 carries. Assuming that Boone is OK after twisting an ankle in the final play of the Michigan game, he's expected to get the bulk of the carries.
But Doaks will assume a larger role as his backup.
"He gives us a little bit of a different punch," Fickell said. "There's a lot of plays back there. If you don't have three of those guys throughout the entire season you're gonna struggle. So we know we need to get him back and we're excited to have him back."
Trail, who played in four games last year and started two, has yet to get on the field this season after a pre-season battle with Hayden Moore for the starting position, with Moore getting the nod. Almost a month has passed since Trail strained a muscle.
Fickell said Tuesday there's "a very good chance" Trail will play this week, but he didn't specify how much he'll play or at what point he'll enter the game.
"The game will dictate that as well as how he does this week in practice," Fickell said. "He missed four weeks of practice, so even if he's healthy that doesn't mean he's ready to go. It's based on how sharp he is and knocking the rust off of being out four weeks."
Trail said the injury is the first one he's had since he incurred a hairline fracture in his hand in the seventh grade. He still doesn't know how this one happened. He was simply throwing a pass when he felt it while the Bearcats were still out at Camp Higher Ground in West Harrison, Ind.
"I was just doing what I do every day," he said. "It was just a regular throw. It's been frustrating. Not only physically is it frustrating that you can't go out there and be with your guys, but mentally just feeling like you're on an island, coming out here every day having to lock in and take mental reps. It's something you've got to do and I did a really good job of it and I feel really good coming back. I'm excited. I'm out there practicing with goose bumps because I haven't played for a while. It's exciting to be back and I couldn't be happier."
Trail, from Wynne, Ark., is considered a more mobile quarterback than Moore, although it should be noted that Moore had a 46-yard run last week at Michigan.
The hope is that Doaks – and maybe Trail – depending on how the game unfolds Saturday in Oxford, could put a jolt into a UC offense that ranks last in the American Athletic Conference in total offense with 224 yards per game and ninth in scoring with 20 points per game.
"I've been waiting for the chance to come out here and show what I can do and contribute to my team," Doaks said.
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January, 2015.