Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

8/16/2010 at 9:10pm

CONWAY - The University of Central Arkansas Bears returned to the practice field twice on Monday but without one of their key offensive weapons in tight end Rico Moss.

The senior from Hope, a preseason All-Southland Conference selection, injured his achilles in Saturday’s scrimmage and is likely done for his career. Moss, a fifth-year senior, entered the season as UCA’s most experienced tight end.

“Certainly we’re very disappointed for Rico Moss," Coach Clint Conque said. “He’s had five knee surgeries and he came back and really prepared himself well this summer for his senior season. I feel bad for Rico and for our football team. He’s worked very hard.

“Rico’s going to be a great representative of our institution when he graduates in December. Unfortunately football won’t be part of the plan for him anymore."

The remaining roster of tight ends includes junior Josh Ragland (6-foot-3, 251 pounds), junior Brennan Rushing (6-2, 237), who redshirted last season, and junior Jeremy Jester (6-3, 252), a transfer from Tennessee.

“With that being said, if something like this was going to happen, at least now it gives us some time to prepare and start working some other guys in there and try to see who will emerge there," Conque said. “I’m pleased with a lot of things I’m seeing out of Brennan Rushing. He had a really nice catch there at the end of practice this afternoon."

After Saturday’s scrimmage and a light day Sunday, Conque said the Bears were a little slow Monday morning in their first of two practices.

“I thought this morning we came out a little lethargic and weren’t ready to go at 9 a.m., and that’s concerning to me,’ he said. “I thought defensively we had a pretty good morning and offensively I think we took a step back and that’s very disappointing.

"But this afternoon I thought it was much more competitive. We’re sore, we’re tired, we have some veterans who are tweaked a little bit. But this coaching staff, we decided that this creates opportunities for younger players in our program. I thought Clay Murphy, a true freshman [wide receiver] from El Dorado, flashed some today. [Sophomore receiver] Derek Owens had a pretty good day.

“[Junior quarterback] Nathan Dick had an outstanding open field pass skel this afternoon. We have to do a better job offensively when we’re down in the condensed part of the field. We didn’t do very well there and give the defense a lot of credit for that."

Conque stressed to the players after practice that the 2010 season opener is only a little over two weeks away.

“I think it’s starting to resonate with them that two weeks from Thursday, we’re teeing it up,’ he said. “We’re trying to encourage some of our guys with strains and pains that they need to get their tails back on the field. We had four of our best athletes on offense out today in Willie Landers, T.J. Adams, Derrick Steele and Isaiah Jackson. And defensively we had Henry Minor, Darrell Malone, Seth Allison and Jermayne Lett. That’s about eight quality players that sat out. Hopefully we can get those guys back quickly.’

Physicality is another concern for Conque, particularly on the offensive line.

“We just need to be more consistent and more physical,’ he said. “I think we’re playing pretty physical up front on defense but I’m not sure we are on offense. We’re playing laterally instead of vertically. That’s a mindset and we have to get that mental toughness over the next 10 days.’

The Bears return to the field for a single practice at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Tagged: Clint Conque, Rico Moss