Tigers RB Harper has ankle injury

By Paul Strelow - Paul Strelow

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CLEMSON -- Jamie Harper emerged from Clemson's training room Monday night carrying his cumbersome walking boot in his left hand, prompting a teammate to implore him to put something over his sock.

Harper, the Tigers' highly-touted freshman running back, was pleased to have rescued his swollen left ankle from the clamp of his football shoe.

"I just can't believe how big it's gotten," Harper said.

Photo 1: Tigers RB Harper has ankle injury

By Thursday, there should be an idea just how big a deal Harper's injury is.

Harper disclosed Monday that he suffered a low ankle sprain during Saturday's scrimmage when linebacker Brandon Maye grabbed his collar and tackled him from behind.

It was the same ankle Harper has injured before. He fractured the left ankle in two spots as a high school sophomore and had a severe sprain as a seventh-grader.

An MRI was taken immediately after Harper was injured, and the results were negative.

Yet, his availability for next week's season opener against Alabama remains up in the air until team doctors examine it once the swelling subsides.

Harper spent Monday's practices riding a stationary bike or watching from the sideline. The team has today off in conjunction with the start of fall semester classes, but Harper said he will put the ankle through a battery of strenuous tests that day so the doctors can see how it responds.

"It's worse if you baby it, so I stay on it as much as I can and ice it down," Harper said.

Coach Tommy Bowden said the injury has yet to alter the team's plan for using Harper in the season opener.

Because of his high profile, Harper was sure to avoid redshirting regardless of how his August practices looked.

But the 6-foot, 230-pounder from Jacksonville, Fla., has turned heads by showing he is more than a power back, leading the coaching staff to revise their plan for giving Harper only spot and mop-up duty.

"It's safe to say his status has been elevated since he's been here," Bowden said, citing Harper's pass protection skills and toughness as areas that have surprised him.

Harper said team doctors have suggested he should have an easier time recovering from his latest ankle injury because he possesses the psychological advantage of having dealt with the rehabilitation schedule before.