This guy killed us in the overtime loss to them last year.

Knee injury sidelines Easley for season

JONESBORO ? Arkansas State lost its most experienced tailback Friday with the announcement that fifth-year senior Chris Easley will miss the season because of a torn knee ligament.
Head coach Steve Roberts announced that Easley tore his anterior cruciate ligament Thursday. Easley rushed 32 times last season for 187 yards and one touchdown. He was injured at practice during a non-contact inside drill.
?I am sad to announce Chris Easley will miss his senior season,? Roberts said. ?He will probably have surgery next week sometime. Chris worked extremely hard going into his senior season and we obviously hate it for him. He set seven personal records this summer and worked very hard.
?He was going to be a vital part of our offense this year, but as with all football teams, this stuff happens and you have to find a way to pick up the pieces and move forward. I fully expect this team to do that and Chris? energy and passion will be a big boost in us doing so.?
Easley spent the 2005 season behind Antonio Warren and Shermar Bracey on the depth chart, but played a key role in some games and helped set up the overtime field goal that beat Florida Atlantic 3-0. He rushed for a season-high 62 yards against Louisiana-Monroe.
As a redshirt freshman in 2003, Easley rushed for 168 yards on 33 carries against Idaho and also had a 114-yard game against New Mexico State. He suffered a knee injury the following spring and missed the 2004 season.
Redshirt freshman tailback Reggie Arnold was No. 1 on the depth chart going into fall camp, followed by Easley. Sophomore Chris James, a former Osceola star who had four carries for 37 yards and a touchdown last season, has gotten a lot of work during several practices this month.
True freshman Preston Brown has been limited by an injury and redshirt freshman Cedric Wilkerson has been limited while coming off knee surgery. The injuries at tailback have led to extra repetitions for Robert Dupree, a freshman walk-on from Marion.
ASU went through an afternoon practice in shorts and shoulder pads on Friday.
The Indians will host Army on Sept. 2 at Indian Stadium to kick off their 2006 campaign. The game will be the Indians? first season opener in Jonesboro since 1995 and their first non-conference season opener at home since ASU became a member of Division I-A.
?There are still a lot of things we have to improve on as we continue to prepare for Army,? Roberts said. ?Obviously, that is going to be the case up until game time. We have to continue to get better and we did that in some areas today.
?We were not as sharp offensively as we needed to be at times. This was a pretty physical, hot and long practice in trying to prepare for Army. We?ve got our work cut out for us as everyone knows and understands as our players keep on working hard to be successful next Saturday night.?
The Indians will go through a scripted workout today at 10 a.m. as part of Fan Appreciation Day. ASU fans can enjoy hot dogs and soft drinks while watching the Indians work out in Indian Stadium.
?We will have a situational script,? Roberts said. ?We will go through a lot of things that can occur during a football game, including injury situations and how we handle that as well as time-out procedures and what we do when we first get into the locker room at half time. We?ll work on how we take the field at the beginning of the game and every little thing?
Roberts said ASU will go through 56 plays and the workout will be a fast-paced, full-tempo practice.