Lamb looking forward to Curtis’ return
Head coach Bobby Lamb was happy to see Mercer’s bye week come after the team’s win over Tennessee Tech on Sept. 17, if no other reason than to get Chandler Curtis some time to get healthy enough to join the team.
The Bears return to the field at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at VMI, and Lamb said his standout receiver will make his 2016 debut against the Keydets. Curtis has been nursing an ankle injury he suffered in the preseason after playing in just three games last year.
Lamb said Curtis practiced Sunday and is ready to go.
“That is music to my ears,” Lamb said. “Hopefully, he can give us a little boost in our receiving corps and hopefully in our explosion plays. We’re excited about that.”
Curtis had plenty of explosive plays in 2014.
He played in all 12 games his freshman season and scored 10 touchdowns — five receiving, four on returns and one rushing. Curtis had 28 receptions that season for 564 yards, but he was limited to just 42 snaps last year because of injury and had 13 receptions for 153 yards and one touchdown. He didn’t have a return for a touchdown in 2015.
Lamb isn’t sure if Curtis will be used in the return game this week.
“No. 1, Chandler’s not going to be in great shape,” Lamb said. “He’s been doing all pool work and all the bike work and all that, but it’s not football shape. So we’re going to evaluate whether he’s in the return game coming up this week and the other practices.”
Still, Lamb and his offensive staff do have plans for Curtis, who was an important part of the team’s attack two years ago. He had his best game last year against VMI, catching seven passes for 109 yards and his lone 2015 score.
“It’s nice to have him back, No. 1, because it gives us a presence out there when he’s lined up,” Lamb said. “People in this league know who he is. They know what he’s all about. He had a big game last year against VMI. So it gives us the opportunity to kind of move him around, get him in some different matchups that we want him in.
“He had a really difficult year last year. This year has not started off great, but he’s been to every treatment. He’s been on time. He’s worked extremely hard to get back on the field of play. And like he said (Sunday), he just wants to play, and all Bear fans, they want him to play, too, because we like to see No. 13 out there.”
Two years ago, Mercer got its first Southern Conference win at VMI (27-24), but the Keydets beat the Bears 28-21 last year in Macon.
The Bears entered their bye week with their first win of the season: 34-27 over Tennessee Tech after losing to The Citadel and Georgia Tech.
“That was big,” Lamb said. “You’re sitting 0-2. I think Citadel is ranked in the top 10 right now, Georgia Tech is having a really good year, so obviously, your schedule was pretty tough starting out. Tennessee Tech, we knew they had a lot of transfers, and we knew they were going to be tough, and we ended up winning that football game in fine fashion there in the fourth quarter by sacking the quarterback and taking care of the football on offense.
“But that was a big win. Any time you go into an open date, you’d like to get a win to get a little more momentum, get the kids feeling a little better in practice. From a mindset, it was just big for us.”
Other injury updates: Lamb said redshirt freshman tight end Chase Westfall (foot), senior linebacker Devin Davidson (foot), senior safety Mike Gray (knee) and sophomore defensive back Brandon Coney (knee) won’t play Saturday.
This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Lamb looking forward to Curtis’ return."