Well, this could certainly be a significant development.
A month after being named the ACC’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, and on the verge of becoming the conference’s all-time leading rusher, Montel Harris’ availability for at least the first game of the season is suddenly very much in doubt.
Boston College head coach Frank Spaziani announced Wednesday that the running back underwent arthroscopic knee surgery this morning and is expected to be sidelined for 3-4 weeks. With BC’s season opener less than three weeks away, it appears all but certain the senior will sit for the Sept. 3 game against Northwestern. The far end of the prognosis would have him missing the following week’s game against UCF as well.
The injury is to the same knee he hurt in toward the end of 2010 and prevented -- sort of -- him from playing in both the regular-season finale and bowl game. Harris tweaked the knee earlier this week in practice, resulting swelling in the area and ultimately forcing the second procedure on the joint in less than a year.
Spaziani indicated that this was a lingering issue from last year, and intimated that the 3-4 week time frame might be on the optimistic side of things.
“I was very concerned about Montel in January. And I was very concerned about him in spring ball,” Spaziani said according to the Boston Herald. “I was feeling a little bit better when he was feeling better and I was telling you guys he looked like his old self. Now I’m very concerned again. And I feel bad for him, because he’s concerned, obviously.”
Harris has led the Eagles in rushing in each of his first three seasons at the school, and is 1,003 yards away from passing North Carolina State’s Ted Brown as the ACC’s all-time leader in rushing yardage.