North Carolina State University Athletics
Kooistra Ready to Return
9/27/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Tony Haynes
Almost lost in all of the hoopla surrounding the NC State football team's 4-0 start is the fact that the Wolfpack played those first four games without its starting right tackle on offense.
Scott Kooistra, a 6'6, 304 pound sophomore from Cary, was a clear cut starter on the offensive line before spraining the medial collateral ligament in his knee during a goal line drill on August 18. Following a non-surgical recovery of nearly six weeks, Kooistra has finally been cleared for action.
"He's been running for the last two and a half weeks," said NC State coach Chuck Amato. "We'll see how his leg responds to putting some pads on and doing some fundamental stuff. We'll try to keep him out of anything that could possibly get him injured. We hope he can get his confidence back and go hard next week. If we can get 30-snaps out of him it would be a plus."
Chris Colmer, listed as a starting guard before Kooistra got hurt, has been holding down the fort at right tackle in the first four games.
This Saturday's bye couldn't have come at a better time for Kooistra. As to whether an open date comes at a good time for the NC State team is debatable. One school of thought would suggest that the wave of momentum the Pack has been riding the first four weeks is in danger of being interrupted. On the other hand, the bye gives NC State an extra week to prepare for a Clemson team that's playing as well as anyone in the country right now.
"It's an advantage because we do have some extra time to spend on the next opponent, there's no question about that," Amato said. "It's also an advantage that we might get back some of our players that are banged up that might not have played if we would have had a game this weekend. But you always worry about taking a break when things are going well."
Amato gave the players Friday and Saturday off before bringing them back for some conditioning work on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The Wolfpack returned to the practice field on Wednesday (9/27).
