Rising junior Walter Grant was seen working with the running backs during practice Tuesday, which was somewhat surprising given he’s spent the two previous seasons at linebacker.
Smart referred to the appearance of the 6-foot-4, 245-pound Grant in the backfield as an experiment and said that when he recruited the former Cairo High standout, Grant was a ballcarrier for the Syrupmakers.
“He’s done a helluva job,” Smart said of Grant, who last season started eight games and recorded 21 tackles, one pass break-up and one quarterback hurry.
“I recruited Walter, so I got to see Walter run the ball at Cairo. We said, ‘Hey, who on our team can help us the most right now at tight end and running back?’ I saw Walter run it, he played a lot of running back in high school. We recruited him when I was at Alabama as an ‘either/or.’
“He’s really bright, picks things up, catches the ball well. He’s big, but he’s done a good job back there. It’s an experiment, I would say. Walter’s bright, he’s been in our system. He can sit in our meetings defensively and know what to do. When we install something new, he meets with his coach individually, but when he’s learning the offense, he’s with the offensive guys. He’s kind of doing both.”
Smart also addressed the health status of rising sophomore running back James Cook, who underwent ankle surgery in the offseason and is not yet up to speed this spring.
“James is not 100 percent,” Smart said. “I mean, James is a tough dude, man, he’s coming off the ankle injury. You know he had the surgery repair. He’s not hitting his GPS marks that he was before. He’s not complaining a bit, he’s taking his quota of reps.
“He’s running the ball. But he was electric last year in practices, and especially in fall camp. He’s just not 100 percent, but we’re not tackling him, either. He’s caching the ball out of the backfield, he’s talented. I would say he’s probably 90 percent right now, he’s just trying to get back comfortable.”
A year ago, the freshman from Miami played in 13 games in a star-heavy backfield and rushed 41 times for 284 yards for two touchdowns.
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