Florida State center Austin Barron expected to play vs. Miami
Florida State center Austin Barron is expected to return when the third-ranked Seminoles (9-0) take on Miami (6-3) on Saturday night. Barron, a senior, has missed the last four games with a broken arm and could even return to the starting lineup this weekend, according to Warchant.com.
“That’s the plan,” head coach Jimbo Fisher said. “He’s on the active roster. We’ll get him in the game. We’ll see. He can play, but (Ryan) Hoefield’s still doing a great job. So we’ll see how we go.”
Barron was injured against Wake Forest in early October and it was feared that he could miss the rest of the season. Redshirt freshman Ryan Hoefeld has filled in while Barron was out, but the senior returned to practice Monday and the Fisher plans to work him in to some degree against Miami.
“Austin’s been great. He’s ready to roll. He’ll be right back and ready to play,” Fisher said.
Though this was the first year Barron was named FSU’s full-time starter, he started several games previously in his career and saw significant action on special teams.
Fisher said Barron was playing great before the injury occurred.
“He really was,” Fisher said. “He got three or four games under his belt and was just starting to get into the groove of playing. You just don’t immediately, because you start, go in there and play great. Not everybody does that. He was really becoming very solid.”
Meanwhile, Miami could also see a starting lineman return to the field, though head coach Al Golden is less optimistic than Fisher is about Barron.
Left tackle Ereck Flowers returned to the practice field this week for the Hurricanes. The 6-foot-6, 322-pound junior underwent minor knee surgery two weeks ago and Golden said Flowers is “making progress.”
“I wouldn’t say we’re cutting him loose yet,” Golden said, per the Palm Beach Post.
Flowers started 21 straight games for Miami before injuring his meniscus against Virginia Tech on Oct. 23. He missed the team’s most recent game against North Carolina on Nov. 1 and though he was not listed on the team’s depth chart on Tuesday, Golden didn’t rule him out for Saturday.
If Flowers can’t play, Golden said true freshman Trevor Darling and fifth-year senior Jon Feliciano would start and that the two can play on either side of the line.
Saturday night’s game will kickoff at 8:00 p.m. ET. at Sun Life Stadium.
For more Florida State news, visit Warchant.com.
For more Miami news, visit CaneSport.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
