For its season opener at N.C. State, a Football Bowl Subdivision team with a mammoth front four on defense, William and Mary might be without its most explosive offensive threat.
Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock said during Monday’s Colonial Athletic Association teleconference that Kendell Anderson is questionable for the game because of “a lingering shoulder issue.” Anderson rushed for 1,418 yards, second in the conference and ninth nationally, and 16 touchdowns as a junior last season.
“I’m really not sure what his status is going to be,” Laycock said. “But we’ve got some other backs who are good, too.”
If Anderson is unable to go, Laycock said redshirt freshman Albert Funderburke would start Thursday night’s ESPN3 game in Raleigh, N.C. Funderburke, projected as the Tribe’s tailback of the future, rushed for 85 yards on 12 carries in the spring game last April.
Laycock was asked at Friday’s media day in Williamsburg if Funderburke would give the Tribe good depth at tailback.
“I’ll be shocked if not,” he said. “He’s got size, and he seems to have a good knack.
“Now, he’s like a lot of young running backs. The thing that usually holds them back is ability to pass-protect, picking up on that. He’s strong, he’s big, he’s fast.”
Behind Funderburke on the depth chart are junior Jonathan Dunn, who rushed for 91 yards last season, and redshirt freshman Brehon Britt of Atlantic Shores in Chesapeake.
Johnson can be reached by phone at 757-247-4649.
