Corona, CA: Healthier Shoemate expects to start against Vanderbilt

D.J. Shoemate expected to be the starting tailback for the UConn football team in Week 1, even after spraining his ankle late in the week. He also expects to start this weekend against Vanderbilt, though that prediction seemingly has a better chance of coming true this time.

"I'm feeling good. I've got the strength back, the mobility back," Shoemate said Tuesday of the right ankle injury that forced him to miss the Huskies' season-opener against Fordham. "I'm a worker. I'm going to do everything I possibly can to get back on the field."

A senior from Corona, Calif., who transferred from USC, Shoemate likely would have spent a great amount of time on the field against Fordham if not for a mishap in practice a few days before the game.

"It was during a little scrimmage against the first defense," Shoemate said. "Sio Moore made a good play and my foot got stuck in the turf."

Shoemate, who says he's getting treatment on the ankle three times a day, estimated he was about 75 percent healthy before kickoff at Rentschler Field against the Rams.

That apparently wasn't enough for coach Paul Pasqualoni and UConn's medical staff. They held Shoemate out, and redshirt freshman Lyle McCombs busted out to the tune of 141 yards and four touchdowns.

"I told him that I was going to go cautiously with it," Pasqualoni said. "I didn't want to set him back for this week. I wanted him ahead of the rehab for this week starting (Monday) when we start practicing again."

After talking during the preseason about how he had molded his body to better handle the duties of a full-time tailback -- and worked on his hands so he would not have a repeat of the fumble against Michigan that seemed to doom his 2010 season -- Shoemate was obviously disappointed to miss the first game of his senior season. But Pasqualoni kept the door open a crack for Shoemate to play last week with his pregame words.

"I said you just have to trust our judgment here, the trainer, the doctor and myself. We're going to do what's right," Pasqualoni said. "If we absolutely have to have you, we'll put you in for those situations."

The Huskies (1-0), who cruised to a 35-3 win behind McCombs, obviously didn't need Shoemate that day. And Shoemate said he was glad his young teammate had such a big day.