JONESBORO — Chris Humes pulled off his helmet and stood on the sideline at Centennial Bank Stadium last Saturday afternoon while a familiar feeling made its way through his body.
It was soreness.
Humes, a junior safety for Arkansas State, had just finished the first scrimmage of fall camp, which was his first game-like experience in almost a year. So, being a bit sore was to be expected. And it was a good sore, he said.
“I feel great being back out here competing with my boys,” Humes said.
The Hoover, Ala., native who reportedly turned down scholarship offers from Auburn, Mississippi State and Kentucky has been waiting 11 months to get back on the field after tearing his right bicep muscle in last season’s loss at Tennessee. The wait was so long that he’s not even deterred by a starting spot he seemingly had a stranglehold on last season being up for grabs.
Humes is two weeks into his fourth fall camp at ASU, and although he’s one of the most experienced players on the defense, he doesn’t know if he’ll be a starter for the season-opener Sept. 5 at Southern California. Humes’ 28 games played and 15 career starts are more than any of ASU’s defensive players except for Chris Stone or Rocky Hayes, but he’s spent this month fighting for a spot with two newcomers.
Humes started last week’s scrimmage alongside Allen Sentimore, and he could be there again when ASU holds its final scrimmage at 6 tonight.
“I don’t even look at the depth chart,” Humes said. “Every day I just feel like I want to prove myself. I don’t know how the coaches think. I just think I start at zero and I prove why I should be on the field.”
That’s exactly where Humes wasn’t for much of last year.
He started the season opener against Montana State at strong safety, and was in the same spot the next week at Tennessee. But in the third quarter of that game Humes crashed toward the line of scrimmage as he tracked Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd to the outside. As the two neared each other at the line of scrimmage, Humes dove for Hurd’s legs. Hurd cut inside to try to elude the tackle.
Humes stuck out his right arm and got just enough of the leg to trip up the Volunteers’ freshman, but that was his last tackle of the season.
“I just thought it was a bruise,” he said. “Then, when I got to the sideline, I couldn’t raise my arm up. I knew something was wrong. I thought I had to sit out a couple of plays, then they said ‘You have to have surgery.’ I was sick after that.”
Humes had surgery to repair the torn muscle the following week and watched ASU limp to a 7-6 finish as a rash of injuries affected its roster. He came back to start spring practice but missed the last two weeks after a stress fracture was discovered in his foot.
He’s healthy now, and ready to provide ASU with the experience it would lack without him.
“He knows the defense, and he’s good at communicating in the back end,” Stone said. “I consider him and Rocky the leaders back there, and they’ve been doing a great job.”
Defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen also is excited about the return of Humes, although he’s not sure where he’ll play. Money Hunter started 11 games last season after Humes was injured, but Hunter has moved to nickel back. That means Humes and transfers Sentimore, from East Mississippi Community College, and Brown, from Independence (Kan.) Community College, are fighting for two positions.
Cauthen said all three can play both safety spots, but he considers Sentimore more of a free safety while Humes and Brown are more suited for strong safety.
“It’s good to have three athletic bodies,” Cauthen said. “Hopefully, we”l have two healthy for the game.”
Humes said he won’t mind if he ends up not on the field to start the season opener. He knows he’ll be out there at some point, and that’s better than where he was most of last season.
“I feel like I have to make up for some time,” he said. “I feel like I have to have immediate success when I get back to the field. I’ll have success, no doubt. I have the talent to do it.”
Chris Humes glance
CLASS Junior
POSITION Safety
HEIGHT 5-11
WEIGHT 215 pounds
HOMETOWN Hoover, Ala.
NOTEWORTHY Missed 11 games last season after tearing a bicep muscle in a loss at Tennessee. … Has started 15 games, including eight in 2013. … Had five or more tackles in five games during the 2013 season and finished with 55, fourth-most on the team. … Picked ASU over offers from Auburn, Mississippi State and Kentucky.