Former GHS star on shelf after minor knee surgery

Roger McIntosh (50), making a tack-le against North Carolina State, is recovering from minor knee surgery. No athlete wants to be constantly asked about his health.

But that’s the question Roger McIntosh has been hearing lately.

McIntosh was expected to take the field last Friday for the first fall practice of the final college season of his career. But that didn’t happen because the University of Miami senior linebacker and for-mer Gaffney High standout had arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone chip from his right knee.

He could miss about 10 days of camp while he continues to recov-er.

“It wasn’t anything serious,” McIntosh said. “They just went in there and took out a loose bone chip.”

McIntosh isn’t worried about the setback.

“It’s not fazing me,” he said. “It’s just a blip on the radar, it’s even under the radar.”

Although he’s not in pads on the practice field, he is still busy learn-ing the Canes’ new defensive wrin-kles.

“We have some surprises this year for teams,” he said. “We have expanded our playbook to match up with anybody. I’m real excited about that.”

McIntosh is no stranger to health concerns. He had the same opera-tion on his left knee. Last season, a bothersome shoulder problem caused him to miss the Canes’ bowl matchup.

“I told the trainer I already know about this injury,” he said.

Despite the shoulder injury, McIntosh still finished second on the team in tackles. He saw action at both middle and strongside line-backer.

He’s not concerned the injury might push him down the depth chart.

“The best three linebackers are going to play,” he said.

Expectations are always lofty at Miami. Average seasons aren’t acceptable. And McIntosh knows that.

“I just want to stay strong and healthy for the season. This is a big season for us. Some schools would have a parade after a 9-3 season, but that’s not acceptable here. We want a championship.”