CLEMSON — It appears nothing comes easy for Clemson’s Ray Ray McElrathbey. The 2007 season now appears to up in the air after he injured his left knee in a contact drill near the end of Thursday night’s practice.

“It was contact, but I didn’t get tackled,” McElrathbey said.

Instead, McElrathbey’s knee went out while trying to make a cut. Clemson coach Tommy Bowden compared the injury to that of former linebacker Anthony Waters, who tore his ACL when his foot got stuck in the grass while trying to make a tackle in last year’s Florida Atlantic game.

“It was like Anthony Waters. It was cutting and planting his foot and cutting. It was not on the turf, it was on the grass,” Bowden said.

This was the second time McElrathbey injured his left knee in the last two months. Earlier this summer, the rising sophomore partially tore his ACL in the same knee and underwent surgery.

“They are talking that it might be my hamstring tendon that I sprained badly,” McElrathbey said. “It should be okay… I can put pressure on it.”

Team officials told McElrathbey the injury doesn’t appear serious, but as a precaution they did some treatments and ran some tests Thursday night. He could be scheduled to have an MRI as early as today.

Thursday’s injury just adds to McElrathbey’s collection of sorrows. Two years ago as a redshirt freshman, he cried in the arms of defensive coordinator Vic Koenning on Christmas Day because he was worried about his little brother Fahmarr, who at the time was staying with their mother – a self-confessed drug addict.

Last year, he adopted his brother, but McElrathbey struggled to make ends meet as a collegiate football player and parent, and grew concerned on how he was going to be able to provide for his brother. But the NCAA stepped in and granted him an exemption to the extra-benefits rule, which allows Clemson coaches’ families to help him care for Fahmarr when it comes to school travel and other basic needs.

With Fahmarr taken care of and after moving to tailback prior to last year’s Music City Bowl, it appeared McElrathbey would have his first stress free season of his Clemson career. But an injury to his left knee now has his football career in question.

Bowden said if McElrathbey is out for a long stretch of time, he might have to move someone else into his position. Even before the first practice, the coaching staff moved Sadat Chambers – a running back in high school – over from safety to provide the running back position some depth.

“The biggest thing about bringing Sadat over was I wasn’t sure about (McElrathbey’s) frame of mind,” Bowden said. “Sadat’s frame of mind is pretty good so I might stay with four (Paul Macko being the fourth) and if we get another injury then I might have to go find another one.”

Bowden says he has liked what he has seen out of Chambers thus far and even with McElrathbey’s injury, he doesn’t feel it will set the team too far back.

“I feel alright there because Sadat is a little more concentrated there right now than what Ray Ray was,” he said. “That was one of the reasons I made the decision other than the fact we thought Sadat was too talented to sit back there.

“If I had another guy like (Sadat) I might move him.”

Humid day. Clemson practiced in humid 95-degree heat for two hours and 45 minutes on Thursday. Bowden said he is re-evaluating his practice schedule in light of the heat and the long 12-game schedule.

“I talked with Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech and Mack Brown of Texas to see how they are practicing in the preseason. Coach Beamer is not doing any two-a-days during the preseason, and Coach Brown had just a couple,” Bowden said. “He practices the first half of practice outside and the second half in their indoor facility.

“Times have changed. When I was in school (at West Virginia) there were just 10 games. Today there are 12. My freshman year the first game was September 15. We would be just reporting today. Today everyone is on campus by the fourth of July.”

Bowden had originally slated today to be a two-a-day workout, but he will instead having meetings to go over film with the players in the morning. The Tigers will practice once today starting at 3 p.m.

Other injuries. Running back James Davis and offensive tackle Christian Capote both missed the practice with shoulder injuries, but both are expected back on Friday.

Ricky Sapp (sprained ankle), Dorell Scott (sprained ankle), Jamie Cumbie (shoulder), Landon Walker (knee), Drew Traylor (foot), Brandon Maye (foot), Antwon Murchison (concussion) and Josh Miller (oral surgery), all missed practice on Thursday and will all be out until at least Monday.