[Tuck4Bama]

"High ankle sprain" quickly is becoming a four-letter word — particularly for Vanderbilt and junior tailback Jeff Jennings.

After suffering such an injury during the Alabama game, Jennings is likely to miss Saturday's matchup against Eastern Michigan.

"It's coming along, but it's not coming along fast enough to play this weekend," Coach Bobby Johnson said of Jennings, who was held out of the Sept. 15 win over Ole Miss because of the left ankle sprain.

With Cassen Jackson-Garrison coming off a 119-yard effort in Vanderbilt's last game, and with Jared Hawkins and Kennard Reeves backing him, Johnson said getting Jennings back on the field Saturday is less of a priority.

"There's no need to try to rush Jeff back in there," he said. "You just want to make sure he's healthy when he is ready to go back.

"Those ankle sprains, you never know how they're going to react. It's agonizing sometimes because they take so long. He's pretty close."

A high ankle sprain occurs when the inside of the joint is injured — typically when a ballcarrier is tackled from behind — as opposed to the sprain that usually occurs to the outside of the joint, when a player steps awkwardly and rolls his foot.

Coaches don't rush tailback's return - Nashville, Tennessee - Friday, 09/28/07