Larkin out a month after knee surgery

Defensive end Nick Larkin will miss at least four games as he recovers from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, which he injured in the second quarter of last Saturday's 37-17 victory over North Carolina State.

Although no word has come from the team, sources at the school confirmed Larkin had surgery earlier this week and is optimistic about returning next month.

Coach Jeff Jagodzinski would only say that Larkin would miss Saturday's game against Georgia Tech and would be evaluated week to week.

In a best-case scenario, the 6-foot-4-inch 250-pound senior could be back for the Oct. 13 game at Notre Dame. But with the Eagles off Oct. 20, a more realistic target date is Oct. 25 at Virginia Tech.

Jagodzinski also said that running back Jeff Smith (concussion) has not yet been cleared to practice and will sit out Saturday's game.

"We have been consulting with a bunch of doctors and his family and it's a day-to-day thing with him," said Jagodzinski.

When asked if there was a cutoff date for Smith in terms of playing this season or taking a medical redshirt, Jagodzinski shook his head. "No, it's a day-to-day thing."

Nothing to tell

Jagodzinski, who was Green Bay's offensive coordinator last season, was asked if he remembered anything out of the ordinary about the Nov. 19 game between the Patriots and Packers, in which the Patriots were accused of subterfuge involving videotaping on the sideline. "I don't remember anything unusual," said Jagodzinski., "But then again, the game was so one-sided [Patriots, 35-0] that you couldn't really tell anyway." . . . Jagodzinski was not happy with the way the Eagles practiced in the rain Tuesday and had one of his most vocal sessions yesterday, especially dealing with the offensive line.