SEATTLE — Barely able to turn his head in either direction, Jake Locker still refused to rule out a return to the field Saturday.
Three days after leaving Reser Field in an ambulance, Locker met with the media first the first time since suffering what turned out to be a muscle strain and stinger. He said his neck was stiff, and he did not practice Tuesday, yet he’s still not willing to give up on playing this weekend against California.
“I’d like to, so I’m going to try as hard as I can,” Locker said. “It’s not out of the realm of possibility.”
Watching him turn his whole body to make eye contact around the room, it was hard to imagine Locker on a football field in less than a week, but his teammates aren’t willing to rule out a quick return.
“That guy’s a freak of nature athletically, so you never know what he can do,” defensive tackle Jordan Reffett said. “I think I’ll take it easy on him these next couple days of practice, but we’ll see what happens. Honestly, I don’t know. With him, you can’t keep him down for very long, so we’ll see what happens.”
Tyrone Willingham, like Locker, wasn’t willing to rule his quarterback out yet.
“I think there’s always a shot, especially knowing Jake the way I know him and his ability to recover, his strength and the way he conditions himself,” Willingham said. “We’re not ruling it in or out. We will take it day-by-day, but I like the progress that I’m seeing from him.”
As for the hit that caused the injury, Locker said that he didn’t feel Al Afalava had ill intentions. Locker pointed out that the safety sought him out after the game to check on him.
“We did hit helmet-to-helmet, but I don’t think he had any intention of leading with the helmet trying to take me out,” Locker said. “We had seen on the film all week that he played hard and he hit guys and I think that’s what he was trying to do. He was trying to come up and make a big hit. It’s like I said before, it’s football and that kind of stuff happens. It’s unfortunate it had to happen that way, but I don’t believe in any way that he was intentionally trying to do that.”
Willingham, however, said again Tuesday that he thought a flag should have been throw on the play.
Locker explained that he briefly lost feeling in his left arm, which along with neck pain was the reason for the trip to the hospital and numerous tests.
“I just kind of remember colliding with the guy, and then I went down and tried to push myself up and I kind of just rolled over on my left side and I couldn’t move my left arm, and that’s when it scared me a little bit,” Locker said. “And I felt a little pinch in the back of my neck, so that’s when I worried a little bit.
“Once I was able to move my arm I felt better about it—I still had the pain in my neck—but by then I was on the stretcher and in the ambulance.”
Should Locker sit out this week, Carl Bonnell will get the start. Bonnell started against Cal last year as well following Isaiah Stanback’s injury against Oregon State. “I’ve said all along that I think Carl is a great quarterback,” Locker said. “I’ve learned a lot from him. He’s taught me a lot since I’ve been here, and I have a lot of confidence in Carl and I know the rest of the guys do. I feel really good with Carl there Saturday. If it’s not me I’ll be there cheering Carl on and helping him in every way that I’m able to.”
Russo ailing: Receiver Anthony Russo, who suffered an undisclosed injured on the last play of the game against Oregon State, suited up at practice Tuesday, but looked to be favoring his left arm. Washington’s regular punt returner, Russo was not catching punts.
Gold jerseys: Seven players wore gold jerseys at practice, signifying good play in the Oregon State loss: Chris Stevens, Trenton Tuiasosopo, Anthony Russo, Jordan Reffett, Greyson Gunheim, and Daniels Te’o-Nesheim. Bonnell was also awarded a gold jersey, but instead practiced in the usual yellow worn by quarterbacks, kickers and punters signifying no contact.
White-Frisbee to start: Jordan White-Frisbee is scheduled to start Saturday’s game at left guard in place of Ryan Tolar. Tolar, as well as the three Oregon State players who were ejected from last weekend’s game, has to sit out the first half of this week’s game per NCAA rules because his ejection came in the second half. Willingham has said no additional penalty would be handed out by the team. White-Frisbee has started two games this season at right guard.
Contact Herald Writer John Boyle at jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on University of Washington sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com /huskiesblog
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