With a self-imposed Wednesday deadline for determining the availability of starter Kevin Prince looming, head coach Rick Neuheisel has decided to push back naming his starting quarterback until almost the last possible moment.
Prince practiced fully for the second straight day after being limited throughout summer camp with a strained oblique muscle in his back. Even given back-to-back days of progress physically, Neuheisel was not ready to pull the trigger and proclaim Prince to be a go for Saturday’s opener against Kansas State.
“I don’t think there’s anything that tells us he (Prince) can’t play. It’s just, who gives us our best chance?” Neuheisel said. “Who’s the sharpest? We have to still wait to see. There’s still a lot of time between now and game time.”
If “who’s the sharpest?” is a question that needs to be answered, Prince has some work to do. The sophomore admitted after Tuesday’s practice that he still had plenty of rust to knock off before jumping under center in three days.
“I’m still not there with my accuracy, so that’s definitely a point of emphasis with me to work out the next few days,” Prince said. “I feel like I’ll be able to and get back on track. The tightness was much better today – it loosened up – but I’m still doing treatments three times a day.”
Given how sophomore Richard Brehaut has impressed throughout summer camp, Neuheisel may be tempted to err on the side of caution when it comes to keeping Prince from turning a short-term issue into a long-term problem.
“Regardless of how much he plays this week or doesn’t play, we’ve got to get him going for the season,” Neuheisel said. “He’s missed all of camp. (But he’s) no worse for wear from yesterday, which is great news.”
