Fans can stop holding their breath, as it has been announced
that cornerback Matt Ware will play this weekend at Washington
State. Ware is recovering from a high ankle sprain, and his
progress has been better than expected. For the first time in
several weeks, he practiced Tuesday, surprising even himself with
his mobility. “I didn’t even think I could play like I
did (Tuesday),” Ware said after practice. “Once I got
in there, I forgot about my ankle, and I didn’t feel like I
needed to limp.” With the steady improvement, coach Karl
Dorrell said Ware will likely play this weekend, though he will not
start. “(Ware) is just going to be getting back into the fold
of things,” Dorrell said. “So the likelihood of him
starting is very small.” Though Ware’s improvement is
promising, he still has trouble with lateral movement, which is
problematic for a cornerback and is part of the reason why
he’s not starting. “Back pedaling is great, just like
I’m running forward,” Ware said. “It’s the
laterals that are a problem for me. But my ankle is loosening up
more than I thought.” Ware said he’ll play as much as
needed, and his replacement Keith Short has been doing a fine job
filling in. Players were happy to hear the news of Ware’s
return, after reporters informed them of Dorrell’s decision.
“This is huge,” quarterback Matt Moore said.
“With a guy like that playing, its always nice to know
he’ll be there for you.”
FLU BUG HITS TEAM: The stomach flu has swept
across the team, especially affecting running back Tyler Ebell.
Ebell did not practice Tuesday, since he had the most severe case
of the flu on the team, but will play this weekend. Dorrell said
several other members of the team have had the same illness this
week, but it generally lasts only 24 hours.
NO MOORE CONTROVERSY: The speculation created
by Dorrell’s post-game quotes regarding the future starting
quarterback ended Monday, when the coach clarified his intention to
start Moore, who said he was never worried about losing his job.
“When (the reporters) brought it up Saturday, I knew then it
wasn’t going to be a big issue,” Moore said. “But
it’s nice to hear it from the coach.”
NO DEJA VU OF 2001: Saturday’s loss at
Stanford brought back painful memories of the terrible ending of
the 2001 season, when the Bruins finished 1-5. But though there are
many similarities to 2001, the players remain optimistic about the
final three games. “It was brought up,” Moore said.
“But we decided to forget about it because this is a new year
and that would just destroy our game.” Hopes of erasing those
memories will be based on the outcome of this weekend’s game
against Pac-10 co-leader Washington State. “Honestly, we know
this is a huge game,” Moore said. “We know the
magnitude of this game is very large and the only way (to win) is
to play hard.”
INJURY UPDATE: Senior defensive end Matt Ball
continues to experience a strained lower back, but x-rays were
negative for fractures. He will play on Saturday.