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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Lopina might get start

Associated Press WSU’s Marshall Lobbestael had an MRI on his knee Sunday. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

PULLMAN – As he was walking up the ramp to WSU’s locker room after Saturday night’s loss, Xavier Hicks stopped one last time to listen to Oregon State’s Tim Clark’s needle.

“Tell them to play you at quarterback,” said Clark, who knows Hicks from his high school days in Southern California.

Hicks laughed and hollered back. “You know I could,” he answered.

An observer, walking next to the junior safety, interjected “careful what you wish for” and walked on.

With Marshall Lobbestael out for an undetermined period – the freshman quarterback had an MRI exam on his knee Sunday and was waiting for results – Washington State will head into Saturday’s game against sixth-ranked USC hoping to have former starter Kevin Lopina ready.

“We think Kevin Lopina will be ready to go this week,” WSU coach Paul Wulff said, adding Lopina practiced Sunday.

But there’s the possibility Dan Wagner, a redshirt freshman, and J.T. Levenseller, a true freshman who is trying to redshirt, would be the only two quarterbacks available.

Lopina suffered a broken bone low in his back Sept. 20 against Portland State. The initial diagnosis had the junior out three to six weeks, which puts him in the early part of that stretch.

After that, Wulff said he will wait on Lobbestael’s MRI results. A prognosis of an extended absence would probably force Levenseller to assume the backup role; a shorter one would allow him to keep his redshirt.

Which brings up Hicks.

Wulff said using a former high school quarterback now playing a different position in an emergency role has been discussed, though the one with the most experience on the roster, former Bellevue High star Eric Block, has missed the season with a long-term illness.

“There’s no question we would consider that,” Wulff said.

But the reality is quarterback is just one of many positions where the Cougars are trying to figure out who is available against USC.

And after WSU’s fourth Pac-10 loss – and third in which it yielded 63 or more points – there are other elements to figure out.

“We’re not going to burn any redshirt at this point, and we have some very capable players we are redshirting who could help us right now,” said Wulff, adding Levenseller is a different deal because of the nature of the position and the injuries. “We are too far into the season to hurt the future of the program.”

A future Wulff insists is brighter.

“When I came here, the idea was we had to rebuild the program,” he said. “There’s a plan, we have a very solid plan that we’ll stick to. That’s how we’re going to get going in the right direction. If we start changing the course of our plan, the long term isn’t going to be as bright.

“I’m not going to try to put different fingers in the dam when there’s a break. We’ve got a plan, we’re going to stick to it. I know it works, it will work and we’ll be good.”

A big part of that plan is recruiting, and Wulff said that is going well despite the 1-6 record.

“We’re not looking for guys who have a lot of stars by their name,” he said. “We’re looking for good, tough, hard-nosed kids who want to come in here and compete and … be part of a team and a program that is going to be moving forward.”

The Cougars have seven players committed for next season, according to recruiting Web sites.

“It’s probably exceeded a number of people’s expectations,” Wulff said.

Notes

The football program should be getting a volume discount on MRIs by now. Besides Lobbestael, tight end Devin Frischknecht underwent one Sunday on the high ankle sprain he suffered in Corvallis. There is little chance he’ll play against USC. … The offensive line will probably be missing Vaughn Lesuma (shoulder), Steven Ayers (neck and concussion) and possibly Brian Danaher (shoulder) again this week. Backup center Chris Prummer’s knee injury will cost him three to four weeks. Joe Eppele is working at left tackle. … Wulff expects Dwight Tardy (knee) to be back but ruled Chris Ivory (hamstring) out. … The coach, who works with the offensive line on a daily basis, said the group executed its assignments against OSU, but was just overpowered or beat physically by the Beavers.