Four days have passed since Oregon’s 45-24 win over Cal, and the scope of Oregon’s injury situation is beginning to become clearer. The overall outlook still isn’t great for the Ducks, but several players that left Saturday’s game with injuries could be back for Oregon’s bout with No. 11 Washington State this Saturday.
Obviously, the Ducks will still be without sophomore quarterback Justin Herbert, who will be “out for a while” with a fractured collarbone, and junior linebacker Kaulana Apelu who fractured his ankle and will miss the rest of the season.
But Oregon head coach Willie Taggart offered a minor update on some of his injured players before practice on Wednesday. Just to recap, five Oregon starters are listed as day-to-day. They are: tight end Jacob Breeland, wide receiver Charles Nelson, offensive lineman Jake Pisarcik, running back Royce Freeman, and wide receiver Dillon Mitchell.
On Wednesday, Taggart said that all above players mentioned remain day-to-day, but did offer some encouraging news about Freeman.
“I expected Royce to play whenever Royce wants to play,” Taggart said.“Royce probably could have come back and played on Saturday. He’s built differently. But he’s getting better.”
Taggart’s statement is reinforced by the fact that Freeman practiced throughout the week. Breeland also practiced this week and was seen working in individual drills during the portion of practice media is allowed to observe.
Nelson was seen walking into practice carrying pads on Tuesday, but was not wearing cleats.
As far as the quarterback situation goes, Taggart didn’t say he’d name a starter until, possibly, as late as game time on Saturday. Alie and Burmeister have shared reps at practice this week but neither has set himself apart.
“We still have today’s practice, tomorrow’s practice and Friday’s practice,” Taggart said. “And we have a late game so we have all day Saturday.”
He said he wants Alie and Burmeister to keep competing for the starting job. Up until Saturday, Alie had been Oregon’s backup quarterback. But he was among the long list of Ducks that left Saturday’s game with an injury.
“I don’t have a point, I just want to have a starter,” Taggart said. “And we will. We’ll have a starter by Saturday.”
Taggart was also asked about the possibility of playing both Alie and Burmeister, a suggestion that he coyly sidestepped.
“I don’t get caught up in any of that,” Taggart said. “It’s just who practices well and who gives us our best chance to win.”
A smart approach as a banged-up Oregon team welcomes the No. 11 Cougars to Autzen on Saturday.
Follow Gus Morris on Twitter @JustGusMorris