Jake Locker "Nursing" A Thigh Injury: "Questionable" For Saturday's Game

So apparently Jake Locker is "nursing" a thigh bruise per Ted Miller of WWL (HT bruin578):

Washington quarterback Jake Locker is nursing a deep thigh bruise that might sideline him for the Huskies' game at UCLA on Saturday.

Coach Steve Sarkisian said Locker was "day to day."

"We're not going to force him back onto the field if he's not healthy and ready to go," Sarkisian said. "I would anticipate that he would be but it remains day to day."

Locker, who suffered the thigh bruise in the first quarter against Oregon on Oct. 24, was limited during bye week practices. He said he felt "pretty good" on Monday.

"I should be ready to go," Locker said.

SeattlePI.com has more details on Locker's injury which reportedly has been limiting him at practices since their loss against Oregon Ducks:

Locker has been limited at practices since the loss and is experiencing bleeding and swelling that is significantly reducing his mobility.

That loss of mobility is playing into coach Steve Sarkisian's decision on Locker playing against the Bruins.

"I don't want to put a guy out there that's just a sitting duck," Sarkisian said.

And here is Bob Condotta from the Seattle Times:

Locker hedged a little saying he would "see how it progresses during the week'' but fully indicated he would play.

He was apparently a little limited in Sunday night's practice, the first since the team returned from a bye, but did more running around than last week, when he did little.

If Locker can't play, the starter would be backup Ronnie Fouch, who took most of the reps with the No. 1 offense last week. Sarkisian said if need be, he would play true frosh Keith Price, though ideally he would like to redshirt Price.

In other words don't get too excited. Jake is going to be ready and play on Saturday. More after the jump.

I don't think we can really make too big deal out of this. Our defense should be preparing for Locker to start on Saturday. If anything, I would hope Chuck Bullough is not once again waiting to find out how Locker led Washington offense attacks the Bruin's basic 4-3 defensive set. For once I would like our D to attack early on by throwing in different looks.  Given how our defensse can be vulnerable to mobile QBs and the poor run support we have been getting from our secondary, we will need our D to be aggressive early by making an all out attempt to disrupt Locker.

We don't have a team that can afford to stay passive and let the game to come to itself. For once I;d like to see our defensego out there and set the tone at the outset.  They need to attack him early and often.   They need make Locker hurry his throws, get his uniform dirty, and put some hard hits on him (playing with the rules).

I hope our guys are not taking any kind of false sense of comfort or letting up on their preparation and focus for this game after reading about Locker's injury status. It doesn't matter what kind of shape he is in. If Locker is in the game he is going to go all out and present a lethal threat to score no matter where his team is on the field. We just cannot afford to sit back and wait for him to attack and bring the heat from outset.

GO BRUINS.