Spaulding Roundup - It's a Bye, Bye, Bye Week

The Bruins returned to the Kevin Prince era, Part Deux (Trois?) at practice on Tuesday, as Prince assumed the role of Number 1 starter with Richard Brehaut nursing a broken leg.  Gold mentioned that Prince looked sharp in practice, on a day where they worked on fundamentals, and also remarked again about how relaxed and comfortable Prince looked against WSU.

As for Brett Hundley, who is now the number 2 QB, he says he's ready if he is needed against Arizona on the 20th.

"If my number is called, I know I could produce," Hundley said.

Hundley's reps were mixed on Tuesday, as he had a nice hook up with Joe Fauria (more of that, please) but was also punished with push-ups for holding the ball incorrectly while running.

Neuheisel did mention that they might design a package for Hundley to get his "feet wet" instead of throwing him into the fire in a game situation.  I'm sure you've all heard that line before from earlier this season.

"I’ll know more this time next week," Neuheisel said. "But I feel like given the situation, given how he looks at the future and how it stacks up, I think he’ll be ready."

We still have over a week until we meet Arizona, so while Brett Hundley may not be ready to take significant snaps in a game, if he's pressed into duty, he should understand basic facets of the offense to keep us moving down the field.  I would suggest throwing it to your tall tight end.

Neuheisel also spoke to the media about the Mike Stoops firing at Arizona:

"It’s one of those things as a coach that you are saddened by because I know Mike and I admire Mike and I wish him well," Neuheisel said. "I also know that he gave a lot of his heart and soul to that university. That being said, I also know that team will respond in the way that they should, meaning that they will come out and play and play as hard as they can."

Both Neuheisel and Joe Tresey know they have to keep the players ready for Arizona, as they will obviously be READY to play come October 20th:

"I’m sure there are a lot of kids that really like the guy and they are going to play for him and you have that whole dynamic," Tresey said. "You have every reason in the world to think that everyone is going to play at a higher level. So our kids are aware of that. We talked to them today about it and we’ll talk to them later about it."

My favorite tidbit from practice, courtesy of Gold:

Jerry Rice Jr. also had a nice day, with a couple really nice grabs.

Jerry Rice Sr's old team is doing very well, thankyouverymuchJimHarbaugh.

As for our growing list of injuries, which may seem alarming, but it is a bye week and we can take some time coming back from injury:

• Nelson Rosario did not dress to a sprained foot, suffered during the second quarter on Saturday.
• Richard Brehaut attended practice on crutches.  The break was noted as clean and he may be back at the shorter end of the "three to six week" timeframe.
• Shaquelle Evans did not dress due to concussion-like symptoms, due to a knee to the head during his touchdown catch.
• Tony Dye is still suffering from a nerve issue, and a medical redshirt is a possibility if he does not recover soon.
• Alex Mascarenas (concussion) and Sheldon Price (knee) both did not dress for practice, but Price was running lightly in a brace.
• Anthony Jefferson did dress and participated in individual drills.
• Justin Edison and Jonathan Franklin were both in red no-contact jerseys.

On the plus side, Kip Smith was back at practice and working on accuracy drills.  It's probably way too early to even theorize if Smith will kick at Arizona.

(yes, that is a *NSYNC reference in the title.)