WSU Football | Ivory back from injury, will play
Two key Washington State football players who returned to practice after being out weeks with concussions are “doing fine,” according to coach Bill Doba.
The coach said running back Chris Ivory and strong safety Alfonso Jackson definitely will play Saturday against Stanford.
Ivory is returning just in time because starter Kevin McCall has missed practice time this week with a leg injury suffered in his first start at California last Saturday. McCall, who practiced Thursday for the first time this week, became No. 1 when Dwight Tardy suffered a season-ending knee injury against UCLA.
McCall, whose status was described by Doba as “a little iffy,” is expected to start Saturday. Ivory could see significant duty. The third back is redshirt freshman Marcus Richmond.
The Cougars used tight end Jed Collins and quarterback Kevin Lopina, who ran the option in high school at national power De La Salle in Concord, Calif., as backs in practice this week.
Xavier Hicks, who has made some big plays in Jackson’s 3-½-game absence, is expected to start at strong safety.
Notes
• The forecast for Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. kickoff is for a 60 percent chance of rain and temperatures in the 40s.
• Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh said after practice that starting nose tackle Ekom Udofia has a fractured ankle and is done for the season.
• Doba has been fighting a cold all week and sounded worse than he had earlier in the week.
• Jack Thompson, whose nephew is Stanford quarterback Tavita Pritchard and whose son, Tony, plays for the Cougars, saw two games in the Bay Area last Saturday. He watched three quarters of Stanford’s 27-9 loss to Washington, then raced to Berkeley, Calif., in time to catch three quarters of California’s 20-17 win over WSU.
Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com