COLLEGE FOOTBALL REPORT / WEEKDAY UPDATE : SAN DIEGO STATE : Coviello’s Injury Throws Aztecs a Scare

The Aztecs got a scare 20 minutes before practice ended Wednesday when linebacker Andy Coviello went down with what looked like a serious back injury. It turned out he has a back contusion/sprain. Trainer Brian Barry considered that a best-case scenario.

“Absolutely,” trainer Brian Barry said. “He’s very, very fortunate.”

Coviello was injured when, defending a sweep, he was caught in the middle of a gang tackle and a teammate’s helmet hit him in the lower back. He stayed down nearly 20 minutes before paramedics arrived and loaded him into an ambulance. X-rays at Mercy Hospital showed no fracture or neurological damage.

Barry lists Coviello as doubtful for Saturday’s game at New Mexico. Terrill Steen is likely to start.

“He would have played a lot Saturday anyhow,” SDSU Coach Al Luginbill said Wednesday afternoon before finding out the extent of Coviello’s injury.

Luginbill added: “At San Diego State, you play hurt, but not injured. It’s a standard rule--any time you injure a joint, you get X-rayed. I don’t care how minor or major it is. God bless trainers and doctors--when you have this medical technology available, it’s insane not to use it.”

After calling Tuesday’s practice the worst of the year, Luginbill said things were better Wednesday. “We’re not where we need to be, though,” Luginbill said. . . . SDSU has defeated New Mexico six times in a row and has averaged 41 points a game in that time. . . . Cornerback Marlon Andrews, with 13 passes broken up, is one behind SDSU career-leader Tory Nixon.