COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : UCLA : Donahue Still Wants Cook

Indications were Wednesday that Rob Walker would be the starting quarterback when UCLA plays Arizona State on Saturday at the Rose Bowl, but Coach Terry Donahue continued to hold out hope that starting quarterback Wayne Cook would be able to play.

Cook sat out practice for the third day in a row, recuperating at home under doctor’s orders because of a bruised right kidney, suffered in the first half of Saturday’s game at Washington State.

“If he can practice Thursday and Friday or even just Friday, we’ll start him and play him,” Donahue said of Cook, adding that a quick assimilation of a game plan for the Sun Devils would be no problem.

Donahue added that Cook was in no pain, but is still passing blood in his urine and that doctors were waiting for it to clear before giving him permission to play.

Walker said Wednesday that he presumed that he would start because of the concern about Cook’s injury, but that “Wayne’s the No. 1 quarterback, and if he comes back, he would play.”

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Running back Skip Hicks returned to drills after being held out of part of Tuesday’s practice when he fell on a shoulder. . . . A major reason for Arizona State’s resurgence from a 2-4 start to a 5-4 record: Freshman Jake Plummer has led the offense to an average of 36.8 points over the last four games. . . . In the last two seasons, UCLA is 13-3 with linebacker Jamir Miller in the lineup, 0-4 without him.