Claiborne Expected to Start Against Cal

Freshman middle linebacker Chris Claiborne ran easily and without apparent pain Thursday, 24 hours after suffering a minor knee sprain in Wednesday’s practice.

He is expected to start Saturday against California.

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Freshman quarterback Mike Van Raaphorst can’t throw for at least four weeks after having arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder Tuesday.

“I hurt it weightlifting in the second week of the season, and they found a lot of fragments in there that they cleaned up,” he said.

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Sophomore wide receiver Billy Miller, plagued in the early season with drops in games and practice, explained his two-touchdown performance against Houston this way:

“I was thinking of extra yardage and touchdowns too much. At Houston, I focused only on the ball, on the catch, and the touchdowns just took care of themselves.”