Fill-In Tailbacks Ready

Don’t expect the absence of DeShaun Foster to trigger radical changes in the offense.

“We have to deal with what players do best,” Coach Bob Toledo said. “We don’t change because one player is gone.”

Akil Harris has some of Foster’s elusiveness at tailback and Manuel White has some of Foster’s power. Together, Toledo believes, they might be surprisingly effective.

“They will do extremely well,” Toledo said. “Akil is not a rookie. And Manuel has a lot of ability.”

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Senior center Troy Danoff probably will start after sitting out one game because of a separated shoulder and sprained ankle.

The center calls blocking assignments, a responsibility that was left to Danoff’s replacement, redshirt freshman John Ream, against Washington State.

“Ream actually graded out very high,” tackle Mike Saffer said. “He did a great job blocking and his calls were fine. Of course, getting Danoff back is huge.”

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Scott McEwan is back at No. 2 on the depth chart at quarterback. An ankle injury kept him from playing last week and third-stringer Ryan McCann started.

“I’m as close to 100% as I can be,” McEwan said.

Cory Paus, who did not start last week because of a sore thumb, practiced well all week and will start against Oregon.

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Receiver Tab Perry is scheduled to return to Los Angeles from Pullman, Wash., today. Perry suffered four broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung Saturday against Washington State and has been recovering in a Pullman hospital.