Concussion Slowed Leinart

USC quarterback Matt Leinart said Tuesday that he suffered a mild concussion against Arizona State, but that he would be ready to play against Arizona.

Leinart was knocked out of Saturday’s 38-28 victory at Arizona State when Sun Devil linebacker Robert James leveled him with a late hit in the first quarter. Leinart missed only two plays but said afterward that did not know if he was “there” the whole game.

“The hit obviously dinged me up a little bit,” Leinart said, adding, “I made some mistakes I would never make in a million years.”

Leinart, for example, attempted a naked bootleg on a third-down play in the third quarter and was tackled for a six-yard loss.

“I’ll tell you the same thing I told the coaches: I have no excuse, no reason for what I did,” he said.

After limited activity on Monday, Leinart went through a full practice Tuesday and said he felt fine.

Leinart said the shot James delivered might have been the hardest he’s sustained at USC because he was not expecting it. He received several stitches under his chin and said he had bruises all over his body.

“For whatever reason, they made it a point that they wanted maybe to get me out,” Leinart said. “I don’t know what they were thinking, but it’s going to take a lot, obviously a lot more, to get me out of the game.”

Asked if he could understand why an opponent would want to knock him out a game, Leinart said, “I don’t understand the philosophy of cheap shots.”

Leinart said Arizona State Coach Dirk Koetter apologized for the late hit after the game. “I have a lot of respect for Coach Koetter,” Leinart said.

Leinart, however, apparently does not feel the same about Sun Devil fans who rejoiced at his misfortune. “When people cheer for someone when he gets hurt and is on the ground, I think that’s kind of disrespectful and classless,” he said.

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As expected, freshman safety Kevin Ellison will miss the rest of the season because of a left knee injury suffered while intercepting a pass against Arizona State. Ellison said doctors told him his anterior cruciate ligament was stretched and that he had a broken tibia. Ellison said he would have arthroscopic surgery as soon as possible and would probably have reconstructive surgery at a later date.

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Middle linebacker Oscar Lua left practice after dislocating the pinkie finger on his right hand but will practice today.... Running back LenDale White sat out part of practice after offensive lineman Sam Baker stepped on White’s big toe. White missed five days in training camp when tight end Dale Thompson stepped on the same toe and caused the nail to come off. White said he would practice today.

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Defensive end Chris Barrett returned to practice after missing several weeks because of a strained leg muscle.... Though USC does not go on the road again until next week against Notre Dame, Coach Pete Carroll said he would have crowd noise piped in to practice today to help prepare the team. Carroll said crowd noise at Sun Devil Stadium contributed to several penalties against Arizona State.