After spraining his ankle in Saturday's win over Western Michigan, Minnesota quarterback MarQueis Gray remains out of practice and is not expected to see the field this week against Syracuse as reported by 1500ESPN.com's Nate Sandell.
Though head coach Jerry Kill told his senior quarterback to prepare as if he would be the backup for Saturday's game, it's clear that Gray has virtually no shot at seeing the field at this point without being able to practice. Kill did acknowledge that his star passer was improving quite well, but conceded that the two-week timetable might be a tad more accurate.
"He wasn't real fast, to be honest with you, but he did jog and move around," Kill said Wednesday. "Is he ready to go tomorrow? No, but he showed progress. Again, he keeps showing progress. It's day by day. I don't know how long it will be."
Sophomore Max Shortell is expected to start under center against the Orange, and without Gray around to breathe down his neck, may very well be on the verge of creating a quarterback controversy with another strong fill-in performance. While Gray's obvious athleticism and experience should make him the de facto starter when he's close to 100%, it will be interesting to see how things play out heading into Minnesota's Sept. 29 Big Ten opener against Iowa.
Stay with this StoryStream for more news heading into Minnesota's game with Syracuse, and be sure to visit The Daily Gopher for more Gophers football coverage. Also check out SB Nation's college football hub for more analysis from around the country.