Battered California should be the perfect get-well game for Washington, and Huskies quarterback Keith Price is apparently feeling well enough to face a defense allowing 44.4 points and 525 yards per game.
Price, dealing with an injured thumb on his right throwing hand, went through his most extensive practice of the week Thursday and head coach Steve Sarkisian was suitably impressed.
"I'd be surprised if he didn't play," Sarkisian told the Seattle Times. "We had a plan for today of what we wanted to get done on the field and then looking at the film as a staff. So stick to the plan. But just off of first glimpse, real time, I thought he looked really good."
Price had been demonstrating the fine form of his record-breaking sophomore season, completing 71.3 percent of his passes for 1,394 yards and 11 touchdowns against three interceptions in leading UW to a 4-1 start. But after being hurt late in the loss at Stanford , Price has regressed in consecutive defeats to Oregon and Arizona State, connecting on just 35 of 71 passes for 399 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
Still, Price isn't using the injury as an excuse.
"If I'm healthy enough, if I'm out there to play, then I'm healthy enough to make the throws," Price said Wednesday.
That attitude will need to carry over to the field for UW to get its season back on track.
Follow Dan Greenspan on Twitter @DanGreenspan.
