After watching Mitch Leidner practice the past two days, Gophers coach Jerry Kill said Wednesday that he is cautiously optimistic the sophomore quarterback will be able to play Saturday at Michigan.
Leidner missed the San Jose State game after barely practicing last week because of turf toe. He also has a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, but he played with that on Sept. 13 at TCU.
"He's moving around a lot better than last week," Kill said.
Redshirt sophomore Chris Streveler filled in for Leidner against San Jose State and completed only one pass but rushed for 161 yards in the 24-7 victory.
Heading to 110,000-seat Michigan Stadium, the Gophers would like to build on Leidner's experience and feel he played pretty well there last year in his first Big Ten start.
"I think being there last year and being in that environment, that helps Mitch [if he plays Saturday], and it helps all the ones who played," Kill said.
Leidner threw three interceptions and lost a fumble in the 30-7 loss at TCU before the turf toe injury forced him from the game.
Quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski said Leidner is coping well.
"Not playing as well as he wanted to, and then getting hurt, and then trying to recover while you're playing, and then getting hurt again, and then it just becomes frustration," Zebrowski said. "I think his spirits are much better, or getting there. But I think he just wants to get to full health and play and just see what happens."
Other injury notes
• Tight end Maxx Williams, who missed last week's game because of a calf injury, returned to practice Wednesday. Kill said the team limited what Williams did, but the coach is eager to see how Williams and Leidner both feel Thursday.
• Defensive end Alex Keith hasn't played since the season opener because of a knee injury, but Kill said he expects the junior to play at Michigan.
