Northwestern's beat-up secondary readies for Penn State

By Teddy Greenstein

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald enjoys discussing injuries as much as a teenager digs waking up before dawn.

But Fitzgerald did shed some light on NU's banged-up secondary during his Monday afternoon news conference.

Don't expect NU cornerback Sherrick McManis, who missed the second half of the Indiana game, to play at full strength Saturday against Penn State. Quadriceps and ankle injuries have dogged him all season, and Fitzgerald said that McManis merely "moved around a little bit" in a Monday morning warmup.

Safety Brad Phillips didn't start against Indiana because of a shoulder injury and he came off the field at one point after a collision with a Hoosiers wide receiver. Fitzgerald, though, sounded optimistic that Phillips would play Saturday.

The status of fellow safety Brendan Smith remains unknown following his surgery for a broken thumb. Fitzgerald said he would not update Smith's condition until the release of NU's weekly injury report Thursday.

Bottom line, for the Wildcats to have any chance to beat Penn State, they'll need serious contributions from unheralded defensive backs such as walk-on cornerback Ricky Weina and corner Demetrius Dugar, who looked overmatched in an early-season game at Syracuse.

Young safeties Jared Carpenter and Brian Peters, who played Saturday with a cast on his left hand, will also have to step up against a Nittany Lions offense that features four productive receivers and the Big Ten's most efficient passer in Daryll Clark.