Freshman quarterback Jaxson Dart is still wearing the brace on his right knee, now three weeks since having minor surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He's still not taking part in full team periods, though he did advance to throwing in one-on-one periods Tuesday.
And Donte Williams still isn't providing any specifics on the impressive freshman's timeline for a return.
As far as Dart is concerned, though, it can't come soon enough.
"I would say as soon as possible. I'm just trying to stay on top of everything, like I said, doing a ton of therapy, ton of rehab. And I picture myself coming back sooner than later," he said after practice Tuesday in his first interview since injuring the knee halfway through his electric 391-yard, 4-touchdown, 2-interception performance off the bench at Washington State.
It was after that game, before the full severity of Dart's knee injury came to light, that interim coach Donte Williams sparked talk of a "QB battle" with starter Kedon Slovis, who had been forced out in the first series with a neck injury that day.
So the question remains -- and remains unanswered -- what will happen when Dart is cleared for a full return?
"I would say the biggest thing for me right now is just trying to, like I said, control what I can control. So just staying on top of my rehab, staying on top of the film so I feel like the time that I come back, I don't miss a beat and I'll put myself in the best situation," Dart said. "Our team's going to keep progressing and we're gonna keep doing a good job of that."
For his part, Williams was only asked Tuesday about the timeline for Dart's return.
"Every day pretty much he gets sped up a little bit, but at the same time we don't need to rush him too much right now because this is a bye week. If this was the week of Notre Dame, then I'm sure he'd probably be a lot more full-go," he said, adding more weight to optimism for a quick return. "I definitely got a chance to see him throw some skelly, he threw indy and a couple other things like that, so just working him in there and making sure he's fully ready to go."
