Oregon State QB Jake Luton unlikely to play vs. Arizona

The Oregon State Beavers have split quarterbacking duties this season, but it looks like that won’t be an option for them Saturday when they host the Arizona Wildcats.

OSU head coach Jonathan Smith told reporters Thursday that Jake Luton is doubtful for Saturday’s game “unless there is a drastic change,” according to Amy Schwartz of BeaverBlitz.com.

Luton, who missed several games last season with a thoracic spine fracture, is dealing with an ankle injury. The 6-foot-7 pocket-passer is 28-of-45 for 372 yards, one touchdown and one interception this year.

Luton hardly played in OSU’s first two games due to a concussion, but he threw for 284 yards in the loss to Nevada last week.

With Luton looking unlikely to play Saturday, the Beavers will turn to sophomore Conor Blount, who has fared pretty well this year. The 6-foot-1 Wisconsin native is 39-of-61 with four TDs and one interception. Neither Luton nor Blount provide much of a rushing threat, but Blount is little more mobile than Luton.

Blount was 12-of-20 for 175 yards, a touchdown and an interception against Nevada.

“I think the preparation piece for the two quarterbacks is not as drastic,” UA head coach Kevin Sumlin said Monday. “Both of them threw it quite a bit. They (also) have two really good running backs, one who leads the league in rushing, a big tight end and a receiver who had 200 receiving yards last week.”

Our friends at Building the Dam have the full Oregon State injury report.