Lutrus cleared to play against Pitt

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STORRS, Conn. - Linebacker Scott Lutrus, sidelined after sustaining a stinger in UConn's season-opener against Ohio just over a month ago, will likely play Saturday when the Huskies begin Big East play at Pittsburgh.

"Scott met with the neurologist this morning and there's good news in terms of what the neurologist said: they're allowing him to practice today," UConn head coach Randy Edsall said Tuesday afternoon. "He's probable to play in the game based on how he will do.

"It's a situation where, with stingers, you never know. Guys have played through it. If you get one, you can get another one. But he's been cleared to practice [and] he's been cleared to play this Saturday based on how he would do this week in practice."

Lutrus, a 6-foot-2, 241-pound junior who had started every game since his redshirt freshman year at Husky linebacker, led the Huskies with 106 tackles last season. He sustained the injury in the fourth quarter of UConn's 23-16 victory at Ohio on Sept. 5 and missed UConn's next three games.

The matter had become a sore subject with Edsall in recent days. He said earlier Tuesday that he was tired of giving updates on Lutrus' physical condition, even going so far as to suggest that the junior could be out "the whole season" as a result of the injury, before receiving the update an hour later from Jeff Anderson, the team doctor, and head athletic trainer Bob Howard.

Edsall said Lutrus was doubtful to play when last addressing the situation on Sunday. The linebacker was removed from the depth chart this week and replaced by redshirt freshman Jory Johnson and redshirt sophomore Jonathan Jean-Louis.

Lutrus was unavailable for comment Tuesday, but said two weeks ago that there was no lingering physical issue from the injury.

"It was just the limited motion," Lutrus said on Sept. 22. "At one point my arm wasn't working, but I never had any pain."

The Huskies (3-1) used junior Kijuan Dabney as the Husky linebacker against North Carolina the week following Lutrus' injury before choosing to play in a nickel defense against Baylor and Rhode Island.

Dabney is out for the rest of the season with a left shoulder injury and will undergo surgery Wednesday.