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RBs to split carries: Head coach Jeff Tedford said senior Joe Igber will the starter at tailback, but sophomore Terrell Williams will get a share of the carries. Igber missed the last four games of 2001 with a broken collarbone, and Williams was impressive as his replacement, racking up three 100-yard rushing games in Igber’s absence. 

“You can’t go with just one back,” Tedford said. “They’ll both see a lot of action.” 

Freshman make take kickoffs: Mark Jensen and Tyler Fredrickson have solid holds on the placekicking and punting jobs, respectively, but true freshman Kevin Johnson is making a push on kickoffs. Tedford is considering using Johnson, who has a powerful leg, on kickoffs, even if it means using up a year of eligibility for the Red Bluff Union High graduate. 

“It’s a tremendous weapon if you can put kickoffs out the back of the end zone on a regular basis,” Tedford said. “Kevin may be able to do that for us.” 

Injury report: The starting offensive line is finally starting to get healthy. Senior guard Scott Tercero is finally at full speed, while fellow guard Jon Geisel has recovered sufficiently from a hamstring injury to resume limited practice... Sophomore linebacker Ryan Estes sprained his foot earlier this week and is wearing a boot. Tedford said he may redshirt if the injury is serious enough to keep him out of the early games... Starting middle linebacker John Klotsche’s chronic knee problems have flared up again, so he is allowed only limited contact for the time being... Wideout Jonathon Makonnen had the cast removed from a broken finger.