By Joel Flom
Arizona Daily Wildcat
November 25, 1997

Jenkins hopes reception is better this time around

Last year during the UA-ASU game, redshirt freshman quarterback Ortege Jenkins was not on the sidelines. He was not in the stands. He was not watching from home.

He was trying to listen to the game from a walkman as he laid in bed recovering from surgery on his torn anterior cruciate ligament.

The reception was no good. He got frustrated and turned it off.

"I still haven't seen the whole game," Jenkins said. "They told me it was wild, though."

Understatement of the year?

"I haven't experienced what these other guys have been through," Jenkins said. "I wasn't here. I didn't go through the practice week."

So, without being a part of the melee that occurred last season, Jenkins said that he has no hard feelings towards the Sun Devils.

"It's a big issue for the seniors," Jenkins said. "It's a real big issue for a lot of guys. I am one of a few guys that don't have that vengeance, have that hate."

Not that those feelings won't change.

"Probably from this point on, for the rest of my career, I will have that," Jenkins said. "Right now, I just don't feel like that. It's just another game that we have to win and end on a good note and possibly get a bowl game."

Speedy Recovery

A rivalry can have its healing powers.

UA head coach Dick Tomey expects all of his players, with the exception of senior defensive end Mike Szlauko, to be healthy and ready to play in Friday's contest against Arizona State in Tempe.

"This game is a great healer," Tomey said. "I think with this game, if you can go at all, you are going to go. The guys will rise to the occasion that way."

Sophomore tailback Trung Canidate, who has missed four starts because of his left ankle, said that he will be ready for the Sun Devils.

"As much as I am going to be," Canidate said about his health. "With this extra adrenaline, I might be 100 percent."

That will be a boost for the Wildcats. In just seven games this season, Canidate has rushed for 742 yards and four touchdowns.

Senior offensive guard Ryan Turley, who has been out with a bad left ankle since the Stanford game, is also a possibility.

"We could have played last Saturday," Tomey said. "But we will just have a few more guys closer (to being healthy)."

The rest will especially help the defensive line, who have been hampered with injuries all year long.

"Joe Salavéa will be more ready to play," Tomey said "So will Daniel Greer. I think there will be more guys that will be able to go longer."

Salave'a, a senior defensive tackle that has been hampered by lower leg complications, is second on the team with eight sacks.

Greer, also a senior defensive tackle bothered by a bad leg, is tied for first on the team with 13 tackles for a loss.

Szlauko, the lone Wildcat that is not expected to be ready, leads the team in sacks and tackles for a loss. He has missed five games because of a bad back.