Kain Colter played two snaps against Cal, and he got hit on both of them. It was the second one that forced him to leave the game, and he did not return in the Wildcat’s 44-30 victory over the Golden Bears.
It was…kind of a whip lash,” Colter said. “I was going forward and got hit back. I think it’s kind of a combination of both of those (is) what did it. I’ve gotten my bell rung before and I didn’t feel like it was a lot different. Maybe I should have stayed down because I got up and stumbled a bit and that’s when everybody got a little worried but I’ll be good to go. Didn’t lose consciousness or anything like that.”
While he’s not officially cleared for this Saturday, he is certainly planning on playing and is eager to do so. If he does play, he’ll even have the benefit of fresh legs after what amounted to a week off.
“All the guys who’ve got a certain amount of starts, they always get a veteran day and I just like to think I took my veteran day a little late this year,” he said. “I feel good.”
Colter’s greatest asset is his mobility, with 894 yards rushing last year in addition to the 872 yards passing. Many of those yards came on the option read, meaning the quarterback has to prepare to take some hits that he wouldn’t otherwise take. For a player with a recent concussion, this is preferably avoided; however, Colter said he doesn’t plan to change the way he plays.
“I’ve taken way bigger hits than that and you can’t play football scared,” Colter said. “I’m going to still be the same player. Don’t expect me to go out there trying to truck safeties and linebackers but I’m going to go out there and make all the plays that I can make and I’m going to be the same player. I might slide in certain situations but my mindset when I’m out there running, in game mode, is I’m not going to slide. I’m not really thinking about that. I’m thinking about getting the first down, picking up as many yards as I can.”