Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2005 | 10:03 a.m.
Depending on the results of a medical examination he took Monday, UNLV quarterback Shane Steichen could have a difficult choice later this week.
Does Steichen continue playing out the season as the Rebels' starting quarterback with a broken left ring finger that quite possibly needs surgery so that it will heal properly?
Or does Steichen, a 6-foot-4 junior from Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills, Calif., have the surgery, miss a large chunk of the remainder of the season, and start getting ready for his spring practice starting quarterback battle with highly touted USC transfer Rocky Hinds?
"I won't really know anything until Wednesday," Steichen said late Monday afternoon after meeting with hand specialist Dr. Colby Young. "But if I can play, without a doubt I'm going to play."
Steichen was injured early in the first quarter of Saturday night's 31-24 loss at Utah State when the finger got squashed between two helmets at the end of a run. He stayed in the game and didn't tell his coaches of the injury until just before halftime after he fumbled away a pitch on an option play. He remained in the contest and completed 25 of 43 passes for 265 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
The problem with the injury is that the bone is broken right above his knuckle and possibly could need a pin or screws inserted to heal properly. The CT scan, which takes about 24 hours for results, will show a cross section of the broken bone in more detail than X-rays.
Steichen showed up for the end of a light practice on Monday night with the finger in a metal splint. There was a bump the size of a marble where his finger was broken.
Steichen, who also will not practice today, was asked his gut feeling about the injury.
"I think I'm going to be all right," Steichen said. "I think it (the CT-scan) will come out good. I'll be praying on it though."
Junior Jarrod Jackson, who lost his battle for the starting quarterback spot in fall camp to Steichen and has yet to take a snap in a Division I game, would start in Saturday afternoon's Mountain West Conference game at red-hot Wyoming (3-1, 1-0) if Steichen can't play. True freshman Mike McDonald would then move up to second string.
"Jarrod's background is he's won a lot of games," Sanford said of Jackson, a 6-foot-1, 205-pounder who was 21-2 as a starter at Grossmont College in El Cajon, Calif. "He's a winner."
Sanford said the health problem "is not life threatening" but refused to elaborate further. Sharrar is also Sanford's brother-in-law.
Linebackers coach Kurt Barber, who coached the defensive line at Utah in 2003 and also coached the defensive line at Kent State and Tennessee-Martin before that, will take over defensive line coaching duties while defensive coordinator Vic Shealy will coach the linebackers.
Former Rebels defensive coordinator Mike Bradeson will continue to coach the secondary.
Sanford said Henley, who carried six times for 18 yards and also caught two passes for 10 yards as a junior fullback, is expected to finish the semester academically at UNLV before transferring to either a Division I-AA or Division II school for his final season in 2006.
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