Matt Freed, Post-Gazette West Virginia quarterback Patrick White might be at less than full speed Saturday against No. 13 Rutgers because of two injuries to his right foot -- turf toe and a high ankle sprain. Click photo for larger image.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Patrick White, limping slightly on a right foot replete with its own dynamic duo of injuries, last night vowed he will play Saturday in the Rutgers-West Virginia game that could well determine the Big East champion.

"I'll definitely be ready for Saturday," he said. "Definitely. Yes."

Teammates almost to a man expect White to overcome a turf toe from the Pitt game and a high ankle sprain from Saturday's upset loss to South Florida, return to the backfield alongside running mate Steve Slaton and restore the offensive force that the 15th-ranked Mountaineers (9-2, 4-2) figure to need against 13th-ranked Rutgers (10-1, 5-1).

Coach Rich Rodriguez wasn't so positive, though.

"I can't tell you definitively one way or the other," Rodriguez said.

He aimed to make a decision by midweek between White or redshirt freshman Jarrett Brown.

White, a sophomore just 15 yards shy of the career Big East quarterback rushing record in less than two full seasons, limped off Mountaineer Field the second play of the fourth quarter Saturday.

Brown began preparing to enter the game, but White came back to try to engineer a comeback.

"Didn't have any broken bones," White said. "I could still play. Could still walk. But, yeah, I felt it."

"His running has been a big part of the offense," Rodriguez said. "If he's not running, it takes a little away from our offense."

Brown took the bulk of the snaps in practice last night and is expected to today as well.

"Right now, he's out and I'm in," said Brown, who has completed 14 of 18 passes for 140 yards and rushed 15 times for 103 yards in mop-up duty. "That's how I take it right now. I'm just really going with the flow."

White joked that he doesn't want to relinquish the job to Brown because, "If I do, I might not get it back."

"I'll be back in a couple of days," added White, who took part in individual work, such as throwing passes to route-running receivers, but not in team drills last night. "Just taking a few days off."

Also on the injury front, fullback Owen Schmitt thumped around in a protective boot on his ailing left ankle and heel, but he also expects to play more against Rutgers -- which needs a victory to earn the Big East's BCS bowl berth.

"The past couple of games, I haven't been able to drive off my ankle," Schmitt said of his limited duty. "It'll be nice to see how I can do [this week]."

Added center Dan Mozes, "We need him, blocking-wise. He's a big, old brute. He brings down the thunder when he comes down on people."

Coaching searches

Mike Shula's vacant seat at Alabama was hardly cool yesterday morning when reporters were asking Rodriguez about his name being mentioned as a possible candidate there.

Then again, this came after his name arose at North Carolina a few weeks ago, at Miami late last week, who knows where next.

"No, I haven't been contacted by anybody," Rodriguez said. "I've said before, I'm very happy at West Virginia. My whole focus right now is to win this last ballgame and get ready for the bowl game."

Added Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, reportedly a leading candidate to succeed Larry Coker at Miami, where Schiano previously was the defensive coordinator: "I'm not going to let that become a focal point or distraction in any of our weeks, and especially not this week."

Quick hits

Sun Bowl executive director Bernie Olivas and Texas Bowl director David Brady plan to be in attendance Saturday at Mountaineer Field, the night before bowl bids are formalized. ... Rodriguez dismissed any comparisons to the previous Mountaineers team that opened the season in the Top 10 and got its second loss of the season in its penultimate regular-season game, the 2004 squad that finished with three consecutive defeats: "Ridiculous. ... This team has won nine games and has a chance to go to another bowl game. Is that what everybody wanted? No. Are we to the point now where if we're not in a BCS bowl that it's a bad year at West Virginia? I don't know. I guess we'll find out. ... I'm confident our guys will bounce back and refocus."