Michigan updates injury situation heading into Penn State week

Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh took to the podium on Monday for his weekly press conference and was asked about the injury status of a handful of players who missed the game at Illinois, which included wide receiver Nico Collins, cornerback Lavert Hill and defensive end Kwity Paye.

None of the ailments were believed to be considered serious when they were ruled out of the game prior to Illinois, but Harbaugh was asked about their collective statuses for this week. He told the media that he would rather not comment on those types of things, but that if he did comment on it, he feels it would be a positive comment for their chances of playing this weekend at Penn State.

Michigan’s handling of those three players felt precautionary in a game they could afford to not have them out there, so we will have to wait and see if that was the case heading into Happy Valley this weekend. That Harbaugh even commented on it (albeit briefly) at all seems to point towards feeling good about getting them back in a game where all hands are on deck.

As far as backup quarterback Dylan McCaffrey goes, he was cleared ahead of the Illinois game and was ready to play if they saw it fit. He had missed the previous two games while going through the concussion protocol after taking a nasty hit at Wisconsin on Sept. 21.

Saturday night’s game from Beaver Stadium kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast via ABC.