How serious is the injury to Melila Purcell III?

Nobody really seems to have an answer, not even Purcell.

The starting defensive end for the University of Hawai'i football team missed his second consecutive practice yesterday because of an injured left foot.

On Tuesday, a cast covered his foot only, much like a shoe. Yesterday, a larger cast covered his foot and ankle, much like a boot. For the second consecutive day, he walked around the practice field with the aid of crutches.

"It's getting better," Purcell said. "But I'm still not sure what's going on."

When asked if he would be ready to play at Michigan State on Saturday, Purcell responded: "Hopefully ... well, not really. If Coach puts me in, he puts me in, but I don't know."

Head coach June Jones said: "It's a concern, but I think that he'll be OK and he'll play."

The 6-foot-5 senior led the team last season with 15 1/2 tackles for loss and six sacks.

Sophomore Karl Noa has been working with the first-team defense in place of Purcell.

QB ROTATION CONTINUES

Head coach June Jones said Tyler Graunke and Colt Brennan will continue to share time at quarterback on Saturday.

"Both will play; I'm not sure who will start right now," Jones said.

Graunke started the season opener against Southern California, but he and Brennan alternated on virtually every play. They combined to complete 33 of 49 passes for 377 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

"There's no starter, but I can't worry about that," Graunke said. "I just have to go out and execute the plays the coach calls when I'm in there."

Brennan added: "It's about winning football games, so I just want to make sure that when I'm in there, I'm doing everything I can to put points on the board and put the team in a position to win."

Jones said he would eventually like to have one player emerge as the quarterback, although this week may not be the final test.

"I think both of them can play," Jones said. "But I think it's only fair that they come along faster if only one guy's in there. So we'll just make the call and go with it. It might be against Idaho (on Sept. 24), it might not."

OFFENSE IN SILENT MODE

In preparation for an expected capacity crowd of around 73,000 at Spartan Stadium, the Hawai'i offense has been practicing its "silent" snaps this week.

Because the quarterback's commands will probably be inaudible, the Warrior offense will rely on self-timing instead.

"Opposing teams have trouble with the snap count and all different kind of things," Jones said. "We have to manage the crowd noise."

Starting offensive tackle Dane Uperesa said the linemen will figure out "cues" before the game to signal the snap.

"We talk it over with the center and then it's just a matter of getting the timing down," he said. "We actually got to use it a little bit in the USC game, so we know what to expect."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.