UW offensive coordinator Tim Lappano, in his regular weekly briefing with the media today, said that Husky quarterback Jake Locker is scheduled to see a hand specialist on Wednesday to get an update on the broken thumb on his throwing hand.

Lappano says that the team will know more after that examination whether Locker will be able to return this season.

But Lappano held out the possibility that Locker is done for the year.

"Is he going to play this year before the season is over? Who knows,'' Lappano said. "It's highly unlikely I would guess. But tomorrow we'll know more when they find out a little bit more about it.''

UW coach Tyrone Willingham said Monday that the timetable on Locker remained 6-8 weeks from the time of the surgery, which was the week after the Stanford game Sept. 27.

But Lappano said that not only will Locker need time to recover, but he will also then need some rehab time to get back into playing form.

"I do think it's going to take some time to rehab it a little bit where you can squeeze and grab and feel the ball and get the strength back and all of that,'' Lappano said. "So I think it would be a tough call (that he could return this year). I pray I'm wrong, but I don't know.''

Lappano, however, said there is no worry that the injury will affect Locker long-term.

"He's not going to miss spring ball or anything like that,'' Lappano said.

Lappano said Locker now has the injury in a hard cast and that as of last week, still felt throbbing at times in the thumb, particularly at night.

In other notes:

--- Lappano said he doesn't expect RB David Freeman to play this week, leaving UW with three players at tailback --- Willie Griffin, Terrance Dailey and Brandon Johnson.

--- He said fullback Luke Kravitz was bothered by a foot injury against Arizona but should be back to full status this week.

--- He said G Casey Bulyca could be out 2-7 weeks depending on what is learned in his arthroscopic surgery today, again leaving open the chance that he could return this season.

--- Walk-on Taylor Bean remains the No. 2 QB behind Ronnie Fouch as the team will redshirt true freshman Luther Leonard.

--- TE Kavario Middleton is just about fully recovered from the knee injury suffered against BYU and could see more of a role this week against the Beavers.

--- Lappano assessed OSU's defense as rapidly improving and said "they do a great job of evaluating talent. They've got a good scheme and they do a good job of getting the kids that they have fit into their scheme. ... They recruit well to their system.''

--- Lappano said the Beavers remain an aggressive defense that likes to bump-and-run on the corners. "They've been able to bump you and not give up too many deep balls,'' he said.

--- Lappano said the Huskies are working to curb Griffin's fumbling issues. He fumbled twice against Arizona, losing one for a turnover, something the coach said has been an issue since last spring. Lappano said Griffin "was not a fumbler in high school.''

--- Lappano was one of the two assistants who did not go on the road recruiting last week, staying in town along with defensive coordinator Ed Donatell and Willingham to run practices and help formulate the game plan for this week. Lappano admitted recruiting is tough right now, saying other schools are using UW's current struggles to scare kids off of Washington. "It's a tough struggle right now,'' he said. "I'm not going to lie to you about that.''