As Michael Robinson prepares to make his first career start at quarterback for the Penn State football team, Zack Mills is just beginning to move his leg again.

Mills, who sustained a grade two sprain of the MCL in his left knee on the final play of the first quarter last Saturday, took the immobilizer off of his leg yesterday. He had been in the protective brace since the injury and has not practiced this week.

While the rehabilitation work is going well and, to this point, consisted of some work on a stationary bike, Mills says it is unlikely that he will play against Wisconsin this weekend.

At most, Mills said he would be the third-string emergency option at quarterback against the Badgers. Right now, the trainers are preaching caution rather than quickness.

"It's the type of thing where they want it to heal up," Mills said. We finally started to work on some range of movement things [yesterday] morning. It went pretty well today and we're going to move on from there."

Against Minnesota, Mills kept the ball on the option and was tackled by two Gophers defenders. The second tackler came in at the very end of the play and some Penn State players wondered after the game whether or not it was a late hit.

While Mills said the play was clean, he did mention that the extra work on his knee has made for a more hectic day.

"The days definitely have been long," Mills said. "I started rehab at 6:15 and had class all day. You just have to do what you have to do to get healthy."

In the depth chart released Monday, Mills was listed as the potential starter for Saturday's game, but both he and Penn State football coach Joe Paterno said the job is Robinson's this week. Mills, who has 496 yards passing and a touchdown this season, said he's looking towards Penn State's Oct. 11 matchup at Purdue for a possible return date.

Sophomore Chris Ganter will most likely be the second-string quarterback this weekend. Being the "extra set of eyes" on the sideline instead of the player on the field has been an interesting position, Mills said, and one that's helping him stay with the team.

"I have to ride the good, old bike twice during practice," Mills said. "I'm not getting my reps, so I'm just watching. I have to stay in the game mentally to go through those reps."