Chris Ganter was conflicted.

Here before him was a painful scene. Zack Mills standing still, ice on the shoulder of his prone right arm, looking over his motionless counterpart Michael Robinson. Both Penn State quarterbacks were injured and Ganter had little time to dwell on the magnitude of the situation.

As the third-stringer, he only takes about 10 percent of the reps in practice. Now, he had to get ready to play.

"My first reaction was out of concern for Mike because that play didn't look good at all," Ganter said. "But then I was just excited and ready to get in there."

The junior signal caller has had a much different week as Penn State's quarterback situation remains cloudy.

Robinson is out -- that much is known. Though predominately a wide receiver this season, Robinson was filling in at quarterback for an injured Mills in the first quarter of last Saturday's loss at Wisconsin.

Everything beyond that remains largely uncertain.

Mills suffered a slight separation of his right, non-throwing shoulder on the first play of the Wisconsin game and was unable to return. Early in the week, Mills took it easy in practice, not going all out as he normally might as a precaution.

Not even Mills' family was saying what his status for this weekend would be.

"You'd have to ask Zack," Mills' father Eric said.

But for the second straight week, Mills was not made available to the media, further throwing a veil over the quarterback situation.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno said Mills would be monitored throughout the week to determine his status for tomorrow night's game at Minnesota. Mills was listed as probable by the team this week and Paterno sounded confident that he would be able to play.

"I think he'll be able to go this week," Paterno told the Penn State Radio Network last night. "Hopefully he'll be able to stay in there. We might have a chance to use Morelli and a chance to use Ganter."

Mills has been practicing, and barring any setbacks today, will most likely be starting for the Nittany Lions tomorrow night.

But given his injury, the Lions have to be prepared in the event Mills can't go, or reaggravates his shoulder. Beyond Mills, Paterno indicated that the coaches would be watching the performances of Ganter and true freshman Anthony Morelli this week to "see which one responds to the situation."

Though Morelli was a highly touted blue-chip recruit and has the stronger arm of the two, this is Ganter's fourth year in the Penn State system and he would be more knowledgeable of the team's full playbook. Ganter said the play calling was not limited at all when he came in against the Badgers.

Mills is listed first on this week's depth chart, with Ganter second and Morelli third.

Ganter's father and longtime Penn State offensive coordinator Fran Ganter, now in the front office for the Lions, said he hasn't talked to his son about whether he would play, but said all of the quarterbacks would be better prepared to play.

"It's very hard to get three quarterbacks ready," Fran Ganter said of last week's unexpected dilemma. "One and two guys get 90 percent of the snaps and the third team guy, they kind of stand in the back, stick their nose in the huddle and try to imagine they were in there. They get mental reps, just not getting in there physically. [Chris] will get more chances physically this week, as will Anthony."

-- Collegian staff writer Jenny Vrentas contributed to this article.