Penn State tailback Austin Scott suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his knee during Wednesday's practice and will be out for roughly six weeks, Scott's mother, JoAnn Scott, said yesterday.

Scott underwent an MRI last evening and will not require surgery, she added.

"We've been praying that it would be something minor," JoAnn Scott said. "He was depressed at the thought of not playing the [Blue-White] game since this is his last opportunity."

According to JoAnn Scott, the Parkland product was injured after a teammate fell on his leg Wednesday. Prior to that, Scott had been sharing time with starting tailback Tony Hunt, who has been somewhat limited this spring.

Scott broke his ankle last spring and was in a similar position when he was forced to sit out offensive drills. Scott also missed his junior year of high school with a knee injury to the opposite leg.

"He knows he can come back," JoAnn Scott said. "He's very motivated to get back to the performance levels that he can do."

According to Scott's mother, Scott's high-school knee injury was a result of playing a pick-up game of basketball. She mentioned that her son "has an unusual knee." Scott had an extra piece of bone in his knee, something 15 percent of the population shares, until doctors had removed a piece of it and then attached the thigh muscle to the kneecap.

The MCL sprain is completely unrelated, however, as it occurred on the opposite leg.

Scott's injury comes at an awkward time for Penn State with the Blue-White game only a week away. Rodney Kinlaw and Matt Hahn, the projected No. 3 and No. 4 tailbacks, are the lone runners who appear to be 100 percent.

Scott made a convincing case for more playing time in January when he scored two touchdowns in the Orange Bowl, running for 110 yards on 26 carries, and was expected to see more touches this season.

"He wants more time, and that's only natural since he's going to be a senior," JoAnn Scott said.

"But he knows that he still has to work hard."