As doctors attempt to identify the nature and severity of a right-knee injury sustained at Oklahoma on Saturday, Hurricane middle linebacker Trent Martin underwent an MRI on Monday.
A TU spokesman described Martin's status as "week to week," meaning that Hurricane coaches are uncertain whether the third-year sophomore from Jenks might be available for the Thursday, Sept. 26 home clash with Iowa State.
With eight career starts, Martin is among the more experienced of the currently active Hurricane defensive players. In his 37th career start, linebacker Shawn Jackson had 15 tackles against the Sooners. Linebacker DeWitt Jennings has nine starts, while Martin and linebacker Mitchell Osborne each has eight.
TU's leader in career starts is Demarco Nelson, who would have been a senior free safety. Before the opener at Bowling Green, Nelson was suspended for the entire season because of an academic issue. The Bowling Green game would have been Nelson's 40th start. He is expected to return in 2014 as a fifth-year senior.
Walk-ons contribute: So far this season, six walk-on players have been on the field for the Hurricane.
Defensive end Colt Buehner, defensive end Hayden Carman and fullback Colby Scott have gotten snaps, while kicker Carl Salazar and defensive backs Matt Linscott and Shawn Norman have been involved on special teams.
Linscott is a redshirt freshman from Jenks. Buehner is a Pittsburgh, Pa., native and a sophomore transfer from Ohio University. His father, Bill Buehner, was a tight end on TU's 1991 Freedom Bowl team.
Another Thursday game: Entering next week's game, TU is 1-2 while Iowa State is 0-2. The teams meet for the third time in 13 months, with the Cyclones having prevailed in the 2012 opener at Ames. In the Liberty Bowl rematch, Tulsa won 31-17.
The Golden Hurricane has three Thursday games this season. The season began with a Thursday, Aug. 29 defeat at Bowling Green. On Thursday, Nov. 14, Marshall visits H.A. Chapman Stadium for what could be a very important Conference USA contest.
To have three Thursday games results in an irregular schedule, but it's not nearly as irregular as what Tulsa experienced in 2009. That season, the Hurricane had two Wednesday games, two Friday games and a Sunday game.
TU
Logan McCracken led the University of Tulsa men's team to a fifth-place finish Tuesday in the Columbia Regional Preview at The Club of Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Mo.
Mitchell Wilbekin, rated by Scout.com as a three-star national point guard prospect, confirmed on Monday night his commitment to the University of Tulsa basketball program.
