DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — If Miami University football coach Shane Montgomery were given three limited wishes, he might be tempted to spend all three on his quarterback situation.

Wish No. 1: to keep starting quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh healthy.

Wish No. 2: to get Mike Kokal back on the field.

Wish No. 3: to keep true freshman Clay Belton off the field so that he won't have to use up a year of eligibility.

With a little luck, Montgomery should be able to pocket all three wishes. Kokal's shoulder injury, suffered at Kent State, isn't looking quite so long term as it did a week ago.

"We feel like Mike Kokal could be back in a couple weeks to give us some depth at quarterback," Montgomery said. "How effective he will be, we don't know."

Kokal is out for Saturday's game at Temple, however. Belton is the backup.

"In the back of your mind, you'd like to redshirt Clay Belton, but we also want to win the Mid-American Conference championship," Montgomery said. "We'll take it game by game."

Montgomery noted that he used junior Kyle Decker, whose main job is holding on kicks, at quarterback late in the Bowling Green game. Montgomery worried that by keeping Raudabaugh on the field for the entire game when the score was 47-14, opponents might think he was running up the score.

But the Miami coach said he also didn't want to use Belton unless it was absolutely necessary.

If Raudabaugh gets hurt before Kokal is able to return "and it looks like a long-term injury, we'll have to put Clay in," Montgomery said.

Running back update

Senior tailback Cory Jones is questionable for Saturday's contest. He is trying to recover from a knee injury suffered against Syracuse on the day he ran for a career-high 125 yards. He hasn't played since.

Montgomery, however, is keeping his stable of tailbacks well stocked.

Senior Austin Sykes has played well as the starter, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Redshirt freshman Jamel Miller and true freshman Thomas Merriweather are getting more carries.

And now true freshman T.J. Lattimore has joined the mix. He made his debut last week and picked up 27 yards on five carries, including a 15-yard burst.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.