Wright undergoes MRI, participates in practice

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) Miami quarterback Kyle Wright underwent an MRI exam on his sprained right thumb Tuesday, then returned to the practice field hours later and continued to insist that he&#39;ll be ready for the Hurricanes&#39; game with Georgia Tech this weekend.<br> <br> The MRI was negative, but Wright is still undergoing a variety of treatments; he&#39;s icing the thumb, protecting it occasionally in a soft cast, dunking it in a hot whirlpool to stimulate blood flow, even playing with Silly Putty to increase his range of motion.<br> <br> ``I&#39;m fully confident that I&#39;ll be able to play,&#39;&#39; said Wright, who turned 21 on Tuesday. ``It&#39;s really just an issue of getting as much treatment as possible over the course of the next couple days, really just sucking it up and dealing with the pain which isn&#39;t a big deal.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Wright threw some passes and participated a bit in practice, but Kirby Freeman took most of the work with the first-string offense on Tuesday. Freeman has appeared in five of Miami&#39;s six games, completing 12 of 21 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns.<br> <br> ``One thing that I do every week is prepare as a starter, simply because you don&#39;t know what could take place,&#39;&#39; Freeman said.<br> <br> Wright suffered the injury to his throwing thumb in the second quarter of No. 6 Miami&#39;s 34-3 win over Temple on Saturday. He completed 9 of 10 passes for 196 yards and four touchdowns, but got hurt when backup offensive lineman Chris Rutledge couldn&#39;t block a blitzing Temple defensive end Christian Dunbar.<br> <br> Wright got sacked by Dunbar, and didn&#39;t return to the game. He was asked Tuesday about how he felt playing behind an offensive line composed of reserves, and jokingly turned to a member of Miami&#39;s sports media relations staff for guidance in answering the question.<br> <br> ``Would I feel more comfortable with the (starting) offensive line? I&#39;m not going to lie yeah,&#39;&#39; Wright said. ``But those guys, they&#39;re going to step up and make plays also. So it was good for them to get a lot of playing time this week. Those are the guys we&#39;re going to need next year.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Wright has the third-highest quarterback rating in the ACC, 138.7. He&#39;s completed 92 of 160 passes for 1,272 yards and 10 touchdowns.<br> <br> ``Kyle seems to be doing fine,&#39;&#39; Miami coach Larry Coker said. ``Everything&#39;s positive there.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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