Wisconsin football: Badgers S Michael Caputo expected to return against Miami (Ohio)

MADISON -- The question was posed by a reporter to Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda inside the McClain Center on Wednesday evening if he expected redshirt senior safety Michael Caputo to play Saturday.

"I am," Aranda said.

Caputo also spoke with media on Wednesday, and if he passes the concussion protocol he's still under evaluation for it appears the team captain will return to play against the Miami (Ohio) Red Hawks on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.

The senior safety practiced Wednesday in a no-contact jersey, per Aranda, and in Caputo's words, felt really good but is still progressing with the protocol. He said he'll "definitely suit up," but will discuss with doctors to confirm if he's ready to return to the field.

His status for Saturday's game is still officially up in the air despite Aranda expecting him on the field, along with the official diagnosis of the head injury. Caputo said he's had two diagnosed concussions in his career, though he's not sure if they're diagnosing this as his third official concussion.

"They don't even know what to call this one," Caputo said, "because the symptoms that I experienced were not of the standard of what, let's just say, our medical board would call a concussion. Like I said, I'm just going through the concussion protocol just to make sure."

Symptoms common with concussions -- nausea, loss of consciousness, fatigue -- were not necessarily felt by Caputo.

Caputo collided with Alabama junior running back Derrick Henry on the third play of Saturday night's game, a 35-17 Crimson Tide win. Aranda said the linebacker blew his gap assignment in the "A" gap on the play and Caputo had to "clean it up."

After the hit, Caputo said he knew something was wrong. He was alert to the problem, though he had begun lining himself up in Alabama's offensive backfield. Caputo said on Wednesday he trusted the UW medical staff and agreed to take himself off the field.

Though Caputo is coming back from a head injury, Aranda said there aren't many concerns about any lingering effects, as Caputo was active on the sideline during the game helping out his teammates.

"He was great on the sideline during the game," Aranda said. "He was giving me all the play-by-play of the big plays we were giving up so he's pretty coherent on the sideline. He's been great ever since, and he's eager to go. I'm looking forward to having him.

"Everything's been positive to this point."