Tuesday's football practice for the Montana Grizzlies took a somber turn when cornerback Trumaine Johnson was injured and hospitalized, but Griz coach Bobby Hauck reported later in the evening that the sophomore is going to be fine.

"I don't know what it means for the weekend," Hauck, whose 6-0 club is preparing for a game at Sacramento State Saturday, said after visiting Johnson at St. Patrick Hospital. "But I'm just glad he's OK."

Johnson, a sophomore, lay on the River Bowl practice field motionless for several minutes after a collision with an unidentified player.

The Grizzlies were having a full-pad practice; players are directed to go at "thud tempo," meaning make contact and practice ball security, but don't take anyone to the ground. Johnson was apparently knocked unconscious in a collision with a tight end.

Drills continued in the rain as first UM's training staff and then emergency medical technicians took every precaution with Johnson. His jersey, shoulder pads and undershirt were cut away and facemask removed. Johnson was put on a stabilizing board for transport.

The ambulance left the River Bowl at 5:22 p.m.; practice then was cut short.

Hauck said at the time that it appeared Johnson did not have a neck injury.

"That's what they said, it's not a neck injury," Hauck said. "Which is usually good. (But) any time anybody stays down that long it's (alarming)."

Johnson is ninth in tackles for the No. 2-ranked Griz, who are 6-0. He leads the team with six pass breakups and two interceptions.

No update on his condition was made available by St. Pat's by Tuesday evening.

Earlier Tuesday Hauck was talking up a Sacramento State program that is coming off its first .500 season - the Hornets were 6-6 in 2008 - since 2000.

"They've done a couple really nice things this year," Hauck said of the 2-4 Hornets, who won two straight Big Sky Conference games - at Portland State and against visiting Idaho State - after an 0-3 start. "Winning in Portland is hard. Not many people have done that in recent years. In fact I think we were the only team to beat Portland there."

"They typically play real well at home, and year-in and year-out they tend to upset one of the better teams in our league."

It's a younger group of Hornets, though familiar names like standout defensive tackle Christian Clark and quarterback Jason Smith dot the roster.

Sacramento State is searching for its first win over a ranked opponent since beating No. 17 Montana State in 2004, but had a nice road win over Eastern Washington last season, and pushed Weber State before losing 32-27 at home to the Wildcats.

The year before the Hornets counted a 38-9 win over Northern Arizona among their three victories.

The Griz are ranked sixth in the Football Championship Subdivision in passing efficiency, with junior Andrew Selle ranking fifth among individual quarterbacks, at 157.4.

Justin Roper's rating of 148.9 would rank him 18th, if he had enough attempts. At any rating, Hauck continues to be happy with the tandem, and teammate Ty Palmer likewise says the two-headed QB approach is working.

"Sometimes I don't know who's actually in," said the senior receiver, who caught Selle's 10th TD pass in a 41-34 win over Eastern Washington on Saturday. "I just line up and they throw the ball. And I'll go, 'Oh, it was Justin this time or Andrew this time.' Not a big difference, guy to guy.

"I live with Ropes," he added. "He's a good guy and I knew he was a good player coming in. But they've both played fine."

QUICK KICKS: Sac State has averaged 10,019 fans for its first two home games at 20,000-seat Hornet Stadium. ... Montana is 14-0 all-time against the Hornets. ... Griz return man Marc Mariani leads the FCS in punt returns, averaging 24.1 yards. ... UM's Jabin Sambrano is seventh in kickoff returns, averaging 29.5 yards. ... Sac State coach Marshall Sperbeck played QB at Nevada in 1983-84, when the Wolfpack were in the Big Sky. ... A high of 79 degrees is forecast for Sacramento on Saturday. ... Ryan Perrilloux, the LSU transfer who missed Jacksonville State's first game for disciplinary reasons, leads the FCS in passing efficiency at 195.1. ... UM was the only home loss for Portland State in 2008, '06 and '02.