Cougs, Huskies give thanks by practicing

The Washington State football team will celebrate Thanksgiving in Moscow, Idaho.

Coach Paul Wulff said the team will practice on Thursday morning. Then they'll go to the University Inn in nearby Moscow for a Thanksgiving meal at midday.

The meal will include players, coaches, staff and family members.

The Washington football team will also practice Thursday morning, but players and coaches will scatter for Thanksgiving.

Team spokesman Jeff Bechthold said a large number of UW players are from the Seattle area, and those that aren't have invitations to dine with teammates or friends.

The teams play Saturday in the Apple Cup.

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ELISARA RETURNS: Washington defensive tackle Cameron Elisara is expected to play on Saturday for the first time since suffering stingers in the first half of the Oct. 17 game at Arizona State.

"I think the rest has definitely done what it was supposed to do. I feel like I'm back to normal now," Elisara said.

His timing couldn't be better, especially from a family perspective. Elisara's father, Matt, was a defensive tackle for the Cougars from 1979-81.

And the Huskies run defense could use his stocky frame clogging up the middle of the line. Since Elisara went out, the Huskies have been allowing 172 yards per game on the ground, including 259 yards rushing by Oregon and 178 by Oregon State.

This would appear to be the week for Washington's run defense to get healthy. The Cougars are averaging just 72 yards per game on the ground, worst in the Pac-10 and 118th in the country.

"It was rough. I missed being out on the field with my friends and my teammates," Elisara said. "That was kind of a rough thing for me having to sit there and rest while your teammates are out playing together. ... I'm sure I could have helped. I'm just glad to be back now."

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BYE BYE JAKE: Washington State coach Paul Wulff - hardly a disinterested bystander - thinks Washington quarterback Jake Locker should take a good look at the NFL after this season.

Wulff noted that Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, a Heisman Trophy winner last year, spurned the NFL to play in college this season. He was knocked out for the year with a shoulder injury that required surgery.

"It's a huge, huge risk," Wulff said. "He's (Locker) a valuable commodity."

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TIES THAT BIND: One of the fun things about the Apple Cup is all the interfamily connections to the two teams. Former Washington coach Keith Gilbertson has a son who is a backup quarterback at Washington State.

David Gilbertson is a redshirt walk-on who has so impressed his coaches that he will be in the hunt for a scholarship next year, WSU coach Paul Wulff said. The younger Gilbertson caught the attention of WSU coaches when he attended summer camps in Pullman.

"I liked his moxie and saw he was a great fit with his personality," Wulff said. "We started recruiting him hard."

Keith Gilbertson went 8-1 in Apple Cup games during various coaching stints at Washington. He replaced Rick Neuheisel as head coach for two years. Gilbertson spent time in the Palouse as head coach at nearby Idaho, where his .757 winning percentage in three seasons remains the highest in program history.

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AP Sports Writer Tim Booth in Seattle contributed to this report.