Venric Mark's status all but official, expected to play Saturday

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald wouldn’t officially declare running back Venric Mark healthy enough to play Saturday against Ohio State. But Fitzgerald’s comments Monday indicate he expects Mark to play.

“If Venric has a good week, we’ll have him in some capacity this weekend,” Fitzgerald said.

Mark played in Northwestern’s season opener at Cal on Aug. 31, but has sat out the last three games with an injury to his lower body. He was a full participant in practices on Tuesday and Wednesday and looked to be healthy.