David Piland Injury: Houston QB will play Saturday vs. UTEP

The Houston Cougars will get quarterback David Piland back for Saturday's contest against UTEP after he was cleared to practice and play on Tuesday after suffering a concussion last week, head coach Tony Levine said in a report by Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle.

A helmet-to-helmet hit in the first half of Houston's 72-42 loss to SMU last Thursday night took Piland out of the game, and the sophomore signal-caller wasn't cleared to play by team doctors, according to the report, until later in the day Tuesday, although he was able to participate in the team's practice.

"He went through the entire practice and felt great," Levine said in the article. "Today was a step in the right direction."

For the season, Piland has thrown for 2,264 yards while completing 60.5 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has also ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns in seven games.

Backup quarterback Crawford Jones was initially being prepped to start against the Miners should Piland have not been cleared to play.

Houston (3-4, 2-1 in Conference USA) hosts UTEP (2-6, 1-3 in C-USA) this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CT.