Michigan coach Brady Hoke said, to his knowledge, quarterback Shane Morris did not sustain a head injury during Saturday's game and denied seeing the play in question as it happened.
Morris left during the fourth quarter of a 30-14 loss to Minnesota because of a high ankle sprain. Hoke said the sophomore would have practiced Sunday with the team if not for his ankle injury.
Morris needed help from teammates to stay on his feet after a helmet-to-helmet hit delivered by a Gophers linebacker two plays before he left the game. He wobbled, but waved off trainers on the sideline when asked if he needed medical attention.
Hoke said Monday that he did not see the hit when it happened, but said Morris told him it was the ankle injury -- not the blow to the head -- that caused him to stumble.
"We would never, ever put a guy on the field when there is a possibility of head trauma," Hoke said. "We won't do that."
The coach said after the game Saturday that it was ultimately his decision to leave Morris in the game. However, on Sunday, he backtracked from that stance with a written statement released by the university which said only medical personnel have the authority to allow an injured player back in a game.
Hoke said a statement about how Morris' injury was handled will be coming in the near future from the medical staff. He declined to go into detail about the process of clearing a player to return to the field.
"I'm a football coach. Some of you don't think we're doing that very well, but that's what I do," Hoke said Monday. "I don't make decisions on who plays and doesn't play as far as when there are injuries -- in particular when there are any head trauma injuries."
Hoke, who hasn't had any discussions with athletic director Dave Brandon, said the program doesn't have plans to revise the way it reviews those types of injuries on the sideline.
After seeing tape of the play, he did say he thought the hit in question warranted a foul for targeting, which results in a 15-yard penalty and an ejection for the offending player.
Doug Nussmeier, the team's offensive coordinator, said he saw Morris limping after the play and asked if he was OK, only to have the quarterback wave him off.
Nussmeier said he didn't see the actual hit and could not recall Morris' state of mind or specifics about their conversation after Morris came to the sideline.
Morris re-entered the game later in the same drive when his replacement -- redshirt senior Devin Gardner -- lost his helmet and needed to come out for a play. Hoke said he tried to call timeout to keep Gardner on the field, but the referee told him that wasn't an option.
Morris returned for one play -- a handoff -- before leaving the game for good. He later left the stadium on a golf cart.
Morris originally sprained his ankle early in the second half, and Hoke said he didn't make a change at that time because Morris told him he felt healthy enough to continue.
Per team policy, Michigan does not typically address specifics about the health of its players.