Editor’s Note: Junior wide receiver Delashaun Dean has been sidelined from practicing in full for weeks with a hamstring injury. On Tuesday, the 6-foot-4, 202-pound California native took part in individual workouts but still isn’t back to full speed. He is one of the Wildcats’ top options when it comes to the passing game. The Arizona Daily Wildcat’s Brian Kimball caught up with Dean to discuss the status of his injury, his take on the battle for the starting quarterback job and when he hopes to return to fully participating with the team.

How are you feeling?

I’m definitely feeling good and I’ll definitely be ready in two weeks. (The coaches) just want to slowly implement me back into the offense and get my legs back, but I’ll definitely be ready.

How did you tweak your hamstring in the first place?

It happened in the summertime during summer workouts. We were running routes with the wave vest on and I tweaked it once and I kept running and then I tweaked it again and then it was just downhill from there.

How frustrating is it not being able to play right now?

It’s very frustrating. Not just for me but for my teammates. It’s just frustrating not being out there with them and pushing them through camp and stuff like that, but I’ve just got to be there for them mentally and physically and do whatever I can to help out.

What’s the worst part about watching practice all the time recently?

Just not being out there with your teammates. That’s who you go to battle with everyday, so with them going to battle without (you), it kind of sucks. I’ve got stuff that I want to get better at and work on personally, but it’s been stalled right now. It’s a minor setback but I’ll bounce back pretty good.

Percentage-wise, where would you rate your overall health?

I’d say at about 85 or 90 percent. As far as running, I just started cutting a little bit. Mainly, I’m just trying to get the soreness out when I start running at top speed. We’re just working on that right now.

Is it a bit of a distraction being about a week away from the opening game and not having a starting quarterback?

No, we’re pretty much confident with whatever guy is back there. Whoever the coach names as a starter, we’re going to stand behind them and push them through the season, but it’s not a distraction at all for us right now. We’re not thinking about that. We just want both guys to get better.

Do you have more responsibility because there isn’t a starting quarterback yet? Do you feel like you have to help them out more?

Yeah, we definitely have more responsibilities from the get-go. We knew both of the guys were very inexperienced. We’ve just got to do our job as receivers and wherever they put the ball we’ve just got to go get it.

When do you think you’re going to be able to take part in a full practice?

We’re shooting for the end of the week. We’re going to slowly, day by day push me into it more and more … and we’ll see what happens at the end of the week.