Northwestern received good news Monday when junior quarterback Dan Persa informed trainers he was symptom-free after sustaining a concussion in Saturday’s win over Indiana.

Persa took the day off Sunday, worked out Monday and, barring any setbacks, will participate in practice this week, coach Pat Fitzgerald said, adding he “fully expects” Persa to play against Penn State on Saturday.

The quarterback suffered the injury midway through the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game, when he was hit by Indiana safety Mitchell Evans and middle linebacker Jeff Thomas after scrambling out of the pocket. Persa talked with NU trainers on the field for several minutes before leaving the game. Persa said he was a little bit woozy after being hit in the back of the head but added he is “good” now.

“Right away, I was kind of fuzzy,” Persa said Monday, explaining why he didn’t re-enter Saturday’s game. “When I was able to come back, the game was already over. They didn’t want to risk anything, which I thought was smart. You don’t want to mess with anything like that.”

If Persa is for some reason unable to play, redshirt freshman Evan Watkins would fill his spot. Watkins went 1-for-2 on Saturday, completing a critical third-down play for 13 yards. Fitzgerald could also use freshman quarterbacks Kain Colter and Trevor Siemian but said he would prefer to keep their redshirts for this season.

Fitzgerald, who sustained a couple of concussions himself as a player, explained that NU will be very careful with Persa.

“Every concussion is a little unique and different, and you’re always going to err on the side of caution,” Fitzgerald said. “He has to be 24 hours symptom-free, and that allows him the opportunity to exercise, and then he’ll go take his impact test, and then he’ll go through practice three or four days after being symptom-free.”