Between the mishaps and misgivings, Connor Halliday squared out a pretty fair quarterbacking career at Washington State, and Thursday, he expressed optimism he’ll find a new platform to do that.

“I’ll be running in three months,” he said. “In 4½ to 5 months, it should be a full recovery.”

Halliday suffered breaks of the tibia and fibula near the ankle against USC on Nov. 1, with a mere three games remaining in his college career.

“Nothing in my career has come easy,” he said on a teleconference. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Nothing I can do about it now, other than work my butt off to be healthy, be the best leader I can and hopefully have a career at the next level.”

Halliday, widely considered a mid-to-lower-round prospect, says he’s counting on being part of WSU’s pro day in March, on an undetermined date. That likely would be beyond the 3½-month mark from now.

One draft analyst, CBS­Sports.com’s Rob Rang, says it’s less imperative that Halliday have a pro day than it is that he gets a clean bill of health.

“I’d like to think he’ll be invited to the (NFL) combine,” Rang said. “Even if he’s hurt and can’t participate, they’ll then go through all the medical things.”

Rang believes Halliday’s body of work – he’s the Pac-12’s fourth-leading career passer with 11,304 yards – will carry more weight than his pro day.

“He’s got a big arm, he’s a tough kid,” Rang said. “I’m a little more bullish on him than the average Joe fan or draft analyst. I just say, watch him against Oregon. He tore (Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, the Ducks’ All-American cornerback) apart.”

Halliday said he knew his leg was broken when he couldn’t move his foot as he was being tackled by USC lineman Leonard Williams. He said he heard it happen, and described “extreme pain.”

Afterward, he heard from a wide range of supporters, mentioning ex-WSU athletic director Sam Jankovich and Dennis Erickson, the former Cougars coach who is now an assistant at Utah.

Halliday said he plans to walk out – on crutches – on senior night at the Apple Cup Nov. 29 in Pullman. He says he hasn’t yet hired an agent, but will likely train this winter in California.

He wiped out an NCAA record with his 734 yards passing against California, but, typical of the mixed bag he experienced at WSU, it came in a 60-59 loss. Asked what that and a passel of other school records mean, he said: “When I was playing well, there weren’t too many people that could hang with me. When we got rolling, there wasn’t too much other people could do to stop it.”

Saturday, the Cougars (3-7) and his backup, Luke Falk, face Arizona State, the team against which Halliday had his breakout game in 2011, throwing for 494 yards. Of Falk, who threw for five touchdowns in leading WSU to a win over Oregon State, Halliday said: “He’s so far ahead of what a guy his age should be. It’s such a cool feeling to see a guy you feel you’ve helped along the way play so well.”

Asked what he’ll remember most about his WSU years, Halliday said: “Good question. It’s hard to say right now; my outlook on it probably isn’t as positive as it should be. But I’d like to think that all my work and everything I put into it started a steppingstone for progress in the program . . . and they start going to bowl games, and everything I wish I could have done.”

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com

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