Cougs continue to heal wounds

PULLMAN – The beginning of the end last year may have come at home against, at the time, a sub-.500 Arizona team.

In quick succession, the Washington State University Cougars lost big play receivers Jason Hill and Michael Bumpus. The offense stalled, and the defense, already down a number of defensive linemen, was shoved around.

Three games later the season was over, finished thanks to three consecutive losses. A bowl bid, so close entering November, slipped away.

Cougar nation was searching for answers.

“The biggest reason, (although) you don’t want to use it as an excuse, were the injuries,” said WSU coach Bill Doba when asked about the late-season swoon. “You take out Hill and Bumpus, you take out about 90 percent of the passing game. And then you add we were short a couple of (defensive) linemen, and we weren’t able to stop people.”

So it’s no wonder then Doba has listed staying healthy as one of the main goals of the 2007 fall camp. Three days in, the Cougars are succeeding, having experienced nothing more than a sprained ankle here or a strained hamstring there.

But there are still a number of players coming off injuries suffered either last season or during spring practice.

The number includes important contributors such as Bumpus (high ankle sprain), defensive tackles Aaron Johnson (back) and Fevaea’i Ahmu (stress fracture in left foot), and defensive ends Matt Mullennix (knee injury) and Lance Broadus (torn left labrum in shoulder in spring scrimmage).

How are they doing?

Broadus, for one, has yet to participate in contact, standing on the sidelines as his defensive mates pound their way into football shape.

“I can’t do all the drills,” the senior said, “so I just try to teach the young guys, so they can come in and perform and help the team out.

“I show them where they should be, what techniques they should use to get past the defensive lineman. I just try to help them out, so if they get in a game situation, they’ll be ready to go.

“You never know who is going to go down and who is going to have to step up and participate, help the team out.”

Broadus, who had surgery to repair his left labrum in May, wants badly to be one of those guys helping out. He was told his recovery would take five to six months but he’s trying to get back in time to face Wisconsin, a four-month span.

“As soon as the doc clears me, I’m ready to come out and make some contact,” he said. “I’m trying to push it, but I know I’ve got to be smart about it, because I don’t want to go in, then tweak it where I can’t play the rest of the season.”

Broadus started all 12 games last season and was second on the Cougars with 7.5 sacks. Mullennix missed the entire year after suffering a second knee injury – he was hurt in 2005 – before games started. Thus far he’s been in each drill.

The two tackles, Ahmu and Johnson, have also been active participants this fall, although Doba still is taking it easy with everyone who is trying to bounce back.

“So far, so good, (but) again, today was just the first day with half pads,” Doba said Tuesday. “When we go to two-a-days, (Johnson and Ahmu) are going to go one-a-day just to try to keep them healthy.

Johnson is making sure he gets his rest – when he’s not on the field.

“People get hurt when they aren’t going all out,” the 6-foot-7, 318-pound senior said. “I know that’s what happened to me a couple of times.”

Besides the back problem, which has bothered him for a couple of years and was addressed with surgery in April, Johnson also suffered two elbow injuries down the stretch last season.

“If you take a couple plays off, that’s when you are going to get hurt,” he said. “You have to go all out on every play.”

Bumpus, who caught 60 passes last year and is expected to lead the Cougars’ deep receiving corps this season, echoes Johnson’s comments.

“People who are out there timid and scared are the ones most likely to get hurt,” the senior said. “Fluke things happen, but if you are out there with confidence, and you are not worried about getting hurt, just playing the game to the best of your ability, I feel your chances (of getting hurt) are a lot slimmer.”

Notes

Although there is one more day of half-pads, the addition of shoulder pads Tuesday increased the intensity. There were a few minor scuffles, including one between starting running back Dwight Tardy and middle linebacker Greg Trent. On the next play, Trent pounded Tardy out of bounds on the defensive side of the field, eliciting cheers from the guys in red. … The shuffle in the defensive backfield continues, with only safety Husain Abdullah, who had another interception during the end-of-practice controlled scrimmage, running at the same spot with the first team in every drill. Transfer Terry Mixon suffered the only obvious injury, tweaking a hamstring during a passing drill. He didn’t return to the drills. … Who is the third-string quarterback? Quarterback coach Timm Rosenbach isn’t happy with either Cole Morgan or Kevin Lopina. “They’re going to get more chances, but they need to get it going or we’ll give their snaps to one of the freshmen.” … Bumpus was in a yellow jersey, although he hasn’t switched to quarterback. He still didn’t have his shoulder pads because he missed the first day of practice, so a no-contact jersey was ordered up.