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Corner Sean Harper Jr. not available for Washington State-Stanford, but D-end Nnamdi Oguayo could return

Washington State Cougars defensive back Sean Harper Jr. (2) reacts after breaking up a pass intended Wyoming Cowboys wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt (19) during the first half of a college football game on Saturday, September 1, 2018, at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, Wyo. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Theo Lawson theol@spokesman.com(509) 459-5584

STANFORD, Calif. – For the second straight game, Washington State will be shorthanded in its defensive secondary.

Starting cornerback Sean Harper Jr. didn’t travel with the 14th-ranked Cougars for this afternoon’s Pac-12 North game against No. 24 Stanford Cardinal and will miss his second game this season due to an undisclosed lower body injury. Junior Marcus Strong started in Harper’s absence against Oregon and recorded four solo tackles. He has eight tackles and two pass breakups on the season.

There’s some uplifting injury news for Tracy Claeys’ defense, too.

Defensive end Nnamdi Oguayo, who missed games against Utah, Oregon State and Oregon with an undisclosed injury, could play for the Cougars for the first time since a Sept. 21 game at USC. Oguayo was injured throughout fall camp, but returned in time for WSU’s season opener at Wyoming. The explosive junior has served primarily as a backup this season to Logan Tago, who’s pacing the Cougars with 5 1/2 tackles-for-loss.