Shoulder Surgery Will Sideline WSU’s Burns For Rest Of Season

Washington State cornerback Greg Burns will undergo surgery on his injured right shoulder today and will be lost for the rest of the season, Cougars coach Mike Price announced Tuesday.

Burns, a fifth-year senior, originally dislocated the shoulder in WSU’s 24-15 win over UCLA three weeks ago. He missed the Nebraska game the following weekend but was cleared to play in last week’s homecoming game against Oregon State.

Burns started in the Cougars’ 40-14 win over the Beavers, but re-injured the shoulder during the game.

Junior college transfer Shad Hinchen will start in place of Burns in Saturday’s important Pacific-10 Conference matchup against unbeaten and fifth-ranked Southern California in Los Angeles.

“I feel terrible for Greg,” Price said. “He’s been such a great guy for us, and player, too. This is the end of his career at Washington State.”

Burns, a 5-foot-10, 175-pounder out of Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, lettered as a true freshman in 1991 and started every game during his sophomore and junior years. He missed the 1994 season, however, after undergoing off-season knee surgery.

Price said the loss of Burns is made even more disturbing by the fact that USC is next up on the Cougars’ schedule.

“He’s an L.A. guy,” Price explained. “He was looking forward to going back down there, playing against SC and playing against the No. 1 receiver in the nation, Keyshawn Johnson. This (game) would have been the highlight of Greg Burns’ career, and I feel bad for him.”

Burns ends his collegiate career with 111 tackles and nine interceptions, which rank him seventh on WSU’s all-time pick list.

Edwards ineligible

Donnie Edwards, UCLA’s All-American linebacker who has missed the Bruins’ last two games with a compression fracture of the vertebrae, has been declared ineligible following a Pac-10 investigation into his connection with sports agent Robert Caron.

UCLA sports information director Marc Dellins made the announcement Tuesday, adding that the school has petitioned the NCAA to reinstate Edwards immediately.

Edwards was accused of accepting $150 from Caron.

Pac-10 shorts

Arizona State coach Bruce Snyder said he will start Michael Martin, a 6-foot-1, 204-pound sophomore, at tailback in place of senior Chris Hopkins when the Sun Devils entertain Brigham Young this Saturday… . Snyder also announced that defensive end Malchi Crawford will miss the rest of the season with a broken kneecap sustained in last Saturday’s 30-28 loss to Stanford… . Oregon has suspended starting fullback Pulou Malepeai for Saturday’s game at California after the 220-pound junior was arrested and charged with third-degree assault following a brawl near the university bookstore early Sunday morning.

Hisaw, Sherick regain starting roles

Almost a year after suffering a season-ending knee injury against Eastern Washington at Woodward Stadium in Cheney, former Cheney High quarterback Eric Hisaw has been named - make that renamed - Idaho’s starting QB when EWU visits for a 3:05 Big Sky Conference game in the Kibbie Dome.

Meanwhile, quarterback Brian Sherick, who missed last weekend’s game against Idaho State after being suspended for missing curfew, has been named the starter for EWU. Sherick and backup Scott Bond had been suspended by head coach Mike Kramer for missing curfew after a Sept. 30 game at Weber State.

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