More Than A Twist Of Fate Kincaid Hopeful To Play In Opener After Last Season’s Devastating Injury
Jon Kincaid jogs deliberately along the sideline as his Washington State football teammates practice nearby, fully aware of the long odds stacked against him.
“My goal right now is to be there for the opening game (Aug. 31, against UCLA),” Kincaid said, “but it’s kind of up in the air.
“Right now, I can’t even jump. I tried to run up the stairs and I don’t have any explosion to go up on my toe yet.”
It was Sept. 21 of last year when Kincaid, then a junior and the Cougars’ heir-apparent at tight end, found himself lying face-down on the Martin Stadium turf as WSU ran out the clock on a 55-44 victory over Oregon.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
“I was laying on my stomach and I looked back and my toe was facing up,” Kincaid said, “and I’m like, ‘uh-oh’ - I knew there was something wrong.”
Kincaid’s left foot was facing backward, his ankle having somehow been twisted 180 degrees.
“It was just like I got hit, and it spun my foot all the way around. It broke my fibula, dislocated my ankle socket and tore my ligaments in two.”
The pain was unlike anything the former Colfax High star could have imagined. “I’d rather be hit by a bus than go through that again,” he said.
Mark Smaha, WSU’s veteran trainer, recalls few ankle injuries so severe.
“I’ve seen probably 15 guys in my career with ankle injuries as traumatic as his was,” said Smaha, “and probably five have been able to come back and play again.”
After the injury, Kincaid would spend more than two weeks in the hospital. There was reconstructive surgery, and doctors inserted a 10-inch plate along the outside of the ankle.
Rehabilitation would have to wait, however, because a nasty infection set in shortly after the operation. Kincaid required eight additional surgeries to conquer the infection. Skin grafts were also required.
By then, Kincaid had dropped nine credits at WSU and moved home to his parents’ Palouse farm. He didn’t return to WSU until the spring, although he expects to graduate on time.
The impact of Kincaid’s injury was heightened when sophomore tight end Ivan Mercer was dismissed from the team, leaving senior Love Jefferson as the only experienced successor to David Knuff, who graduated.
Hunsaker shines
Jermaine Hunsaker emerged in the spring as the favorite at left cornerback and the redshirt freshman has done nothing this summer to weaken his hold on the job.
The 5-foot-9 Hunsaker came out of Pomona, Calif., as a scrawny 152-pounder. He now weighs 180 and isn’t afraid to take on the Cougars’ most physical receivers.
Quarterback Ryan Leaf tested Hunsaker on the first play of Saturday’s morning drills, throwing a deep ball in the direction of starting receiver Nian Taylor.
Hunsaker nearly intercepted it. “The very first play we tried to burn the rookie freshman with a takeoff and he knocked the ball down,” Price said. “You know, and it was Nian Taylor and Ryan Leaf.”
With the departure of senior Shad Hinchen in May, left cornerback was considered a potential weakness heading into the off-season. Hunsaker is changing that perception.
“That position was wide open,” Price said, “and he came in the spring and got a chance to play when a couple guys got hurt and he just really improved, improved, improved.”
Hunsaker is penciled in ahead of sophomore LeJuan Gibbons on the depth chart, but the eraser is only a few blown coverages away.
“I’ve been working hard, trying to get that starting position and it seems like it’s panning out so far,” Hunsaker said. “But anything can happen in camp, so I’ve got to keep working.”
Cougars earn lone poll point
WSU received one point in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll released Saturday, meaning one writer selected the Cougars 25th.
“Thanks for the vote,” coach Mike Price said Saturday, and we’ll be sure to pass that along.
The Spokesman-Review holds the state’s lone football vote this season, and our preseason ballot follows:
1, Colorado. 2, Tennessee. 3, Penn State. 4, Washington. 5, Florida. 6, Florida State. 7, Ohio State. 8, Nebraska. 9, Notre Dame. 10, North Carolina.
11, Alabama. 12, Michigan. 13, Auburn. 14, Michigan State. 15, Syracuse. 16, Texas. 17, Miami. 18, LSU. 19, Stanford. 20, Clemson.
21, Northwestern. 22, Kansas State. 23, BYU. 24, Iowa. 25. USC.
Notes
Senior flanker Shawn McWashington has been sharp early in camp, catching everything Leaf throws his way. … Hunsaker’s development has allowed the Cougars to leave Ray Jackson at safety, Price said.
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