Derting could miss opener
PULLMAN — While preseason All-American middle linebacker Will Derting remains questionable for the season opener at New Mexico on Sept. 3, it appears increasingly unlikely that his dislocated wrist will keep him off the practice field too long to be in the lineup.
Derting is currently in a cast, which Washington State hopes will speed up the recovery process and prevent the need for surgery. But according to trainer Bill Drake, that cast isn’t due to come off until Aug. 31, just three days before kickoff.
And while Derting could in theory participate in one practice the next day, Wednesday, before the team flies to Albuquerque, head coach Bill Doba said he’d like to have Derting for at least two practices before giving him the green light to play.
“He’s looking at all his options right now,” Drake said. “I think again everyone is one the same page that when the cast comes off we’ll re-evaluate, look at an X-ray and make a play-or-not play decision a week at a time.”
Drake did say there’s a possibility that Derting could have the cast removed earlier than currently anticipated. It would appear that would be the only way Derting could be back in time to participate in the two practices before playing. Since Derting — if doctors clear him to play at all — would be playing with a club covering his left wrist and hand, Drake said it would be ideal to have at least a week of practices to adjust before taking the field for a game.
“We want to see that the cast and the pad work,” Drake said. “The idea would be he’s going to play in a heavy club and lighten up as the weeks go, if at all we can lighten up.”
Although uncertainty surrounds the injury and its consequences for Derting and the Cougars this season, there remains no doubt as to what the linebacker himself would say about the injury — he wants to play now. The linebacker left Friday night’s practice to work on a stationary bike because he couldn’t take watching his teammates go without being able to join the fray.
Injury updates
Derting is, of course, far from the only Cougar battling an injury as the team enters the final two weeks before kickoff.
Tight end Cody Boyd and defensive tackle Aaron Johnson made successful returns to practice from a hamstring pull and an abdominal strain, respectively. But both wideout Greg Prator and linebacker Pat Bennett pulled hamstrings Friday night, though neither injury is expected to be serious.
Wideout Jason Hill, currently listed as a starter, missed both practices with a sprained left wrist, though WSU feared worse until an X-ray came back negative.
Starting cornerback Karl Paymah, the cornerstone of the Cougar secondary, also was injured Thursday afternoon. He suffered a posterior ankle sprain, though Drake emphasized that there is nothing wrong with Paymah’s Achilles tendon, an injury that would have more severe repercussions.
Defensive end Reyshawn Bobo, already fighting a hip flexor injury, sprained a thumb and missed practice. Defensive linemen Mark Matthey (hip pointer) and Matt Mullenix (hip flexor injury) were also out.
The Cougars should be getting back three players who have missed time because of concussions. Running back Allen Thompson and right guard and long snapper Riley Fitt-Chappell should be back on Tuesday, and Aaron Joseph could return as early as Tuesday as well.
Notes
The Cougars have their third and most important scrimmage of the fall at 3:30 p.m. today in Martin Stadium. After that, WSU will limit its practices to mostly individual drills in preparation for New Mexico. … In Friday’s paper, it was erroneously reported that Charles Dillon, a wide receiver from Oxnard, Calif., was denied admission to the Cougar football program by WSU. In fact, it was the NCAA Clearinghouse that did not permit Dillon to play.