Injuries to tight ends exact toll

PULLMAN — Lost in the euphoria of a one-point win over Arizona were two injuries that just may have sealed the Cougars’ fate for the next month.

That win against the Wildcats came in the last week of September. But the loss of two tight ends, starter Troy Bienemann and his backup Cody Boyd, helped lead to an October surprise — no wins in four games for Washington State.

Bienemann has played sparingly since suffering a deep shin bruise, and Boyd hasn’t played at all because of a third-degree shoulder separation. Meanwhile, the Cougars have been outscored 144-86.

“Had they been healthy, we would have gotten some first downs when we needed them against the University of Oregon,” tight ends coach Robin Pflugrad said. “We might have scored some points against Stanford to spark some more offense. And that’s very sad, because you can’t grab them and throw them out there if they’re not healthy. I really do think they would have made a difference in a couple games.”

But with the season moving into November, some good news could finally come forward from the position. Boyd went through a full practice for the first time on Tuesday, and while Bienemann did not participate at all, he is planning to take the field today and test the injured shin, which originally wasn’t expected to keep him out for a single play.

Since the two went down with injuries, third-stringer Jesse Taylor has taken the majority of the snaps, and converted lineman Sean O’Connor has also seen some repetitions on Saturdays. In fact, true freshman linebacker/fullback Jed Collins has gotten some work in as the Cougars found themselves perilously thin on healthy players.

WSU has known that it would have someone each week to play tight end, but not knowing if the top two threats would be available has hamstrung the coaching staff’s ability to map out a game plan in each of the last four weeks.

“If those guys can both come back and play, that would help immeasurably,” said head coach Bill Doba, who estimated that the tight end plays heavily into 50-60 percent of the team’s offense this season. “They’re involved in protections, they’re involved in the run game, especially the run game on the perimeter. And of course in the passing game, they can run down the field and they’re big targets.”

The month minus Bienemann and Boyd has been difficult for the Cougars, but both players said it’s been especially difficult for them as they watched a 3-1 start turn into a 3-5 disappointment.

“I hope it’ll be a big plus just to help out the quarterbacks a little bit, give him another guy to rely on,” Boyd said, going on to say he was a little sore after his first practice but felt good. “I didn’t want to hold back. I wanted to show everybody that I could hopefully play this week.”

Said Bienemann: “The leg is getting a lot better. It’s certainly not where I want it to be right now. The thing is just taking so long. … I miss playing the games and just being out here practicing, you lose so much that you almost feel like you’re separated from your team.”

Pflugrad and Doba said having one or both players back on the field would open up a multitude of options on offense, something they got a glimpse of against Arizona before the two players got hurt.

Taylor made the first reception of his career last week against USC, good for three yards, and O’Connor hasn’t yet caught his first pass.

“You’re going to find ways to get those two the ball,” Pflugrad said of Bienemann and Boyd. “We were doing that down in Tucson during the Arizona game; we were getting them the ball. Unfortunately they both went down and couldn’t finish the game. It’s a lot of games later, and we have not won those games.”

Notes

Doba said Tuesday afternoon that he had not spoken to his team about the election at all, although women’s basketball coach Sheri Murrell said half-jokingly that she intended to make her team run that afternoon if they hadn’t all cast their ballots. … Kickoff for the Cougars’ game at Arizona State on Nov. 13 has been set for 4 p.m. Pacific time, although it has not yet been decided if the game will be televised. Arizona State plans that day to retire the jersey of Pat Tillman, the former Sun Devil who was killed in action earlier this year in Afghanistan.