Derting, Abdullah get new casts

PULLMAN – Washington State defensive football captains Will Derting and Hamza Abdullah both had new casts applied Monday as expected.

Derting, who has a dislocated left wrist, and Abdullah, who had a ligament tear in his left thumb, were both able to play Friday night in the season opener at New Mexico.

In fact, they were the team’s top two tacklers in the game. Afterward, the training staff removed their casts so the players would have the weekend with just a splint.

The new casts are slightly smaller, but Derting said that at least for him, this change makes little difference.

“Last time they left about a half-inch of my thumb out and now they left about an inch of my thumb out,” said Derting, who will probably go through at least a couple more casts before he’s able to play without one, most likely in three to four weeks.

Head coach Bill Doba had said Sunday that Derting got a little tired during the New Mexico game after missing so much practice time with the injury, and Derting concurred Monday. But the Cougars spent much of Monday’s practice doing conditioning work, and the middle linebacker said it helped significantly.

Of course, he also didn’t mind getting Sunday off to stay home.

“Oh, man, it was nice. Oh, man,” Derting said. “I just laid there and watched TV, and relaxed. Watched football games.

“You’re ready to come out here and play after that.”

Other injury updates

The Cougars are knocking on wood that they remain healthy. WSU has every player on the travel squad available and ready to go for Saturday’s trip to Seattle to play Colorado, with both linebacker Pat Bennett (mild concussion) and Greg Prator (hamstring) able to practice.

However, there are some younger Cougars who are in the process of recovering from injury.

Linebacker Andrew Fernandez, who has a shoulder sprain, is about a week away from returning to practice. Offensive lineman Josh Duin, who had surgery to repair a knee injury in training camp, could also return as early as the latter part of next week.

The diagnosis is not as encouraging for offensive lineman Drew Hansen, who has a high ankle sprain. Trainer Bill Drake said the healing process is moving along slowly, as is often the case with this type of sprain. Drake said the team would re-evaluate on a week-to-week basis, but that Hansen could still need at least two or three more weeks before returning.

The two Cougars with longer-term injuries remain in limbo as well. Tight end Ben Woodard, who had off-season ACL surgery, has been able to do squats in the weight room. But the jury is still out as to his possible midseason return. Defensive lineman Mike Graise, who sustained a cartilage tear in his left shoulder Aug. 17, is still waiting to have surgery. The rehab process is expected to take four months, so the training staff is letting him get settled into his class schedule before sending him to the operating room, since Graise’s next opportunity to see the field won’t be until spring practices.

Notes

Doba said the coaches re-introduced more of the running game to the team Monday after slimming down the playbook to face New Mexico. But the coach was far more concerned with individual performances. “We’re going one against one to make sure we get off the ball,” he said. “We’ve got to get a lot better blocking.” … Travis Elisara still has some paperwork to complete, but he could be able to join the team today. Elisara is expected to be the team’s new scout team quarterback after Mike Reilly left the team last week.