Swogger’s status still unclear

PULLMAN — Head coach Bill Doba said Sunday that quarterback Josh Swogger’s status for this week remains in doubt.

Swogger, who had his best game as a collegiate quarterback Saturday night against Idaho, came out in the third quarter after injuring his right knee. An MRI taken Sunday morning revealed what appeared to be a partial tear of the posterior cruciate ligament, but Doba said a final diagnosis and prognosis are still in the works.

“They haven’t completely evaluated it yet, but they think it’s not completely torn,” Doba said. “Josh feels good. There was very little swelling, and that’s a good sign. He has hardly any pain, so they’re going to put him in a brace for a while to make sure that ligament stays quiet and we’ll re-evaluate Tuesday or Wednesday.

“There’s still a chance (he could play), but I can’t make that call. That’s up to the medical people.”

After the game on Saturday, Doba had surmised that Swogger would be doubtful for this week’s Pac-10 opener at Arizona.

Should he not be able to go, then backup Alex Brink would take the reins as starter. Brink has played in the last two Cougars games, with his most significant time coming in two spurts against Colorado when Swogger was ineffective. On the year, the redshirt freshman is 13 of 24 for 278 yards.

“I don’t think we need to change anything,” Doba said of his offense if Brink is pressed into action. “With Alex, I think we can move the pocket more. I think we can sprint more, we can run (bootlegs). He throws a little softer ball, probably easier to catch. He’s got great escapability.”

But while Brink has demonstrated the ability to get away from trouble on the field, he’s also had a penchant for getting into it as well. Against Colorado, Brink threw one interception that was returned for a score and fumbled on the game’s last play. On Saturday, Brink again put the ball on the ground for a turnover.

“He’s lost two of them, one each week,” Doba said. “Both times he was trying to spin. When he spins, he’s like a ballerina I guess. His arms get out away from his body and so does the ball.”

While the quarterback situation is unsettled pending Swogger’s health, it appears that the status of Washington State’s defensive tackles remains unchanged. Both starters, Steve Cook and Ropati Pitoitua, missed the Idaho game and it appears a near certainty that both will miss this week’s game as well. That means that youngsters Odell Howard and Aaron Johnson will see the second starts of their careers in the Pac-10 opener.

“Hopefully we can get them back for Oregon,” Doba said, referring to WSU’s Oct. 9 game, the next one on the schedule following Arizona. “We might have to change up a little bit, do a little more slanting and moving for those two young kids until they get strong enough to go toe to toe.”

On the other side of the line, Doba said both guard positions remain competitive, with Charles Harris and Bobby Byrd replacing Norvell Holmes and Patrick Afif as starters against Idaho.

“There were still some mistakes there,” Doba said. “We’re still not real satisfied with all the things our guards did.”

The WSU running game did improve dramatically against Idaho, though many of the 286 rushing yards came well after the game was in hand. Neither Swogger nor Brink was sacked by the Vandals’ defense.

“We still have a lot of options,” Doba said, looking forward to the Pac-10 season that is now underway. “Our goal has always been Pac-10 champs, and now is when we’ve got to get it going.”

Notes

WSU’s players of the week were Jason Hill on offense, Will Derting on defense and Loren Langley on special teams. … Hill is now eighth in the nation in receiving yards per game with 115, an average actually brought down on Saturday when he grabbed three passes for 105 yards and three scores. … Scout team cornerback Ryan Kensok, a graduate of Gonzaga Prep, suffered a broken arm on a kickoff near the game’s conclusion. Kensok broke both the radius and ulna in his forearm and required surgery on Saturday night. Doba said Kensok had both plates and screws inserted in his arm, and awarded the diminutive corner his unofficial tough-guy award for the day.