Work in progress
PULLMAN – For the most part, any preseason conversations about Matt Eichelberger, Bryan Tarkington and Adam Hineline would have had little to do with the on-field fortunes of Washington State.
Actually, any conversations about them a week ago still would have had relatively little to do with the Cougars’ successes or failures.
But what a difference a week – really, a quarter – can make.
Injuries to starters Ropati Pitoitua and Aaron Johnson in rapid succession during Saturday’s win against the Ducks have thrust Eichelberger and Tarkington to the forefront.
They have made Hineline, a walk-on, the next option should another injury befall a WSU defensive tackle.
“I would have never believed it,” Eichelberger said. “I would have never believed it in my life, that both of our defensive tackles would go down.”
Those injuries, coupled with Feveae’i Ahmu’s continued recuperation from a broken foot, have left the Cougars plumbing the depths of the roster to top the depth chart. The three injured Cougars are all out for at least two weeks, and all three might not return at all during the regular season.
That opens the door for Tarkington, the junior college transfer who missed most of fall camp with transcript issues and started practices woefully out of shape; Eichelberger, a heralded recruit three years ago who has barely seen the field and also had conditioning issues in his Cougars career; and maybe Hineline, a player who has spent time on both sides of the football before settling in as an all-purpose option, mostly on the scout team before a recent rise to the travel squad because of the mounting injury situation.
“This will be the game to test them,” defensive line coach Mike Walker said. “They’ll be all right. I really don’t think there will be much of a drop-off.
“I know they’re going to be here, actually for the duration of the season. I’ve got to get them ready. It gives me a chance to work more with Eichelberger because I hadn’t really been working with him. I’d been working more with the other guys. And Tarkington gives me a chance to put in more time with him, too.”
The Cougars will almost certainly use their 3-4 alignment to a greater degree to help keep Tarkington and Eichelberger fresh – head coach Bill Doba jokingly referred to a 0-7 alignment as a possibility.
But, at the least, the two new full timers in the Cougars lineup will have the entire week to prepare, as opposed to Saturday, when they were called upon without notice.
“I think it’s a lot easier,” Eichelberger said. “Just getting thrown out there, going and matching up, that’s a whole lot different than having a whole week to watch film, re-analyze, find weaknesses or strengths that you can play on.
“Now we’re just being thrown in there more and more.”
Notes
Defensive end Mike Graise will also miss the trip because of his hamstring injury. … As a temporary move, the Cougars used practice to look at running back Chris Ivory at linebacker and linebacker Andy Mattingly at defensive end. Both true freshmen, they have seen significant special-teams action this season. … Tight end Cody Boyd participated in practice and ran pass patterns smoothly, a major step forward in his return from an ankle injury. Doba said he doubted that Boyd will start this weekend, but it appears he will be ready to play. … Doba said his was not one of the team’s two votes in the coaches’ poll this week, and he suggested that another week of proof (i.e. another win) would go a long way toward convincing him that Washington State deserved a spot in the Top 25. … Quarterback Alex Brink got to spend time in Eugene, Ore., after beating the Ducks on Saturday. The junior went back to his hometown for the wedding of a family friend and said he was able to bring up the Cougars victory to more than one Ducks fan in the area. “It was nice,” Brink said. “They were gracious and I appreciated that.” The four stitches in Brink’s chin are ready to be taken out today. … Washington State’s next home game, against Arizona on Nov. 4, will kick off at 2 p.m. with no television coverage.