Sore Bruce epitomizes Cougs’ heart
PASADENA, Calif. – Getting sore after a game is nothing unusual for a football player, and staying that way for a day or two is also considered the norm.
But as Mkristo Bruce limped around in the lobby of the team’s Pasadena hotel the night before playing UCLA, it was obvious just how much pain the Cougars captain is absorbing this season.
On Saturday night Bruce was just one of many Washington State defenders who was hurt – some playing, some not – but it was some of the team captain’s actions on and off the field that seemed to capture why this injury-riddled unit has been so successful.
Bruce, who’s dealing with a bruised right knee, was barely able to run for much of the game and was often seen hobbling off the field at the end of a defensive possession.
At one point, he rose from the bench shortly after limping to it to exhort his defensive teammates on.
“This team means everything in the world to me,” Bruce said. “They’re my family, just like my family at home, my son and my fiancée and everyone else. These are my brothers. We bleed together, we sweat together. We’ve been through so much.”
On his last play of the game, early in the fourth quarter, Bruce had to chase a UCLA running back 30 yards downfield before making a tackle along the sideline. Exhausted, he was helped off the field and didn’t return, with freshman Kevin Kooyman filling in thereafter.
“I’ve probably never hurt this bad in my whole life, but the thing is, I’ve got so much pride,” Bruce said. “This is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I went up to Coach (Robb) Akey on the sidelines. He wants me to be out there, but I told him, ‘If I’m not helping the team, get this young guy in there.’ “
Of course, the Cougars’ greater concern was inside on the defensive line, where little-used Bryan Tarkington and Matt Eicheberger were the lone defensive tackles with any legitimate game experience after the team watched its top three players at the position go down with injuries.
To compensate, the Cougars played a 3-4 defense for every snap of the game, trying to keep the junior and the sophomore rested and ready for all four quarters.
“We felt like it gave us the best situation in this ballgame,” said defensive coordinator Akey. “It’s what our personnel brings to the table. We’ve got two defensive tackles sitting there coming into this ballgame, and we felt like we were going to be able to rotate them and do what we need to do to put our best 11 on the field.”
UCLA had some success running the ball up the middle, but the Bruins finished with just 3.1 yards a carry and quarterback Patrick Cowan misfired on 20 of his 37 throws. (Cornerback Tyron Brackenridge, a game-time decision to play himself because of a hamstring injury, had an interception and three pass breakups.)
Not that long ago, the Cougars led the nation in quarterback sacks. They didn’t get to Cowan once, but they managed to harass him enough that the UCLA passer grew increasingly erratic as the game progressed.
The season may not be progressing the way Akey, Bruce and the Cougars defenders once imagined, but they seem to have found a way to persevere regardless.
“We’re not all five-star athletes. We’re players guys recruited because we play to the end,” Bruce said.