WSU’s Jimmy Rogers stays mum on OL Christian Hilborn, plus statuses of four others with injuries

PULLMAN – If there’s any chance Washington State veteran offensive lineman Christian Hilborn misses more time, coach Jimmy Rogers isn’t letting on about it.

Hilborn missed WSU’s loss to No. 5 Ole Miss on Saturday on crutches, with his left knee in a giant brace, perhaps raising questions about his future. But on Monday, Rogers didn’t say much about Hilborn’s status.

“We’re hoping to see what he can do this week,” Rogers said.

Hilborn is one of the team’s single most experienced players, starting each of the first five games of the season, giving him 45 career games on his resume. His absence was a big one for WSU, which replaced him Saturday with Division II transfer Jaylin Caldwell, who committed one penalty but acquitted himself well otherwise.

It’s unclear when or how Hilborn suffered his injury. In WSU’s win over Colorado State on Sept. 27, he played all 62 snaps of offense, and he didn’t appear to leave with any discomfort. That means he likely went down sometime over the bye week or week following.

In any case, if Hilborn does have to miss WSU’s road test against No. 18 Virginia this weekend, expect Caldwell to step in for him again. A left tackle by trade, Caldwell moved over to right tackle against Ole Miss, finishing with the following Pro Football Focus grades: 63.5 in pass-blocking, 42.6 in run-blocking.

Over the offseason, Caldwell transferred from Division II Grand Valley State to WSU, where he has established himself as a backup. Without Hilborn in the mix, he might be playing more in a starting role.

In other injury news, WSU wide receiver Devin Ellison didn’t play against Ole Miss, which registered as a surprise at the time given his explosiveness and fit in the offense. But Ellison was dealing with a rolled ankle he suffered during last week’s practice, Rogers said, and the Cougars’ offense looked good early.

“If you’re gonna put somebody in there that’s somewhat banged up, you gotta do it early, and we didn’t,” Rogers said. “We were having success early.

“He’s gotta be able to get through a full week of practice. Gotta understand what he’s supposed to do, and he’s gotta be able to do things full speed, to show us that he can do those things and not just do them on air (without defense). He’s gotta see things, sight adjust, catch the ball, be consistent in really everything. So that’s kinda where we’re at.”

A junior college transfer, Ellison didn’t play any of WSU’s first three games of the season with what Rogers called a heel contusion. He made his season debut in WSU’s loss to rival Washington in the Apple Cup, catching a touchdown pass. But a week later, he played only seven snaps against Colorado State.

Elsewhere on the injury front, neither wide receiver Carter Pabst not defensive tackle Mike Sandjo played on Saturday.

Rogers kept things quiet on both of their statuses, saying he hopes hoping to see Pabst return to action.

Defensive end Raam Stevenson went down with an injury during Saturday’s game, leading him to play a season-low 15 snaps.

Rogers kept things tight-lipped on Stevenson too, offering scant details in the way of an update.