WSU DT Max Baloun to miss ‘extended period’ with injury, Jimmy Rogers apologizes for comments on lack of resources

PULLMAN – Washington State will have to operate without one starting defensive tackle moving forward.

Redshirt senior Max Baloun is expected to miss “an extended period of time” with a knee injury he suffered in WSU’s loss to rival Washington last weekend, coach Jimmy Rogers said, costing the team a key defensive starter. Baloun had started all four games.

Baloun, one of 12 WSU defenders to log at least 100 snaps this season, suffered the injury late in the second half of Saturday’s game. He went to the locker room with a trainer and later emerged on crutches, his left knee in a wrap. Baloun’s diagnosis is unclear.

Either way, it’s a costly loss for the Cougars, as Baloun, a transfer from FCS South Dakota, recorded three tackles for loss and one sack . Listed at 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds, Baloun played an integral role on the interior of WSU’s defensive line, using his size and strength to bottle up runs and register one sack, which came earlier this month against San Diego State.

Baloun redshirted his true freshman season at SDSU, going on to play the next four seasons with the Jackrabbits. It’s possible he could return for another year and qualify for a medical redshirt, which the NCAA says must be season ending and occur before the halfway point of the year. The player cannot have participated in 30% of the season’s games – and short of playing in the fourth of 12 regular-season matchups, Baloun would be right around that mark.

“He won’t be playing any time soon,” Rogers said.

The Cougars’ defensive line took another hit before kickoff on Saturday, when starter Bryson Lamb suffered an injury during warmups and missed the game. It’s unclear whether Lamb will be available for WSU’s road game against Colorado State this weekend, but he has made “huge jumps in the last 24 hours,” Rogers said. “We’re hoping he’ll play this week, but we’ll see.”

Lamb started each of the first three games of the season for WSU, totaling eight tackles (six solo, one for loss) in 95 snaps. Listed at 6-2 and 301 pounds, Lamb played an equally key role to Baloun, for the Cougs. After playing in all 13 games last season, including one as a starter, Lamb looked poised for a breakout season.

In the absence of those two, WSU is expected to elevate defensive tackles like Darrion Dalton (93 snaps), Kaden Beatty (79 snaps) and Mike Sandjo (73 snaps), all transfers. The Cougars could also elevate true freshman Donovan Fitzmaurice, Rogers said, while fellow freshman Connor Sullivan could also make an impact. But Sullivan tore his ACL during his high school senior season last fall, so he’s still working to fully recover, added Rogers.

The Cougs (2-2) need every ounce of production they can get on defense, particularly up front. Their defense has now allowed 59 points in back-to-back games, first to North Texas and then to Washington, the latter of which boasts one of the nation’s best offenses. After missing the UNT game with an injury, redshirt freshman middle linebacker Anthony Palano returned against UW – but now Baloun and Lamb have gone down.

Rogers apologizes for comments about WSU’s lack of resourcesIn his weekly news conference on Monday, Rogers issued an apology about comments he made after Saturday’s game, when he said, “We don’t have the resources naturally to compete with $30M and a roster that’s loaded.” He was referring to UW’s advantages in name, image and likeness dollars and recruiting resources.

“More than anything, I probably apologize to the Coug fans and the administration,” Rogers said, “as far as that even coming out of my mouth. Because nobody cares, and I’ve said it before. Nobody’s gonna save us right now. We gotta save ourselves. We gotta commit to the process. We gotta compete. We gotta find a certain level of focus and passion to step on the field with and compete. We’re not gonna stop trying. I can promise you that.

“That’s probably my biggest regret of the whole weekend, is that comment, just because I prided myself on not being that guy that complains about what he doesn’t have. That’s how I got to this point. I’ve been that person my whole life. I can’t bleed into the ‘poor me.’ I’m asking the players not to. I gotta be an example of that.”

UW does have several advantages over WSU in the resources department, including big NIL dollars and a home in the Big Ten, a Power Four conference. That helps the Huskies recruit some of the country’s best players. Some of that likely played a role in Washington’s 59-24 win on Saturday in Pullman.