injury
injury at Wazzu is a file of 3 stories. The newest of them: “Jaylen Harrell drops 15 a game, Cougs still hungry for that first W”, “Kirby Vorhees banged up for Fresno; Trey Leckner likely good to go”, and “For the Leaupepetele brothers, Sunday dinner looks a lot different now”. Jaylen Harrell is putting up numbers. Kirby Vorhees is banged up, and that changes the math for Washington State on Saturday. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every injury story on Wazzu, newest first.
Jaylen Harrell drops 15 a game, Cougs still hungry for that first W
Jaylen Harrell is putting up numbers. Fifteen and a half a game, shooting 91% from two-point range. That's not a typo. The redshirt freshman wing from Boston earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, and he earned it the old-fashioned way: by being the best thing on the floor for a winless Cougar team. Washington State is 0-2. That stings. But Harrell's emergence is the kind of small victory you grab onto in November. He came over from Providence, played six games last year before an injury shut him down, and now he's the guy making the offense go. Two-way acumen, the release says. That's coach-speak for a kid who plays hard on both ends and doesn't take plays off. The Cougars are on the road again Tuesday at Duquesne. Then they host Division II Northwest on Saturday. That second one is a game you're supposed to win. But the first one? That's a chance to see if Harrell can keep this going against a real test. If you're looking for more on the Cougar week ahead, our piece on the Colorado State matchup, "Saturday night under the lights in Pullman with nothing left to lose", is worth your time. For now, the record says 0-2. The tape says Harrell is real. Go Cougs.
Kirby Vorhees banged up for Fresno; Trey Leckner likely good to go
Kirby Vorhees is banged up, and that changes the math for Washington State on Saturday. The Cougars' first Pac-12 availability report has the tailback listed as questionable with an upper-body injury from practice this week. Kirby Moore says he's "a little dinged up," which is coach-speak for "we'll see." Vorhees has been the most consistent piece of a run game that's still finding itself, and if he can't go, Maxwell Woods becomes the feature back. Woods has looked shifty all season, and Leo Pulalasi is there too, but it's not the same comfort level. The bigger headline might be Trey Leckner. He's probable, which means his season debut is finally in sight after missing spring ball, fall camp, and most of the year with that foot injury. He caught 24 balls last year and tied for third-most touchdowns by a tight end in WSU history. This offense has been missing a reliable middle-of-the-field target, and Leckner is exactly that. If he's close to ready, it's a real boost. The defensive end depth is thinner than a Pullman frost. Malachi Wrice and Mike Hughes are out, and that means Matyus McLain and Linus Zunk keep stacking snaps. They've played 184 each through four games. That's a lot of miles. Ben Beatty and Fernando Lecuona Jr. need to step up. Nylan Brown's foot injury sounds serious, maybe season-ending. That hurts the linebacker room, even if he's mostly been a special teams guy.
For the Leaupepetele brothers, Sunday dinner looks a lot different now
Jirah Leaupepetele called his brother Jonah this week, not to talk trash for once, but to fish for intel. Jonah, Fresno State's starting right guard, wasn't giving anything up. Fair enough. The problem? Jonah's listed as questionable and isn't expected to play Saturday when the Cougs host the Bulldogs. So the first-ever on-field matchup between these two brothers will have to wait. That doesn't mean this weekend is meaningless. Far from it. Their parents, Tony and Rhonda, are driving up from Apple Valley with the other five kids and a whole mess of grandparents, nieces, and nephews. Jirah made it clear what colors they better be wearing. The Leaupepetele family has earned this moment. Jirah transferred in from Eastern Washington and has become a force on the interior of WSU's defensive line, notching his first sack as a Coug last week against Arizona. Jonah earned the starting job at Fresno State as a redshirt freshman before the injury. Even if they don't line up across from each other, they'll share the same field. That's enough for a family that watched these boys grow up sharing a bedroom, one yelling at video games, the other trying to sleep. This is the kind of story that reminds you why Cougar football matters beyond the score. For more on how this weekend is shaping up, check out our piece on how the Cougs stared down the Dawgs and didn't flinch. Go Cougs.