WSU Cougars have to navigate rest of season without top WR

It’s been a challenging start for the WSU Cougars.

After opening the season with a 24-10 Apple Cup loss to the UW Huskies, Washington State fell to Kansas State 34-7 this past Saturday. It’s been particularly tough sledding for the offense, which has averaged just 204 yards per game.

And now, the Cougars have to navigate the rest of the year without one of their top playmakers.

Senior wide receiver Tony Freeman is out for the season with a torn ACL, first-year head coach Kirby Moore announced Monday. Freeman was injured early in the Apple Cup.

Freeman was WSU’s top returning receiver after hauling in 54 catches for 590 yards and three touchdowns last season. He also tallied a school-record 415 punt return yards at a clip of 17.3 yards per return, which was the sixth-best average in the FBS.

“Feel for Tony,” Moore said during a conversation with former WSU wide receiver Michael Bumpus on this week’s edition of Cougs Weekly on Seattle Sports. “We’re going to be here for him through this process.

“And the fortunate thing in college football is with the new five-in-five rule, he should have the opportunity to come back for another season here.”

With Freeman out, Moore said there will be more opportunities in the receiving corps for Missouri transfer Daniel Blood, Oregon State transfer Darrius Clemons, junior Branden Ganashamoorthy and Florida transfer Tank Hawkins Jr.

And despite the 0-2 start, Moore is proud of how his team has responded.

“This a resilient group,” Moore said. “I think the one thing that stands out is their responses throughout these first two games. (Sunday) was an off day and we had 105 guys on the team all in the building.

“And that was player-driven. They called me on Saturday night and talked about doing some things. And I thought that was awesome, just the leadership and the seniors working together to be problem-solvers and making sure everyone’s on the same page and improving.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the video at the top of this story. Tune into Cougs Weekly with WSU head coach Kirby Moore on Tuesdays during Bump and Stacy on Seattle Sports 710 AM and the Seattle Sports app.

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