Washington State Likely Without Tony Freeman for Road Test at Kansas State
The Washington State Cougars will have to earn their first win of the Kirby Moore era without their top receiver in Tony Freeman when they battle the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan this weekend.
Freeman suffered a knee injury during Washington State's Apple Cup loss to Washington last Sunday, leaving the Cougars without one of their most important players on offense and special teams.
Exiting in the opening quarter, Freeman’s absence was noticeable on special teams as much as offense. Washington State struggled with punt returns, including having a dropped punt. Safety Jaylen Thomas took over as the Cougars' punt returner after Freeman exited the game and likely will continue in that role in Week 2.
Maybe most importantly, Freeman’s absence puts much more pressure on the rest of Washington State's receiving corps, though the group did play better in the second half as the Cougars tried to rally against the Huskies.
After losing Freeman early in the Apple Cup, the Cougars kept their receiver rotation relatively short. According to Pro Football Focus, only four other receivers saw snaps following his departure: Daniel Blood, Darrius Clemons, Brandon Ganashamoorthy, and Tank Hawkins.
Blood emerged as Washington State's leading receiver against Washington, finishing with five catches for 57 yards. Clemons also made an impact, recording three catches for 40 yards. Both of those players should be in line to see increased opportunities against Kansas State, but they will need others such as Hawkins to step up with their top wideout not expected to be available.
The timing of Freeman's injury could not come at a worse time for Washington State, battling against yet another quality Power 4 opponent on the road in Kansas State. Moore’s team will have to prove it can withstand adversity losing one of the program’s top returning players.
If there’s a silver lining, the Cougars showed against the Huskies that they can hang defensively against quality opponents from larger conferences, but the offense will need to find more consistency as Wazzu moves forward to be able to turn competitive performances into wins. Not having Freeman will make that task all that much more difficult.
How long Freeman will ultimately be out remains to be seen, but all indications point toward him missing at least the Kansas State game. If the injury winds up being longer than a one week issue, the Cougars will have to hope that one of their newcomers can emerge as a capable replacement for a passing game that struggled much of the season opener in Seattle.
