Notebook: WSU P Nick Haberer to make season debut this weekend, plus other injury updates

PULLMAN – No. 20 Washington State is finally getting its punter back.

Senior Nick Haberer will make his season debut Saturday against Utah State, head coach Jake Dickert said Monday, ending his eight-game absence due to a back injury. With only four regular-season games remaining on WSU’s schedule, Haberer will remain eligible for a redshirt, which is the team’s plan to buy him another season.

In his absence, the Cougs (7-1) have handed punting duties to place kicker Dean Janikowski, who is dealing his own injury. Janikowski broke his hand when he was run into on a punt in WSU’s win over San Diego State on Oct. 26, Dickert said, indicating Janikowski will still be able to play this weekend. He’ll be wearing a protective splint on the injured hand, manning only placekicking and kickoff duties with Haberer back in the fold.

While Haberer has been out, quarterback John Mateer has held placekicks and extra points, so Haberer will likely relieve Mateer of that gig.

Elsewhere on the injury front, backup edge rusher Quinn Roff’s status remains uncertain for this weekend. Roff played only four snaps against San Diego State before leaving with a foot injury, returning to the sideline with his foot in a boot and wearing street clothes. Dickert said Roff’s next two days of practice will determine his availability against Utah State, adding Roff “ran on the side” during Monday’s practice.

Backup tight end Billy Riviere III is fully healthy from a knee injury, Dickert said, though Riviere has only recorded statistics in WSU’s season-opening win over FCS Portland State. Riviere missed the Cougars’ loss to Boise State and win over Hawaii with the injury.

Running back Djouvensky Schlenbaker has been under the weather recently, Dickert added, indicating he “hopes” Schlenbaker will be able to play in Saturday’s game against Utah State. Schlenbaker missed WSU’s win over San Jose State and loss to Boise State. Against SDSU, he carded 15 yards on four carries, and against Hawaii, he logged 48 yards on eight attempts.

Competition for WSU’s left guard spot heating up

Coaches have yet to make a decision on the offensive line’s starting five against Utah State, Dickert said. In the second half of WSU’s win over San Diego State, coaches benched starting left guard Christian Hilborn for backup Rod Tialavea, sticking with that decision for the remainder of the game.

In the practices since, Hilborn and Tialavea have rotated in with the starting unit, Dickert said, adding that “Rod came in and did some good things, and Christian, I think, has responded the way I would anticipate a highly competitive individual to do.”

Against SDSU, per Pro Football Focus data, Tialavea finished with an overall grade of 61.9, Hilborn with 57.8. On the pass-blocking front, Tialavea had a figure of 77.8 and Hilborn was at 84.6 – his best such grade of the season. In run blocking, Tialavea turned in a grade of 58.1 and Hilborn was at 52.9.

It’s the latest chapter of volatility for the Cougs’ offensive line, which was missing right tackle Fa’alili Fa’amoe for the first three games of the season with a knee injury. Fa’amoe then began rotating in for the next two games, a win over San Jose State (25 snaps) and a loss to Boise State (46 snaps). When Fa’amoe was out, Hilborn played right tackle, and when he was in, Hilborn went out and Tialavea played left guard.

That experience helped Hilborn feel comfortable at the tackle spot, Dickert said, sharing that Hilborn is better at pass protection, Tialavea at run blocking.

“So it’s like, can we merge those two skill sets a little bit, you know?” Dickert said. “We gotta get Christian firing off the ball and be a little more confident with his attack points. Instead of worrying about what might happen, let’s just go make something happen. And that’s a just a mindset to that that we’re working on. Rod, just some pass-pro stuff. So those are the things that we’re looking for, just improvements out of both of those guys.”

Kickoff time set for WSU/New MexicoWSU’s road test against New Mexico on Nov. 16 will kick at 7:30 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. PT) on FS1, the program announced Monday. For the Cougars, counting this weekend’s game against Utah State, it will be the sixth start time of 7 p.m. or later this season.

“To get another one next week, I think it’s a little tough,” Dickert said. “I think New Mexico plays Friday night, so they get a day on us. It’s one of those things where you just gotta take it as it goes.”