(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)
Heading into its third Pac-12 road game of the season on Saturday against Oregon, Arizona State is not in a good place injury wise.
According to head coach Todd Graham, the injury report may be an all-or-nothing type scenario, with game-time decisions galore.
In fact, the only player dealing with a health issue who appears probable right now is wide receiver Tim White, who played in the second half last week after suffering an injury on the opening kick return.
Manny Wilkins has understandably dominated the headlines with his apparent arm injury that he suffered early in the game against Washington State.
He has been shadowing true freshman Dillon Sterling-Cole in drills all week, but has yet to be a full participant, which was similar to his practice routine leading up to the games against Colorado and the Cougars, both of which he played in.
“We have Dillon (Sterling-Cole) and Jack (Smith) ready to go,” Graham said. “Each week it has been about the same, but it’s a different injury. It’s nothing serious but it’s week-to-week.
The week-to-week categorization has been the one frequently given to Wilkins health issues. Regardless of whether he plays this week, Graham’s assurance that it is nothing serious appears genuine.
He also mentioned that players like Armand Perry and Salamo Fiso, key members of the defense, remain game-time decisions.
Perry didn’t play last week after suffering a foot injury, while Fiso injured his knee mid-game and did not return.
Without Fiso, the defense loses a key communicator, which will be crucial against an offense that features the best running back core that the Sun Devils will face all season long, according to Graham.
“The biggest challenge is who is going to play and who is not,” Graham said. “Our deal is next man up. We know we need to go on the road and win.”
