Arcega-Whiteside out against Beavers
As if losing four of its past five games wasn’t trying enough, Stanford will be without its best receiver, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, for Saturday night’s game against Oregon State.
He sustained an apparent injury to his right ankle when he was tackled by Washington’s Byron Murphy after an 11-yard reception in the second quarter of the 27-23 loss to the Huskies on Saturday night in Seattle.
He left the field on a golf cart.
“Barring a miracle,” he’ll be sidelined this week, head coach David Shaw said Tuesday.
The Big Game against Cal on Nov. 17 could be in jeopardy as well.
“We’re not sure,” Shaw said. “It’s not terrible. No broken bones. Everybody heals differently. We’ll see what happens early next week.”
Also among the missing for Saturday’s game will be kicker Jet Toner, outside linebacker Joey Alfieri and guard Foster Sarell. Inside linebacker Mustafa Branch is probably out, and guards Nate Herbig and Devery Hamilton and running back Trevor Speights are questionable. Backup quarterback Davis Mills might be out until a possible bowl game and might not be back at all, Shaw said.
As the injuries have piled up, at least tailback Bryce Love is no worse for wear on his troublesome ankle after the Washington game, Shaw said. “He seemed to have a little more quickness, a little more push-off. I think he’s gotten progressively better. Still not 100 percent.”
Despite missing most of Saturday’s game, ArcegaWhiteside is tied for second in the country with 11 touchdown catches. Only Hawaii’s John Ursua (15) has more. ArcegaWhiteside leads the Cardinal (5-4, 3-3 Pac-12) with 48 receptions for 754 yards.
Sophomore Connor Wedington, who returned from a seven-game injury absence to make three catches for 30 yards Saturday, probably will start in his place, Shaw said.
It would be unrealistic to expect Wedington to play all the way in just his second game back, Shaw said, indicating there will be more opportunities for redshirt freshman Osiris St. Brown and freshman Michael Wilson.
Arcega-Whiteside’s absence was particularly noticeable when the Cardinal reached the Huskies’ 8-yard line early in the fourth quarter, trailing 24-14. Instead of utilizing the big receiver for his usual boxout-the-cornerback catch in the end zone, they ran three times before settling for a field goal. Four points turned out to be the difference in the game.
The game against Oregon State (2-7, 1-5) will mark Senior Day. Among those who will be honored before the game are Love, tackle A.T. Hall, cornerbacks Alijah Holder and Alameen Murphy, wide receiver Trent Irwin, linebackers Bobby Okereke and Alfieri and special-teams standout Brandon Simmons. All are seniors or fifth-year players.
Arcega-Whiteside has added his name to the list, Shaw said, increasing speculation that the redshirt junior will enter the NFL draft.
With Pac-12 title hopes gone, Shaw said, he’s not concerned for the moment with how good of a bowl the team gets, assuming it wins at least one more game to become bowl-eligible.
“We’re trying to win the next game,” he said. “To worry about the bowl is moot. It’s going to be whatever it’s going to be. It’s going to be based on how well we play.
“So my goal is for us to play our best football, which we have not done for any stretch of time this season. … If we can play 60 minutes of football like we’ve been playing a quarter here and a quarter and a half there, then we’ll finish out the season in great fashion. As for bowl games, that’s for everybody else to talk about.”