The Washington Huskies football team's list of injuries has been abnormal though the first four weeks of the regular season.
Through the first four weeks, the Huskies are down four running backs. Second-year back Julian McMahan is the latest to suffer an injury and will be out for the season following a foot/ankle injury he suffered in practice last week. This injury came three weeks after the top two running backs on the depth chart, second-year Quaid Carr and fourth-year Jayden Limar, both were knocked out for significant amounts of time in Week 1 against the Washington State Cougars.
Another player who suffered a long-term injury was wide receiver Christian Moss.
Moss was knocked out in the first series of the season against the Cougars with a quad injury, which he underwent surgery for.
The sixth-year wideout transferred from Kennesaw State after being granted another year of eligibility from the NCAA via medical waiver from passed seasons plagued with various ailments.
Moss missed the majority of spring practice due to injury and was unable to build a rapport with third-year quarterback Demond Williams Jr.
The Kennesaw State transfer put in the work during the summer to make up for time missed in the spring and was a consistent performer in fall camp.
That led to Moss earning the job as the team's starting "X" receiver, but he was dealt his injury before his season truly began.
According to UW head coach Jedd Fisch in a weekly news conference , there's still a chance Moss could return for one of the team's final games of the season. The head coach specifically mentioned the team's final two games of the season against Indiana and Oregon.
If the timeline Fisch mentioned is correct, then barring a bowl game appearance or a College Football Playoff berth, those two games will be the final in Moss' college career.
The NCAA's new eligibility rules grants five years of eligibility to players. Redshirts and medical waivers were eliminated in the new rules, but honored ones granted before the new guidelines passed. Unless there's a legal route for Moss to pursue, it's unlikely he'll be able to secure another year of college eligibility despite suffering an almost season-ending injury.
"We'll see if he's back Week 10 or 11," Fisch said. "He had quad surgery, so I'm not exactly sure the full length of the recovery. Can he make it back by (the) Indiana game, can he make it back by (the) Oregon game? We'll see. But I don't think there's anymore waivers. I'm not gonna test the NCAA rules. But I'm under the impression that the five years (is the five years)."
