The Oklahoma State Cowboys don't expect to have a long injury report this week, but at least one player has been ruled out for Saturday's game with Colorado.
Cowboys head coach Eric Morris was asked about the status of starting safety Mose Phillips III, who did not play against Houston after suffering a shoulder injury against UCF. Morris said that Phillips would be out this week.
That means Evan Jackson is the likely starter at boundary safety for the second straight week. Phillips missing another game comes at a time in which the secondary had its worst performance of the season after allowing Houston quarterback Conner Weigman to throw five touchdown passes.
Cowboys Banking on Evan Jackson
Jackson took the start in place of Phillips against Houston and played every snap alongside strong safety Quentin Hammonds. Jackson came away with an overall defensive grade of 56.7 per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), with his best grade being a 67.4 for tackling. He was graded 57.7 for pass coverage.
The senior safety, who played for Morris at North Texas and in the same 4-2-5 scheme coordinated by Skyler Cassity, finished with eight tackles, including five solo. He has 12 tackles for the season. He started the season’s first game but was a back-up to Phillips after that. He took over the position after Phillips suffered the injury against the Knights and scored on a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter that sealed the game.
After taking over the starting role in Week 2 against Oregon, Phillips’ stature in the defense was growing. In five games he had 23 tackles (10 solo, 13 assists) with three passes defended. He also had an interception against West Virginia that changed the direction of that game from a Cowboys perspective.
Two other Cowboys were listed as out on the player availability report last week entering the Houston game — defensive tackle Landon Dean and wide receiver Dayvon Standard. Dean has been out for the last two games and Morris did not address his status. Dean was list as out for all three player availability reports.
Standard is returning from an injury and was listed as doubtful on the first report last week before being moved to out. Morris was asked about his status and indicated that Standard will keep working this week, but his use in a game doesn’t sound imminent.
“Just slowly working him back and into it and getting his legs back underneath him.” Morris said. “We'll continue to work and see what kind of role he can progress into throughout the course of the of the year.”
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