Trey Cooley Had Career Night End With Shoulder Injury

An otherwise stellar evening for Trey Cooley at Purdue came to a disconcerting end when, with 4:40 left in the game, the University of Washington running back took a hit that caused him to fumble the football and he left the field in pain.

Dealing with a previous shoulder injury, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound Cooley caught a helmet in the same spot and was done for the evening.

At his Monday media briefing, however, UW coach Jedd Fisch said the Troy transfer would miss just a couple of practices and be able to return by mid-week.

"He does not have an injury that will hold him back," the Husky leader said.

Cooley is one of the few remaining somewhat healthy running backs for the Huskies, who were without five rushers for the Purdue game.

Against the Boilermakers, he came up with a eight-carry, 113-yard and touchdown outing in the 38-26 victory. Playing for Louisville in 2021, he rushed for 112 yards against Boston College for his previous best.

His rushing total last Friday was a career high for the North Carolina product, who was brought in to bolster a depleted UW running-back position group while coming off a knee injury that made him sit out last season and a head injury that caused him to miss most of the year before.

Against Purdue, the Huskies were just trying to run out the clock when Cooley took a handoff, picked up 3 yards and fumbled after a tackler hit him high.

"He had a shoulder, an AC sprain," Fisch said. "He was working through it from the week before when he got tackled. He took a helmet to the shoulder and it caused him to let go of the ball."

The night was over for Cooley, who ranks as the Huskies' third-leading rusher with 33 carries for 165 yards and a score.

Against the Boilermakers with the UW leading 31-26, he came up with runs of 43 and 53 yards, scoring on the latter with 10:30 left in the game and giving the UW a buffer on the scoreboard.

Also, edge rusher Ramzak Fruean and defensive tackle DeSean Watts similarly were shaken up in the Purude game, but don't a;pear to have long-term injuries. Neither issue was spelled out.

Fruean, a 6-foot-5, 235-pound freshman who has started all seven games so far, won't practice this week, but is expected to be ready to play again in the Nebraska game on Oct. 31.