The only good luck in sophomore quarterback Kylan Weisser’s bad-luck injury last week at Cal Poly was how it timed with the team’s schedule.

Weber State football byes this week in Big Sky Conference play and, as is usual in football, the time will be well-spent trying to heal maladies big and small across the roster.

Having pulled a read-option run and kept it to the left side in the third quarter, Weisser tried to plant his left foot to cut and slipped. His right cleat caught in the grass as he tried to steady himself — WSU head coach Jay Hill said the field got soft as the night progressed — and momentum carried Weisser’s body past his cleats.

The result: a broken right fibula, and at least 4-6 weeks out of action.

As Weisser is sidelined, freshman starter Bronson Barron is ramping back up after an MCL injury suffered in Week 2 at Dixie State, which is where the timing is fortuitous. Barron began taking a majority of reps in practice this week. He’ll have four shorter practices under his belt this week before the team gets the weekend off, then game-week practice reps before WSU hosts No. 10 Montana State on Friday, Oct. 15.

“He practiced and took all the reps today, and looked good,” Hill said after Tuesday’s practice.

Heading into a third straight home game against a top-10 opponent, Barron should be backed up by junior Randall Johnson with freshman Creyton Cooper continuing to see spot action.

Hill characterized injuries to Barron and Weisser as poor luck more than anything.

“Neither one of the injuries were on run plays, really. Kylan pulls the ball but no one touches him. And then Bronson was in a scramble off a throw, so heck, it could happen at any moment,” Hill said. “Those weren’t necessarily downhill runs where they’re getting cracked or anything. That’s just bad luck, in my opinion.”

Others utilizing the bye week include defensive linemen Sione Lapuaho and Kalisi Moli, who missed the game at Cal Poly but Hill says will return next week.

Offensively, tackles Ty Whitworth and Ethan Atagi both played but weren’t 100%.

“They weren’t really close to healthy, we just needed to get them some valuable reps and get them rolling again. They’re tough, they both when in there and battled not feeling great,” Hill said.

Junior safety Desmond Williams is also close to returning from a knee injury, Hill says, which would help that unit after sophomore Ja’Kobe Harris decided to transfer mid-season. WSU hopes to get Williams a handful of reps against Montana State and ramp him up over the next several weeks to full action.

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