Luke Falk played with broken wrist virtually all season

Luke Falk missed Washington State’s loss to Michigan State in the Holiday Bowl, and now we know how long he was dealing with the injury.

In the days leading up to Thursday night’s Holiday Bowl against Michigan State, Washington State quarterback Luke Falk surfaced with a cast on his left hand. Head coach Mike Leach dismissed it as a major concern, and suggested it was something Falk has been dealing with all season.

Falk then missed the Cougars’ 42-17 loss to the Spartans, as redshirt sophomore Tyler Hilinsky made the start in his place. Leach did not want to address Falk’s injury after the game, but he gave something away with his previous comment about it.

According to 247 Sports, Falk broke his left wrist in Week 2 (Sept. 9) against Boise State and wore a cast with a black glove on his left hand in all subsequent games. Surgery was planned for after Washington State’s bowl game, but a deterioration in Falk’s ability to move his wrist brought the procedure a couple weeks ago instead.

Falk had a prolific career at Washington State, setting Pac-12 records for passing yards (14,481), passing touchdowns (119), pass completions (1,403) and completion percentage (68.3). This past season, despite the wrist injury, he threw for 3,593 yards with 30 touchdowns while completing close to 67 percent of his passes.

Falk is an NFL prospect, though he’s likely a third or fourth-round pick if a top-heavy quarterback class takes shape as expected, and he accepted an invite to the Senior Bowl. Though he may not be able to practice during the week or play in that game on Jan. 27, Falk may still show up in Mobile so teams can start the vetting process in person.

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Falk had a down year by the standard he set in 2015 and 2016. But playing through a wrist injury essentially all season will alter how this year’s game film is analyzed by scouts and draft analysts, in comparison to the previous two seasons. Playing through that injury also shows a measure of toughness that may bolster his stock in some way.