Washington State Football Rallying Around Offensive Lineman Recovering From Gunshot

Following last week's loss to the Washington Huskies, Washington State redshirt freshman offensive lineman Sone Falealo was injured in a shooting in Pullman. Falealo was taken to Pullman Regional Hospital, where he underwent a successful surgery to remove the bullet from his abdomen. No damage was reportedly done to any of Falealo's internal organs.

Per reporting from Greg Woods of The Spokesman-Review, Falealo was injured intervening in an assault of a woman at the party. A suspect was arrested that morning.

On this week's edition of The Cougar Football Hour, Cougs head coach Jimmy Rogers indicated that Falealo had been released from the hospital and made a triumphant appearance at the team's facility to observe practice.

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"The team is good. Sone is good. It's an unfortunate, unfortunate circumstance, Rogers said. "You know, you don't want anybody to go through that. But he's kind of rebounded from it and he has good spirits. Was at practice last night watching and I think it's good for him to be around the team, but he's a good kid and yeah, it's just unfortunate because nobody should go through that. But it does put life into perspective because it could have been much more serious than what it ended up being and he's blessed to say the least."

Falealo, who is listed on WSU's roster at 6'6" and 310 pounds, has not yet appeared in a college game. A product of Alaska's West Anchorage High School, Falealo led his team to a state title and was a First-Team All-State selection before signing with the University of Idaho. He spent 2024 with the Vandals, where he used a redshirt season before joining the Cougs this offseason.

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With the relief that Falealo will make a full recovery from his injury, Rogers' frustration with the 59-24 loss faded a bit faster. His football focus is now on Colorado State, who the Cougars have a road date with on Saturday.

"I think this is a really competitive football team," Rogers said of the Rams, who lost to the Huskies 38-21 to opent the season. "I think they do a really good job with like developing players. I do think that the left side of their line is really long and talented. And you could see just how they've been able to progress throughout the season. Very similar to us in a situation of who we played in in the non-con obviously and kind of where they were at with quarterbacks and now they're playing the kid that wasn't also a starter to start the season. We've been able to see them both... So yeah, it will be a challenge for sure."

The Cougs and the Rams kick off at 4:30 p.m. PT Saturday from Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

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