UW’s Seferian-Jenkins breaks pinkie, needs surgery

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins has a small fracture in his right pinkie and will need surgery, putting his status for the season opener in doubt.

Huskies coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters after practice Tuesday about Seferian-Jenkins’ injury, which was suffered in practice a day earlier. Seferian-Jenkins sat out a scrimmage on Tuesday.

“He’ll be out for some amount of time. He came out with a good attitude, doing all the conditioning work, all the fundamental stuff from a footwork standpoint but he won’t be catching balls for a while,” Sarkisian said.

Sarkisian said he hoped to know more later in the week.

Last season, Seferian-Jenkins caught 69 passes for 850 yards — both single-season records for Washington tight ends — and seven touchdowns. He was one of three finalists for the Mackey Award given to the top tight end in the country and was named a third-team all-American by the AP.

Seferian-Jenkins’ status for the opener against Boise State — the first game back in renovated Husky Stadium — was already in question after his arrest and guilty plea on a DUI charge in the offseason. Sarkisian has not publicly announced if Seferian-Jenkins would face any suspension because of his arrest.

If Seferian-Jenkins can’t go in the opener, the Huskies will lose one of their biggest pass-catching options. In last December’s Las Vegas Bowl against Boise State, Seferian-Jenkins had six catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.