SCRIMMAGE 1: Explosive offense on display

PULLMAN -- Offense dominated the afternoon Saturday as the Cougars suited up for a live scrimmage for fans to enjoy. Senior quarterback Jeff Tuel and sophomore Connor Halliday were prolific, hitting a variety of wide receivers for scores all afternoon. Temperatures exceeded 90 degrees once again, but Washington State fans were not phased as more than 1,000 spectators attended at Martin Stadium.

Six different wide receivers caught touchdowns on Saturday. The highlight of the day undoubtedly came when Halliday reared back and heaved a deep ball down field to a streaking Gabriel Marks.

The freshman adjusted beautifully to the ball over his right shoulder, bringing it in and sprinting for a 70-yard touchdown. Fans cheered and hollered for the young wideout, realizing he might be the Cougars’ next great receiver.

Another receiver who had a spectacular day was junior All-American Marquess Wilson. The lanky receiver, who had 65 yards on four receptions, made several stunning catches all day with two of them going for touchdowns. Wilson seems to have developed a close bond with Marks as they joked around before talking to the media, debating who deserves more TV time.

“This offense is designed for everyone to touch the ball,” Wilson said. “Anyone is capable of making a big play, which shows we have a lot of playmakers on this team.”

The two explosive receivers with exuberant personalities made big plays all afternoon.

WSU HEAD MAN Mike Leach reiterated after practice that a starting quarterback has not been named. Both quarterbacks had stellar afternoons, neither outperforming the other.

“You guys may be the last to know,” said Leach in reference to when a starter would be named.



Unofficially, Tuel finished the day 14 of 19 for 183 yards and four touchdowns. Halliday was 12 of 20 for 223 yards and three touchdowns. Tuel made one poor decision when he misread a slant route that led to an interception that was returned for a touchdown by junior safety Anthony Carpenter.

“We had a lot of fun out here,” Tuel said. “Both sides of the ball showed some great things today.”

Tuel added that the defense has been doing a great job adjusting to a new scheme.

“(They’re doing pretty well) considering they picked me off one time, they looked pretty good,” Tuel said. “I’m really happy with the defense and how far they’ve come.”

Sophomore receiver Isiah Myers turned in a good scrimmage, as well. The tall wideout also scored two touchdowns, as well as making several catches in space. Freshman tight end Max Hersey added a touchdown, as did sophomores Bobby Ratliff and Rickey Galvin.

The offense wasn’t the only story on this day. While the defense didn’t shine, it did make several big plays. The biggest came when the aforementioned Carpenter took a Tuel mistake to the house. The defense also forced two fumbles and made several sacks (only requiring the defender to touch the quarterbacks, protected by blue jerseys). Sophomore Logan Mayes had two sacks following a 4 ½-sack performance in the spring game.



INJURIES:
From the sidelines it didn’t appear any major injuries were sustained during the scrimmage this afternoon, though a caravan of players are now riding the stationary bikes.

Junior linebacker Darren Markle was on crutches again, but was able to ride the stationary bike throughout the scrimmage.

Senior offensive lineman Taylor Meighen rode the stationary bike during the afternoon.

Sophomore defensive lineman Toni Pole was in uniform and pads, but rode the stationary bike all afternoon.

Senior tight end Andrei Lintz did not participate today. Lintz had his right knee taped and rode the stationary bike all afternoon.

Freshman running back Teondray Caldwell did not participate, instead acting as the chain gang during the scrimmage.

Freshman wideout Dominique Williams was without a cast today. He wore in on his injured left hand the last three practices. The freshman walked the stairs in Martin Stadium with a 25-pound weight all afternoon.

Junior offensive guard Niu Sale remained out of pads and also partook in being a member of the chain gang.

Freshman nose tackle Xavier Cooper did not participate and was in a walking boot. He rode the stationary bike all afternoon.

Junior offensive tackle Rico Forbes was at the entire scrimmage with his knee in a brace and taped up, walking with crutches. Sources told Cougfan.com on Thursday Forbes may be lost for the season with a torn ACL..

Sophomore wide receiver Henry Eaddy was in attendance working with the chain gang. This was the first sighting of Eaddy since fall camp began and one would expect the young receiver to redshirt this season.



Running with the 1's:

OFFENSE
LT- John Fullington
LG- Matt Goetz (with Jacobson getting some reps)
C- Elliott Bosch
RG- Jake Rodgers
RT- Dan Spitz
QB – Jeff Tuel
RB –Carl Winston and Leon Brooks got time with the 1s with Rickey Galvin rotating into the backfield now and then.
X-WR – Marquess Wilson
Y-WR – Rickey Galvin (Lintz out with injury)
Z-WR – Gabe Marks (Isiah Myers also got in time with the 1s)
H-WR – Gino Simone (Brett Bartolone also got some time with the 1s)

DEFENSE
LT- Matthew Bock
NT- Ioane Gauta
RT- Steven Hoffart(Travis Long rotated between BUCK and DE)
BUCK- Travis Long
SAM- Eric Oertel (Cyrus Coen also got in work with the 1s)
MIKE- Darryl Monroe
WILL- Chester Sua and Justin Sagote shared the snaps
CB- Daniel Simmons
CB- Damante Horton
FS- Tyree Toomer and Anthony Carpenter shared the snaps
SS- Deone Bucannon

NOTABLE NOTES:

Washington State recruit and verbal commit Cody O’Connell was in attendance once again.

An autograph session followed the scrimmage. All fans in attendance were able to come down on to Martin Stadium and have memorabilia signed by players and coaches.

Not much actual ‘practicing’ took place this afternoon, instead the team worked solely on special teams drills before beginning the scrimmage.

Walk-on quarterback Connor Johnson has been working with the special teams units. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound quarterback may see a position change in the near future with the quarterback position being a crowded as it is.