Kenny Alfred's Diary: Week One

PULLMAN -- Hey there CougFans! This is Kenny Alfred and June sure has been a great month for the team out on the Palouse. We’ve kept ourselves busy with strength coach Darin Lovat out on Rogers Field and in Bohler Athletic Complex, getting in shape and pushing some big weight around.

On the offensive line, I can't single out one guy because we've actually been working pretty well together this offseason -- all of them are doing really well. Just as one of many examples, Andrew Roxas and Micah Hannam have shown consistent work ethic and leadership.

At quarterback, Marshall Lobbestael has really stepped up to take some of the leadership reins and to try and help keep things organized. On the field, he's looking pretty good. Kevin Lopina is working very hard and he's been showing some good gains and leadership abilities at our workouts.

In the weight room, there are way too many guys to mention who have impressed. Linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis is but one example of a guy who is a real hard worker and who is looking real strong, but we have a lot of those kinds of guys in there.

Guys are working as hard as they possibly can to get bigger and to get conditioned so we can tear things up this fall. In my time so far as a Coug, this may be the most focused I’ve seen the team during summer workouts, it’s awesome!

The offense has been running voluntary workouts on our own and those are going well, too. We’re working to make things click so we can operate as an explosive, fluid and most of all, successful unit. The guys are getting more and more dedicated daily to working together to achieve our goals. With every day that passes, we’re feeling closer to each other and more ready to fight together for the pride of the Cougar Nation.

Hopefully I saw some of you up in Spokane for Hoopfest this past Sunday while I was signing posters with Andy Mattingly, Kevin Kooyman, Dwight Tardy and Tony Thompson.

We had a lot of fun meeting and interacting with all the Cougs who came up to say Hi and Good Luck. It meant a lot to all of us, there’s nothing better than the Cougar Faithful and we can’t wait to show you all what’s coming this fall with the work we’ve been putting in all off-season long.

I might not be able to get to every single one but if you have questions, post them on the CF.C message boards and I'll do my best to answer them.

Until next time,
Kenny Alfred

Cougar center Kenny Alfred out of Gig Harbor, Wash. was named to the Rimington Award watch list for the second straight spring after his performance starting all 13 games at WSU in 2008. He has started 32 games for the Cougs since his redshirt freshman season and was named Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention for the third consecutive year in '08. A Sporting News Pac-10 All-Freshman Team member in '06, he concluded his prep senior year at Gig Harbor High as a consensus first-team All-State pick and was named one of only six "blue chip" prospects in the state of Washington by the Seattle Times.