Cougar Notebook: Gibson makes the cut

BRANDON GIBSON, selected in this year’s NFL draft (sixth round) out of Washington State, survived the final cut of the Philadelphia Eagles and will experience his first professional game this Sunday.

“It’s very exciting, but the hard work starts now and I have to get better day in and day out,” Brandon Gibson said on the Eagles’ website.

Gibson, WSU’s all-time leading receiver, was initially considered a long shot to make the Eagles by the pundits. Philadelphia had five veteran receivers and drafted wideout Jeremy Maclin in the first round.

Another NFL rookie from WSU is Ropati Pitoitua. The defensive tackle stuck with the New York Jets after spending last season on the Jets’ practice squad.

Former WSU tight end-fullback Jed Collins was one of the last cuts of the Kansas City Chiefs. Ex-Cougar defensive tackle Rob Meier, who has missed just six of Jacksonville’s games since being drafted out of WSU in the seventh (last) round in 2000, will miss the entire season after being placed on the injured reserve list with a shoulder ailment.

Marcus Trufant is still dealing with a back injury, so the Seattle Seahawks deactivated the former Cougar cornerback for the first six games.

Longtime NFL assistant coach Greg Olson, an assistant at WSU from 1987-89, received an unexpected promotion when Tampa Bay fired new offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski last week. Olson, who was the Buccaneers’ quarterback coach, retains that title while also serving as O-coordinator.

THE VOLLEYBALL COMPETITION will heat up once Pac-10 play starts, but the undefeated WSU volleyball team received votes in the Top 25 poll after knocking off 17th-ranked Utah last week.

The 7-0 start is WSU’s best since the 2002 team went 11-0 en route to an NCAA Elite Eight appearance. The Cougars have lost just two of 23 games.

Renee Bordelon, a senior setter from Coeur d’Alene, is the Pac-10 Player of the Week. She was named MVP of the Utah Valley Invitational last weekend, when the Cougars went 3-0.

The Cougars take on Idaho and Cal State Northridge on Friday and Saturday at the annual Nike Cougar Challenge Tournament. Admission is free at Bohler Gym.

WSU SOCCER SUFFERED a setback as fifth-ranked Florida State smoked the Cougar soccer team 4-1 Sunday in Tallahassee, Fla., but star Cougar forward Kiersten Dallstream scored her sixth goal of the season.

The Cougars, who started the season in the Top 25, slipped to 3-2.