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Wulff names Tuel starter


COUGARS

A quick summary of Paul Wulff's remark's to the assembled media in the Rose Bowl follows on the link. One piece of news, Jeff Tuel is the guy at quarterback. Read on.
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• Wulff talked about this with me a little before taking the podium, then answered a question about the quarterback battle. "Jeff is the leading guy, without question," Wulff said before saying Tuel has the job and that Marshall Lobbestael will be the backup. He did emphasis having to make sure Lobbestael is ready, because too often more than one quarterback is needed – something all WSU fans know too well. ... Kevin Kooyman was WSU's player rep and he was asked about being picked last again. He said players have to ignore it, because it can be a distraction. "It doesn't matter media says," Kooyman said, before apologizing. ... Kooyman also talked about the Cougars' talent, saying the school has had more talented teams, but "hard work beats talent." ... Speaking of Tuel, Wulff said he believes he's farther along than Mark Rypien, Ryan Leaf or Alex Brink were after their first year at WSU. Mainly because those guys redshirted and had to learn the speed of the game as redshirt freshmen. Tuel's playing time – and the addition of some 25 pounds in the past year – is an asset entering the year. ... That was about it about football. Wulff talked about the trip to New York, joking he learned how good of guys the other coaches were, when sometimes you don't think that's the case.

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• That's all for now. We'll be back soon. Until then ...



Vince Grippi
Vince Grippi is a freelance local sports blogger for spokesman.com. He also contributes to the SportsLink Blog.

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