Condensed spring game post
COUGARS
FROM SPOKANE -- Albi Stadium is empty and we're leaving for fear of getting locked inside, so this post will be short for now. We'll be back later with plenty more from the scrimmage.
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We'll just pass along some quotes and stats to whet your appetite ...
MARQUESS WILSON
"I definitely felt like I brought it a lot more this game than the rest of the spring. It was just a different mindset for me this game. I just had to do what I had to do and help the team get back. I noticed that we were losing and I’m one to not like to lose so it made me fight even harder."
(Is this staff pushing you harder?) "Definitely because they just push me to be the best player I can be, and it’s helped me a lot because I’m finding out what different stuff I can do, and being not lazy helps me out as a player and all."
(Are you close to bringing the right effort?) "I feel like I’m real close. I have a different mindset now. I'm just going out there and playing hard and helping the team out and that’s my mindset."
"It was just time. I noticed that I was lacking out at practice and losing … I don’t know. It was just hard going out there and practicing hard, and I just realized that’s not me, and I wasn’t the same person. I just had to come back to me and start working harder."
(Are you motivated by being called out for your effort?) "Yeah, because I mean in all that’s just my fault. I can understand where they’re coming from. Doing that just makes me work harder and it helps me out a lot."
(Did you think you were giving 100 percent effort?) "Sometimes yes and sometimes no. I get tired so I seem to lack off but even when I’m running hard it still looks like I’m jogging sometimes when I’m tired."
MIKE LEACH
(On how the team handled the scrimmage) "I thought they did a good job avoiding the distractions when you compare the other things we’ve done this spring. Basically they got up bright and early, took a bus -- the coaches were already up here -- came here, did autographs, then did warmup and then played a game. So I really thought pretty good. And from that standpoint I think better than I expected."
(General thoughts) "I thought we had pretty good effort. I thought we had some guys hesitate and try to make too much happen. It’s kind of like if a hitter in baseball were to go up and check swing each time. We had some check swingers and then of course the results were poor. So now next time they need to not worry about making a mistake and go full tilt. Saw some guys do some good things out there. Probably a little better here than they did in practice, and those guys need to get it every day in practice. If they want to have steady improvement from that they have to do it every day in practice. I think we need to play tougher in the offensive line and then I’m sure coach Breske ... overall I thought we ran to the ball good on defense, you had (Logan) Mayes who turned out to be a sack specialist. Mayes didn’t hesitate. And then I'm sure defensively they’re looking a little bit on the explosives and why a couple of the plays went as long as they did."
(On playing eight receivers with the first team) "You want a guy who’s fresh late in the game as early, and then if a guy’s kind of a really overpowering player he might play 2/3 and his backup play 1/3. … But if they’re pretty even then we’ll go half and half."
(On Wilson standing out) "It did today, although Dominique Williams I thought was just as impressive. I think the two of them need to be guys that can consistently do that in practice. If they want to be good players that periodically make great catches, that’s where they’re at right now. If they want to be guys that can do it consistently and be great receivers ... right now they’re good receivers. They’re not great receivers. They’re good receivers. If they want to be great receivers, they need to practice and play with that sense of urgency every snap in practice. That’s the difference between great ones, because then you take the threshold they played at some today and you improve from there. Right now we’re improving from some level a little below that because we don’t get that consistently in practice. But I thought it was impressive today. I thought it was nice that was revealed so now we can know what to expect and push to make it a common occurrence.
"Now that it’s revealed that they’re capable of it, we’ll just stick that on film and anything short of that will get their attention a little bit. Kind of a botch on their part to reveal they’re capable of that because now they kind of armed us with a little bit. They really played well and they were key downs. Some really impressive catches. To see both of them come out here, emerge and play really hard, I thought was really good."
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And the stats from the scrimmage ...
PASSING
Jeff Tuel 19-21-285, 2 TD
David Gilbertson 12-16-162, 1 TD, 1 INT
Cody Clements 5-9-64, 1INT
Jesse Brown 4-5-57
RUSHING
Rickey Galvin 1-7
Carl Winston 4-7
Leon Brooks 3-26
Marcus Mason 2-7
Kyle Lappano 5-14
Manuel Lamson 2-4
RECEIVING
Carl Winston 2-4, TD
Marquess Wilson 4-149, TD
Bobby Ratliff 4-47
Andire Lintz 5-88
Leon Brooks 4-20
Bennett Bontemps 3-20
Dominique Williams 5-121, TD
Marcus Mason 1-2
Blair Bomber 3-13
Gino Simone 1-12
Rahmel Dockery 1-7
Rickey Galvin 1-13
Isiah Myers 1-15
Kyle Lappano 1-2
Brett McDonald 2-55
Max Hersey 1-1
Manuel Lamson 1-(-1)
SACKS
Logan Mayes 4.5
Toni Pole 1.5
Xavier Cooper 1
Matthew Bock 1
Dylan Rabinowitz 1
INTERCEPTIONS
Deone Bucannon (Gilbertson)
Mathew Simmons (Brown)
FIELD GOALS
Andrew Furney – 39-good
Michael Bowlin – 52-WL
Wes Concepcion – 24-good
SCORING
Wilson 80-yard touchdown catch from Tuel (Furney Kick)
Winston 1-yard touchdown catch from Tuel (Furney Kick) tuel 6-6, 72 yards
Andrew Furney 39-yard field goal
D. Williams 6-yard touchdown catch from Gilbertson (Bowlin kick)
Wes Concepcion 24-yard field goal
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More later.
Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple