Cougs mix things up on Day 5
COUGARS
FROM PULLMAN -- That headline is what we call a double entendre. Read on.
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The first entendre: as we wrote about tonight for tomorrow's newspaper (big, rectangular thing with words and pictures on it), there have been a few position changes the past couple of days. Most notable, Rickey Galvin appears to be moving to the slot, though it's obviously a possibility that he could line up there and also do some things out of the backfield. Mike Leach said afterward that the team simply needs to take advantage of its talent, and put its most athletic players in positions where they can contribute. Galvin is obviously one of the shiftiest players on the team, and he showed that today in 1-on-1 drills, blowing past corners a couple of times to catch passes (though he must have done something wrong at some point, because he was rolling in the sand pit after practice and was unavailable for interviews). And keep ing mind, too, that Galvin caught 28 passes for 242 yards last season. Not jaw-dropping numbers, but not bad for a running back, either. So they know he can catch. I wouldn't call Galvin a starting slot receiver yet or anything like that, but it's certainly an interesting development we'll keep our eye on. ... The second entendre: it got a little chippy today with players wearing full pads for the first time so far in camp. The most notable of skirmishes took place toward the end of the team session, with Toni Pole and Matt Goetz going at it before Wade Jacobson got involved. The players were separated in short order and nothing else came of it. ... Back to the first entendre: lots of different players seeing time with the No. 1 and No. 2 units today. The safeties seemed to switch out quite a bit, with Anthony Carpenter taking reps over Tyree Toomer with the first team, and Casey Locker seeing some time there, as well. ... True freshman Taylor Taliulu ran with the second team a bit, and Brandon Golden and Tracy Clark took some reps with the first unit. At this point, not sure there's anything to read into other than coaches trying to evaluate as many players as possible in a competitive setting. ... Ioane Gauta saw some run with the second-team defensive line, playing alongside Adam Coerper and Steven Hoffart. ... Hey, remember this morning's story about Marquess Wilson becoming a more physical player? Well, he cracked a defender so hard on the sidelines while blocking for a screen pass that the entire practice field lit up with cheers and "ooooooooohs." Probably not something you would have seen in the spring. ... Leach has praised freshman receiver Brett Bartolone on more than one occasion already, but he continues to impress. Today, he beat Tyree Toomer off the line in 1-on-1s, badly enough that he outran him all the way to the end zone. It's early, but don't be surprised if Bartolone winds up in the rotation at receiver. ... OL Rico Forbes, CB Nolan Washington, LB Corey Laufasa (who was wearing a walking boot), LB Tana Pritchard, DL Austin Brown and DL Destiny Vaeao all appeared limited. OL Niu Sale left the field with an apparent injury, as well.
All for now.
Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple