More of the same on Day 13

COUGARS

FROM PULLMAN — We've written before about routine, and how that kind of feeling starts to set in during preseason camp. Well, that's how Wednesday's practice felt, with the exception being that it was held at 9:15 a.m. We were there, and have notes.

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You're not going to believe this, but Gabe Marks made another couple of highlight-reel catches. The most impressive was in a 1-on-1 red zone drill against Nolan Washington, whom he blew past before sticking out his right hand to snag a slightly errant throw for a touchdown. …

… With Eric Oertel absent from the team session (I assume he left the field, though I didn't see him go), Cyrus Coen spent the morning working with the No. 1 defense at SAM linebacker. And he made an interception early on, after Darryl Monroe stuck his hand up to deflect a pass over the middle. The ball caromed right into Coen's hands. … The defense scored another interception later on, when Connor Halliday rolled to his right, tried to fit a ball into too tight of a space and had it picked off by safety Anthony Carpenter. … And the defense should have had a third interception on a long pass intended for Gino Simone in the end zone, but as Deone Bucannon went to haul it in, he bobbled it and essentially dumped it right into Simone's hands for a touchdown. … Taylor Taliulu continues to see reps with the first-team at safety.

… The offense once again got the better of the defense on the final three plays inside the 5-yard line. The first was a run by Carl Winston up the middle that resulted in a touchdown. Then Teondray Caldwell did the same thing. And on the final play, Jeff Tuel took the snap and sprinted out to his right, beating everyone around the edge for the offense's third touchdown in three plays. It set off a loud celebration between Tuel and Marquess Wilson, who chest-bumped and hooted and hollered before informing a few defensive players that they had, indeed, just scored another touchdown.

… Players on bikes: WR Kristoff Williams, LB Darren Markle, DL Toni Pole, DL Xavier Cooper. It wasn't just bikes today, though, as those players broke out the old hit-a-giant-tire-with-a-hammer drill, as well as some rope-pulling, on the sidelines. … Bucannon left the field for a bit after tweaking something in his left leg/foot area, but returned and looked fine. … Rickey Galvin was spotted riding an exercise bike for a bit, though he participated in practice. … DL Chas Sampson was not present for the third day, though no reason has been provided by the coaching staff as to why.

That's all for today. Time to write a bit more, then drive to Spokane to finalize plans for our football preview section.

Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple