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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Cougs in pads on Day 3

COUGARS

FROM PULLMAN -- Had to file a couple stories after practice today, but we're back with some more notes and observations from Washington State's first practice in pads. Read on.

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First, we can pass along links to our profile of WSU defensive line coach Joe Salave'a, as well as our story about Andrei Lintz. ... Of course, pads during the spring just means the upper-body, as players are still wearing shorts. Leach said that sometimes the first day in pads can be a distraction, because players are more concerned about laying a big hit than they are about focusing on what needs to be done in practice. But he liked the team's intensity on Tuesday. ... Leach said they've introduced most of the offense, and that now, they'll go back to the beginning and start to really drill it in. In other words, they know what they're running, but need repetition to perfect it. ... There was a bit more chippiness today. Deone Bucannon took exception to something said or done by Blair Bomber, so he took him to the ground and got a few jabs in before the two were separated. ... Before practice started, the team formed a circle and two players at a time took turns going one-on-one against each other. One such battle pitted defensive end Travis Long against tight end Andrei Lintz. ... With Halliday out, David Gilbertson split the majority of the reps with Jeff Tuel. Each of them had success hitting different receivers on the seam route. Dominique Williams caught a touchdown pass from Gilbertson over the middle that got the safeties yelled at. Lintz caught one from Tuel. Marquess Wilson caught a touchdown pass on a similar route on a ball thrown by Tuel. Kristoff Williams did the same on a pass from Gilbertson. ... One of the most impressive catches of the day was turned in by walk-on receiver Drew Loftus. He went up in traffic in the end zone, high-pointed the ball and came down with it over cornerback Tracy Clark. ... Clark got his revenge on the next play, when he picked off Tuel after it appeared he and Loftus had a bit of miscommunication. That caused an assistant coach to yell, "That makes up for it, baby!" ... Bobby Ratliff had a nice day, highlighted by a touchdown catch over safety Tyree Toomer near the sideline. Toomer signaled with his hands that he thought Ratliff was out of bounds, though former WSU running back Logwone Mitz, who was watching practice and standing right on top of the play, let everyone know that Ratliff was in bounds. ... Carl Winston may have drew the most audible reaction of the day when he ran over walk-on defensive back Mike McAdie, who is considerably smaller than the last WSU player to wear No. 17. ... The starting offensive line during team session featured, from left  to right, John Fullington, Chas Sampson, Matt Goetz, Elliot Bosch and Dan Spitz, though again, this is spring practice and there was plenty of rotating. ... Eric Oertel, Chester Su'a, Darren Markle and Travis Long ran with the No. 1 unit as linebackers, with Xavier Cooper, Anthony Laurenzi and Lenard Williams across the defensive line. ... There are a couple personnel notes to pass along. The Cougars added a kicker, Wes Concepcion, to their roster. Receiver Chandler Jenkins has left the team. Connor Halliday didn't practice, but did spend some time on a light throwing drill with the other quarterbacks. ... Limited players who spent time doing conditioning drills on the side included cornerback Nolan Washington (though he was able to participate for most of practice), cornerback Spencer Waseem, cornerback Brandon Golden, safety Max Gama, cornerback Travion Smith, defensive end Adam Coerper, offensive lineman Joe Dahl, defensive end Hamza Griffin and offensive lineman Jake Rodgers, who was wearing a walking boot on his left foot. Receiver Rahmel Dockery was a full participant after being limited on Saturday. Tight end Aaron Dunn and running back Lawrence Tuioti were not seen at practice. (And your daily reminder that Leach does not disclose injury information.) ... A number of offensive and defensive linemen spent time catching punts after practice, something Leach said was simply practice for pooch kicks and the like. ... Early in practice, inside receivers coach Eric Morris played in coverage against his players during passing drills. After breaking up a couple throws, Bomber joked, "Eric Morris -- receivers coach, or All-Pro corner?" ... The Cougars spent a great deal of time practicing special teams again, during which time Eric Russell's voice was rather audible and colorful. ... Marshall Lobbestael, Jared Karstetter and Dan Wagner were all in attendance. ... Leach said it's likely the Cougars will scrimmageon Saturday.

All for now. We have some video of Logan Mayes to pass along tomorrow.

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



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