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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Spring Practice Report: Day 13

From Pullman -- The clouds broke for the final Washington State football practice before the spring game. The coaches have split up the roster into two teams and are hoping for as competitive a game as possible. I will have those rosters for you sometime tomorrow morning. It wasn't a very newsy practice today with the teams split up and the Cougars in just helmets (and jerseys, pants, etc. But my point is that they were not in pads).

The practice report is after the jump.

...

It was the best of practices for Kristoff Williams, it was the worst of practices for Kristoff Williams. He ended practice with a touchdown over Sebastian LaRue, who had broken up a pass on the previous play. He had a number of catches, and continued to actively use his hands to create separation. Williams has impressed Leach throughout the spring with his "violent hands" that allow him to make an impact in both the receiving and blocking games.

That was all really good.

What wasn't good was the bobbled catch that led to a Beau Glover interception off Connor Halliday in 7-on-7. What was worse was the bobbled pass that led to a Taylor Taliulu interception off Halliday in the team period. What was downright eyebrow-raising were the footballs bouncing off his shoulders and and knees during an onside-kick recover drill.

That was less good.

But Williams has been consistently good this spring and is a very bright guy. I expect he'll be fine.

The rest of practice was pretty typical. It was Falk's day to take reps behind Halliday and he was very accurate, completing 16 of 20 passes in 7-on-7 and 7 of 12 in the team session, albeit with a big sack by Destiny Vaeao. Halliday was good as well, completing 15 of 20 in 7-on-7 and 11 of 17 in team, with two touchdowns.

One receiver who is starting to come on is Calvin Green, a freshman who should be a high school senior but enrolled at WSU early for spring football. Given his youth and the fact that he played running back in high school, it's understandable that Green took a few weeks to  catch up. But he has taken to receiver and runs relatively crisp routes with good technique. By the time fall camp rolls around I expect he'll look like he's been playing receiver his whole life and he'll still have five years to play four.

After practice coach Mike Leach introduced a pair of high-profile recruits to the team, drawing cheers and encouragement. Quarterback Tyler Hilinski from Upland, Calif. is a four-star quarterback prospect and reportedly the No. 1 quarterback on Leach's recruiting list. Defensive tackle Thomas Toki is a Californian now, having recently moved from Kirkland where he attended Juanita High School. The four-star lineman has already declared his intentions to attend WSU.

 



Jacob Thorpe
Jacob Thorpe joined The Spokesman-Review in 2013. He currently is a reporter for the Sports Desk covering Washington State University athletics.

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