Cougs RB Rickey Galvin ready to play after recovering from injury last season

PULLMAN – Rickey Galvin remembers the play call.

“It was Titan, which was a sweep,” said the Washington State University running back following Thursday’s spring practice, the fifth of WSU’s 15 scheduled workouts.

“I got on the field, really excited, ready for the play to start,” he said of the Cougars’ opener last season at Oklahoma State, Galvin’s first college game. “Once the ball was snapped, I got the ball and I headed to the outside. As I finally cut in – I saw a seam – I was tripped up.

“The only way to break my fall was to put my arm down, use that third leg to keep myself up.”

The fall didn’t break. The arm did.

As Galvin came off the field, his right arm hung limply. The break was clean. And horrific to viewers. But he didn’t feel it.

“At the moment it wasn’t painful at all, it was numb, like hitting your funny bone,” he said. “It didn’t hurt at all. It was when I got into the Oklahoma State locker room (for X-rays) that I really felt the pain.”

Surgery followed. Plates and pins were inserted.

The arm is now armored. And Galvin is ready to fulfill the promise he showed as a freshman when Washington State coach Paul Wulff raved about his potential.

“So far he’s showed what he showed in last fall’s camp,” Wulff said. “He showed some flashes of some great things. But still, here’s a guy who hasn’t played a college snap, excuse me, he’s played one. Might as well be none.

“He’s got to continue to work.”

Which seems to be part of Galvin’s makeup.

Galvin, from Berkeley, Calif., is listed at 5-foot-8 and 162 pounds. The weight seems about right, but the height might be suspect.

No matter. Galvin has some words for anyone who suspects his talent.

“That’s just the word,” Galvin said of Wulff’s praise. “I have to come on that field and prove what he’s been saying about me is true. And prove everybody who is doubting me is wrong.

“That was a freak accident last year, so I probably don’t have a lot of believers as of now. I don’t need believers. I just need myself to believe.”

Galvin put some of his abilities on display Thursday, dancing out of danger when defenders came up to touch on a non-tackling day, one of four required by NCAA rules.

Just being on the field is a blessing to the freshman.

“Everything happens for a reason,” he said. “I probably needed that extra year to get bigger and faster.”