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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Cardinals sign Deone Bucannon to four-year deal

NFL: The Arizona Cardinals signed first-round pick Deone Bucannon to a four-year deal Thursday.

The Cardinals selected the big-hitting safety out of Washington State with the 27th overall selection in last month’s draft.

The contract is worth $7.7 million, including a $3.9 million signing bonus. A total of $6.9 million is guaranteed because he gets the first three years’ salary under NFL rules. The contract includes a fifth year team option.

Bucannon is the highest drafted player from Washington State since Seattle took cornerback Marcus Trufant at No. 11 in 2003.

Molnar accepts offer to join Vandals

College Football: Charley Molnar, the former head coach at UMass and offensive coordinator at Notre Dame, has accepted an offer to become the wide receivers coach at Idaho,  according to Pete Roussel of CoachingSearch.com.

Molnar was fired by UMass in December after going 2-22 in the Minutemen’s first two seasons at the FBS level. He served as Brian Kelly’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Notre Dame in 2010 and 2011 after working on Kelly’s staff at Cincinnati and Central Michigan.

Idaho has not announced the hire.

Shippy named player of the year

Prep Softball: Lake City’s Vanessa Shippy was named the Gatorade Idaho Player of the Year for 2014.

The 5-foot-9 senior second baseman and catcher hit .622 with 40 RBIs this past season. She also had 31 stolen bases and 58 runs scored to lead the Timberwolves to the State 5A tournament.

Shippy has signed a letter of intent to play on scholarship at Oklahoma State University next season.

Shippy’s honor makes it four Gatorade POYs in a row for Lake City, after former pitcher Casey Stangel captured the previous three awards.