Washington State strives for equal sides in annual Crimson and Gray Game

PULLMAN – Mike Leach used to let his assistant coaches hold a draft to select sides for spring games. He didn’t care for it.

“Pretty soon some team’s got nine offensive linemen and the other team’s got three,” Leach said. “I’ve done that. It’s a (bad) show.”

Instead, the coaches have tried to create two equal teams by going down the starting lineups and assigning one player to the Crimson squad, the next one to the Gray, and making sure each starter’s backup is on the opposite squad.

Leach admits that the ability of the teams to execute will be hampered since so many players will be competing alongside guys they don’t get many reps next to in practice. But he knows that creating two roughly equal teams will raise the collective effort level.

The defense will also be under some restrictions to allow the offense to function despite the unusual lineups.

“There shouldn’t be any assignment errors, because we’ll be running a small package,” linebackers coach Ken Wilson said. “It gives them a chance. It’ll just be like old, backyard football. Both teams are under the same restrictions, so we’ll see how it works.”

From Leach’s perspective, the Crimson and Gray Game is a great way bring the team to Spokane and engage the fan base, show the fans how hard the team has worked in the offseason and it is an opportunity for everyone to have a good time.

“It’s a great setting to play in,” Leach said. “A bunch of good people there and they have a tremendous time.”

From a practical football standpoint, it’s just another practice. The tape from Saturday’s spring game will be added to the pile of tape accumulated during all 15 practices this spring. If a player substantially raises his performance, he is suspect for not putting as much effort into each practice as he should.

Leach gets a lot of credit for his moving the game forward with his contributions to the Air Raid offense. He doesn’t get enough credit for one of his best ideas, however – making the Crimson and Gray Game the 14th practice.

He holds one final Tuesday practice after the spring game so coaches can clean up any obvious errors and players take it seriously, knowing the coaches still have a chance to discipline any antics in Spokane or laziness on the field.

So the spring game is not actually the end of spring. In some ways, it is a beginning. The rosters handed out on Saturday will be the first ones to list longtime starters like Cole Madison, Luke Falk and Peyton Pelluer as seniors, the unofficial beginning of their farewell tours.

“It’s kind of bittersweet, last one,” Pelluer said. “I’m excited for it, but I’m sad it’s the last one.”

Falk was just some walk-on quarterback to most WSU fans until the 2014 spring game. In that game he outplayed Tyler Bruggman, a highly hyped recruit who transferred later that summer and who will likely lead Montana State against the Cougars in next year’s season opener.

While one should always be skeptical of good or bad spring game performances by individual players, it is almost certain that fans who show up to Albi Stadium at 2 p.m. Saturday will see some future WSU stars for the first time.