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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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WSU’s Hannam a survivor


COUGARS

We're putting together this post because we have a story to share. The story of a four-year starting offensive lineman who is an academic standout, a solid citizen and a player who always seems to be on the verge of being replaced – though he never has been. It's right tackle Micah Hannam, who is among a handful of WSU players who have started four consecutive years on the offensive line. He, and the rest of the Washington State players, had their second practice of the pre-Apple Cup bye weeks. We have some notes about that and our story, so read on.
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• It's been a while since WSU has been in a bowl game, but if you can remember back then the Cougars probably used the first few days of practice to rest a few starters, run reserves through reps with the rest of the starters and slowly introduce the game plan. This week is a lot like a bowl prep week. WSU is holding out starters so they can heal – Alex Hoffman-Ellis, Deone Bucannan, John Fullington, Wade Jacobson – and they are running some reserves with the ones – for example, Jake Rodgers, who is redshirting as a freshman, is playing left tackle and Chris Prummer, the backup center, is working at left guard. I don't believe there are any of the injured who is not expected to be back for the Apple Cup. ... One player whose season is done is freshman Lucas Sealby, who is redshirting. He had season-ending surgery this week. ... The hitting was pretty intense for a thud practice, with receiver Daniel Blackledge getting hit hard on two receptions. Blackledge stayed down for a while after both, but was able to continue. ... If you were wondering, the Cougars were outside but it wasn't all that cold, as the sun made everything feel warmer. WSU will probably stay outside mainly because there is a great chance Dec. 4 will be cold, real cold. The more the Cougar receivers can get used to catching the ball in the cold, the more Jeff Tuel can get used to throwing a freezing ball, the better off WSU will be. ... And that's about it from the less than two-hour practice. ... As for the story, you can find it here.

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• That's all for now. We'll be back in the morning with our usual post before another day of practice. Until then ...



Vince Grippi
Vince Grippi is a freelance local sports blogger for spokesman.com. He also contributes to the SportsLink Blog.

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