More hitting in store for WSU tomorrow
COUGARS
Washington State's football team is off the practice field. We've talked with Paul Wulff and a couple players. We have some notes. Read on.
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• For the second consecutive day the hitting was intense, with the defense selling out and taking the offensive player to the turf. And for the second consecutive day there were a couple small hurts that were attended to and turned out not to be serious. But it seems like a little chancy to keep it up, and, according to coach Paul Wulff, the Cougars will be in full pads tomorrow. "We're going to get after it again," he said. That's rare for a Thursday. Down right unheard of as far as I can remember in my four years here, but I will admit my memory isn't what it was before spending four years here. ... I asked Wulff if the hitting was serving its purpose, making WSU a more physical, better tackling team. "It's the only thing we can do," he said. "It better. There is no other way to do it." ... As for personnel news, there didn't seem to be any injuries, though David Gonzales had to be checked for a shoulder problem but was cleared. Otherwise, everyone is tired and probably a little sore, but healthy, except Tyson Pencer, who is still out, and Kyle McCartney, still recovering from his concussion. ... The player of practice, if such a award were given out, might have been reserve defensive lineman Justin Mann, who was flying around making tackles. Mann, who was not recruited out of high school by the Bruins, walked-on and was a member of UCLA's football team last year. All those things are important, because Mann transferred to WSU this year and was eligible right away – he did not have to sit. His circumstances fit an NCAA exception written into the rules. He is on many of the Cougar special teams and may see action Saturday on the d-line. ... We have a couple stories for tomorrow, including one on the chance the Pac-12 setup – still be determined – might mean annual trips to LA are a thing of the past. Plus, we have our Pac-10 picks for this week's games.
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• That's all for tonight. We'll be back in the morning. Until then ...
