Qb Fireworks Only Supplied On WSU Field

The flame beneath the once-boiling quarterback controversy, which was expected to bubble over during Washington State’s spring football drills, was turned down yet another notch Saturday.

Sophomore Chad Davis, who started all 12 games last fall and led WSU to a surprising 8-4 record that included a 10-3 Alamo Bowl win over Baylor, threw for 277 yards and one touchdown in the Cougars’ annual Crimson and Gray scrimmage and reaffirmed himself as the leader of coach Mike Price’s spread-passing offense heading into next fall.

Davis completed 22 of 33 passes and led his team on three sustained scoring drives as the Crimson defeated the White 20-17.

The scrimmage, which normally marks the end of spring practice, was moved up to coincide with Moms Weekend on the WSU campus. The Cougars will officially close spring drills Thursday.

Davis was the standout of the scrimmage, overshadowing redshirt freshman Ryan Leaf, who quarterbacked the White team.

Leaf, who said last fall that he would consider transferring if he did not get a fair shot to unseat Davis this spring, completed 12 of 29 passes for 163 yards and one touchdown for the Crimson but was victimized by several drops, including an apparent TD strike that bounced out of the hands of redshirt freshman wideout Shawn McWashington in the end zone.

Still, the rifle-armed, 6-foot-6 rookie from Great Falls, Mont., seemed satisfied with his performance and the opportunity he has received this spring.

And he gave no indication that he intends to transfer.

“It felt good, real good,” Leaf said of his extended opportunity to direct WSU’s offense. “I’m getting it down pretty good. I don’t have it down as good as Chad does, but it’s coming.

“I’m smarter about reading defenses now and I’m understanding what coaches are saying. It’s making a lot more sense to me.”

Leaf even talked about next fall, saying one of his top priorities would be trying to earn the respect of his teammates.

“I think they all kind of want to follow Chad, still, because he’s paid his dues,” Leaf explained.

“Maybe when I’m out here and I’m not in this gold jersey - I was kind of disappointed I had to wear mine today because I like running around and stuff - I can kind of swing the players’ morale to me a little bit more because they can see that, hey, this kid’s going to go out there and work for us.

“And I’m going to do that for them, because I respect every one of these guys and I just want to back them up.”

Davis took his performance in stride, saying he didn’t see the need to reaffirm his position as the starter.

“I guess you guys think I have to,” he told reporters, “but coach Price doesn’t and I don’t.”

Davis seemed much more comfortable under center than he did last fall and every pass he threw - even the incompletions - had meaning. His touchdown pass as 23-yarder to Shawn Timms.

“Having 12 games under your belt, going to a bowl game and winning a bowl game, that makes a lot of difference,” Davis explained. “Being a year older makes a lot of difference, too. And so does having seven guys coming back on offense.

“For myself, it’s been a learning process. I wanted to use this spring for things I needed to work on and that’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve tried to get better and I think the offense has gotten better in the process.”

Running on empty

Despite the continued use of some two-back offensive sets, WSU’s running game was nearly non-existent.

Junior Derek Sparks, who was back after missing almost a week of practice with a knee bruise he suffered when a car backed into him, carried 21 times for 64 yards and scored on two short touchdown runs for the Crimson.

But the teams combined for only 67 net yards on the ground.

Defense delights

Cougar defenders had a decent day, even though they were not allowed to blitz or use any straight zone coverages in the secondary.

The biggest surprise was cornerback Shad Hinchen, a junior-college transfer, who intercepted a pass for the White team and made a great strip of the football on a long Crimson running play.

Hinchen’s emergence - coupled with the absence of defensive back Brian Walker and Derek Henderson, who have both undergone recent shoulder surgery - has created an interesting battle for the starting cornerback spot opposite senior Greg Burns.

“I’m not sure,” Price said when asked to name his starters at the corners. “Hinchen’s in there. He did really good today.”

Sophomore cornerback Ray Jackson provided the day’s defensive highlight when he picked off a Davis pass at his own end line and returned it 100 yards for a White touchdown.