Unknown WSU Qbs Put On Veteran Faces
Darkness was settling on Martin Stadium shortly after Washington State’s first spring football practice of 1996, and the three backups to the backup quarterback were fielding questions as if they were accustomed to the attention.
“I gotta get outta here, so I’ll go first,” offered one, sounding more like an old pro than a walk-on named Josh Lucca.
“Yeah, I gotta get outta here, too,” echoed Robert Mensonides, as if the guys at ESPN might be on hold.
The irony was not lost on former WSU backup Shawn Deeds, who spent four seasons as an afterthought in the Cougars’ days of quarterback opulence.
“Look at this,” cracked Deeds, who dropped by the stadium to watch part of Monday’s 2-hour workout. “First day of practice and they’re already talking to the media. It took me three years to get somebody to talk to me.”
Deeds, of course, ran out of eligibility just in time for WSU’s Great Quarterback Shortage, when the one-week suspension of starter Ryan Leaf, coupled with the flight of Chad Davis, left redshirt freshman Steve Birnbaum as the Cougars’ only QB heading into spring. Monday, Deeds would have been The Man.
Lucca, Mensonides and Jim Kobeski were brought in by head coach Mike Price to give Birnbaum an occasional rest. Leaf, recovering from surgery to his non-throwning shoulder and on suspension for an off-season DWI arrest, is expected to reclaim his throne sometime after Saturday’s scrimmage. Until Leaf is ready, Birnbaum will take the great majority of snaps, as he did Monday.
“Eighteen years old and being the veteran quarterback, that’s what made me nervous the most,” said the 6-foot-4, 188-pound Birnbaum, who hasn’t played in a game since his senior year at Ayala High School in Chino Hills, Calif. “They say take charge of the huddle, be a leader, and I want to show my leadership, make the reads and throw the ball. Those are the three things I want to do.
“But you know, being 18 years old and still kind of a rookie, it’s kind of hard to gain the attention of these older guys. But they did, and I like them for that. The offensive line, they really gave me support.”
Without an experienced quarterback, Monday’s practice featured an abundance of fumbled exchanges and unintended bounce passes. In fact, one of the afternoon’s most jolting collisions came when Kobeski attempted to hand off to running back Michael Black, a transfer from West Los Angeles Junior College.
“It was a little rag-tag today, but I’ll be happy if we can just have the enthusiasm and the attitude we had at today’s practice for the next 15 practices,” said Price. “I’m not so concerned about how we are right now.”
Price said he was impressed by several transfers, including running backs Kevin McKenzie (Long Beach CC) and Black, as well as senior offensive lineman Bryan Chiu (Pacific). “But I didn’t really get a chance to watch the guys on defense,” the coach added. “I know (junior defensive end) Dorian Boose made a couple plays in there.”
The practice was divided into 24 5-minute sessions and culminated with “live” drills in which the first-team offense ran a few basic plays against the top defense. Birnbaum was intercepted once, by senior Shad Hinchen.
“Today was a great day; good to get back out, don the pads, get rid of some frustration and some excitement that we’ve had since the Apple Cup (loss to Washington) last year,” senior left tackle Scott Sanderson said.
“It’s been a long, long wait,” senior linebacker James Darling added.
, DataTimes