Scoring At Home? Price 50, WSU 0
Washington State coach Mike Price turned 50 on Saturday and ate chocolate birthday cake at the 50-yard line in Martin Stadium, shortly after the Cougars’ first spring football scrimmage.
A gift, in the form of 6-foot-6 starting quarterback Ryan Leaf, is expected to await Price when the coach returns to practice next week.
Leaf watched Saturday morning’s loosely conducted, 103-play scrimmage from the grandstand, waiting out the final day of his one-week suspension for a DWI infraction. On the field, freshman left-hander Steve Birnbaum completed 13 of 29 passes for 174 yards while running an offense that failed to score a touchdown despite several long plays.
“I think I did pretty good except for that last play at the end,” said Birnbaum, who completed passes of 40 and 43 yards to senior Chad Carpenter, but ended the scrimmage with an interception to junior linebacker Brandon Moore. “I didn’t make the right read on that one. Besides that, everything else went really well. I made the right reads, threw the ball pretty good and carried out all my fakes.”
Price agreed: “Right off the bat, Birnbaum threw a strike to Carpenter right down the sideline. He throws that ball real well. He doesn’t look like a freshman.”
Carpenter caught five passes for 79 yards and junior transfer Kevin McKenzie caught six for 63, including receptions for 35 and 17 yards.
Walk-on quarterbacks Josh Lucca (4 of 8, 52 yards), Jim Kobeski (6-11, 50) and Robert Mensonides (1-8, 5) subbed for Birnbaum. As McKenzie explained, unfamiliarity can breed frustration, if not contempt.
“I get kind of frustrated because I’m out here trying to learn what I have to do, and then I might run a good pattern and the ball is on the ground,” said McKenzie. “And that’s frustrating, because I’m thinking I’ve done it right, and so I should get the reward. But they’re learning, too, so I can’t really get mad.”
The competition at running back was inconclusive. Junior James Curtis, wary of a basketball-related knee injury, managed 26 yards on six carries, including an 18-yard burst. He shared time with sophomore Miguel Meriwether (10 carries for 35 yards) and junior transfer Michael Black (9 for 16).
“It will naturally sort out,” said Price. “I was pleased with the running of the running backs. They’re going to be a nice blend. I think we’re solid there.”
The quarterback quandary should abate with Leaf’s return next week. The 228-pound sophomore has apparently recovered from off-season surgery to his left, non-throwing shoulder. “He’s really feeling good,” Price said.
With Leaf a spectator and his backups engrossed in on-the-job training, freshman defensive back Ronnie Bryant accounted for the morning’s only TD, returning senior Kevin Dickhaut’s fumble in a battle of backups.
Bryant’s return, in addition to Moore’s interception and jarring hits by linebackers Johnny Nansen, Todd Nelson and Steve Gleason, gave the defense an edge.
“At the beginning, the defense always does better than the offense,” Birnbaum explained. “But as time goes on, we’ll catch up and go right by them, I think.”
That will depend on several factors, including depth at linebacker, which became a concern when Phillip Glover quit in February. Moore, Nansen and James Darling are the projected starters.
Moore is relatively inexperienced, having emerged with seven tackles and an interception in last season’s 33-30 Apple Cup loss in Seattle.
“I just don’t want to be the weak link out there,” said Moore. “With the Apple Cup, I was being patient and waiting for my turn to come. That was a big confidence builder for this coming year, so I just want to keep that game in mind and transfer that over to this season.”
Notes
Price will miss practice Monday and Tuesday to attend his mother-in-law’s funeral in the Seattle area.
Sophomore defensive back Tray Crayton, senior defensive end Da’vid Evans and sophomore running back Kwame Stewart missed the first week of spring practices.
According to Price, each can return to practice Monday if unspecified academic goals have been met.
, DataTimes