Tackling The Critics Sanderson Must Live Up To Coaches’ Claims
Washington State University football coaches are convinced they have the best collegiate offensive tackle in the West.
It’s up to Scott Sanderson to convince everyone else.
“To have that title bestowed upon me is a great honor, especially from the coaches on this staff,” the WSU senior said. “It’s something you’ve got to try and live up to.”
Away from the football offices tucked away in the basement of Bohler Gym, the 6-foot-6, 296-pound Sanderson is generally considered the second-best tackle in the Pacific-10 Conference, behind mammoth Arizona State senior Juan Roque (6-8, 319). While Roque’s size helps make him a more devastating run blocker, Sanderson’s quicker feet give him an edge in pass protection. Both play on the left side of their offensive lines, and both figure to be selected in the 1997 National Football League draft.
A second-team all-conference selection as a junior, Sanderson enters the 1996 season as a first-team selection in preseason publications. Roque was first-team all-conference last season and second-team All-America as chosen by the Sporting News.
“Sanderson will run circles around Juan Roque,” WSU coach Mike Price insisted, liberated by the knowledge Roque and the Sun Devils aren’t on the Cougars’ schedule this season.
Not surprisingly, second-year line coach Lawrence Livingston and offensive coordinator John McDonnel, Livingston’s predecessor, also cast votes for Sanderson.
“Without a doubt, he’s the best offensive lineman on the West Coast,” said Livingston, a starter on Weber State’s line for 44 straight games from 1979-84. “I mean, he’s got some physical skills that not every offensive lineman has, but I think what makes him really good is his work ethic. He’s the hardest worker in the weight room, in conditioning, out here on the field.”
In the heat and monotony of this month’s two-a-day practices, the temptation to coast or take a play off might seem irresistible - especially for a player with Sanderson’s job security.
“That’s never been my style,” Sanderson said, discarding the notion as if it were a defensive end barreling toward quarterback Ryan Leaf. “I owe a lot to my parents. Growing up, they instilled in me some good values. You’ve got to strive to get better, and when you’re done playing is when you can look back and say, yeah, I was the best, or I was one of the best, or I did this and I did that.”
If all goes well, that shouldn’t be anytime soon.
“Right now, my priorities are to play this college season and enjoy it and have fun, and definitely go to a bowl game,” he said. “And as soon as my career comes to an end here and I play my last game, I’ll look forward to preparing for hopefully, football afterward.”
Sanderson says all the right things, yet seems more thoughtful than rehearsed. The best word might be prepared. A fifth-year student from Concord, Calif., Sanderson is on schedule to leave WSU with degrees in sociology and criminal justice. He might eventually pursue a career with the FBI, or perhaps go to law school.
“Number one, I’m going to graduate this year with two degrees, and that’s the most important thing,” said Sanderson, who has started 23 straight games for WSU. “That allows me to not have to worry about that, and I can pursue aspirations of going on and playing in the NFL.”
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