Jefferson A Fine Catch For Cougars Hard Work Is Beginning To Pay Off For Tight End

In his first season at Washington State University, junior tight end Love Jefferson was known primarily for his blocking.

He couldn’t catch, in other words.

Through nearly three weeks of spring football practices, however, Jefferson has become the leading candidate to start in place of departed senior David Knuff.

The 6-foot-2, 255-pound Jefferson made the catch of the day in Saturday morning’s scrimmage at Martin Stadium, collecting a difficult grab over the middle for a 23-yard gain.

“I feel a lot more comfortable now,” said Jefferson, who caught two passes without a drop.

Jefferson transferred to WSU when Pacific canceled its football program before last season. He redshirted in 1994 and did not play in ‘95. He was admittedly overwhelmed last season.

“I hadn’t played ball in such a long time, and then coming to a Pac-10 school, it was a hard adjustment for me,” Jefferson said. “I didn’t know what to expect, so I think it was a lot of nervousness. Now, I got a chance to feel the offense, see how it works.”

Jefferson and freshman Ivan Mercer are both expected to see playing time at tight end next season, although Jefferson has earned the starting job for now.

“He’s doing a good job he’s just a hard worker,” quarterback Ryan Leaf said. “He was that way last year and was overshadowed by Knuff as more of a blocker.

“This year, he’s emerged more as a receiver. He’s worked really hard with his hands. I just like his work ethic. When the football’s around him, I’m learning that he’ll make the catch.”

Notes

Leaf’s 36-yard scoring pass to slotback Kevin McKenzie was the first and only touchdown scored by the first-team offense through two scrimmages. McKenzie led all receivers Saturday with six catches for 71 yards. Chris Jackson caught four for 57 yards while Nian Taylor caught two for 53.

Leaf completed 12 of 19 passes for 132 yards and no interceptions. The running game continued to struggle - starting tailback Michael Black carried three times for minus-5 yards.

New placekicker Rian Lindell continued to impress, making field goal after field goal until shanking his final attempt, a 52-yarder that would have bailed his teammates out of wind sprints.

Receiver-turned-safety Bryant Thomas delivered the hardest hit of the spring, hammering linebacker-turned-running back Jason Clayton on a short run. Coach Mike Price is counting on Thomas to make an impact. “The secondary is thin,” Price said. “That’s where, if Bryant Thomas can help out, that would really help us.”

The Cougars were without starting defensive linemen Gary Holmes (back), Dorian Boose (wrist) and Leon Bender (academics), in addition to former starter Delmar Morais (knee).

That gave backups Jesse Ratcliff and Takari Blash a chance to make plays. Price was impressed.

“Ratcliff was running around hitting guys, and Takari Blash is playing much better than we anticipated,” Price said. “Those are real bright spots.

“We’re very fast. When you don’t have Bender, Holmes, Morais and Boose, the slowest guy on defense is Todd Nelson at 4.8 (seconds in the 40-yard dash). Everyone else runs a 4.7 or better. We’re fast.”

Idaho scrimmage

Once the films have been reviewed and graded, Chris Tormey will undoubtedly have plenty of corrections to make. But Idaho’s third-year football coach certainly didn’t have many immediate complaints following the Vandals’ first scrimmage of spring drills.

“It was a pretty good first scrimmage, considering it was only our fourth practice,” Tormey said after the 2-hour workout.

Among the highlights were the performances of quarterbacks Brian Brennan and Ed Dean, who are battling to replace departed UCLA transfer Ryan Fien as the starter.

Brennan, a senior, completed 6 of 10 passes for 101 yards and one touchdown - a 13-yard strike to tight end Jeff Pankratz. Dean, a freshman returning from a church mission, connected on 7 of 14 passes for 78 yards and also threw on TD pass a 6-yarder to Robert Scott.

“I thought they both performed well,” Tormey said. “Brian did a little bit better job of getting rid of the ball on time, but they both made some real nice throws.”

Defensively, Tormey had praise for linebacker Yaphet Warren and cornerback Ryan McGinnis.

When the Vandals return to practice next week, Tormey said the emphasis will shift to introducing more complex schemes in an attempt to build on what he termed a very basic plan for Saturday’s scrimmage.

The Vandals practice Tuesday, Thursday and Friday this week before another 10 a.m. scrimmage next Saturday.

Idaho opens the 1997 season at Air Force on Aug. 30.

EWU starts Monday

Fourteen starters from last year’s 6-5 team will be among the 40 letterwinners expected to participate Monday on Eastern Washington’s opening day of spring football drills beginning at 3 p.m.

, DataTimes