Multiple-Choice Challenge Cougar Quintet Could Give Opponents Plenty To Deal With In Secondary

Ryan Leaf drops back to pass, surveys the field and lofts a tight spiral into the waiting arms of:

a.) Chris Jackson.

b.) Kevin McKenzie.

c.) Shawn McWashington.

d.) Nian Taylor.

e.) Shawn Tims.

Through five days of two-a-day football practices at Washington State University, it’s apparent the correct answer is actually “f.) All of the above.”

It’s a luxury in which the Cougars are more than happy to indulge.

“I think I’ve got five starters, that’s the way I look at it,” WSU receivers coach Mike Levenseller said Wednesday. “I see us just kind of like in ‘92, when I had four - with C.J. Davis, Deron Pointer, Calvin Schexnayder and Phillip Bobo.”

Like the ‘92 receivers, the current members are interchangeable. “Except with these guys, there’s five of them,” Levenseller said.

The players are also optimistic.

“We’ve got a lot of athletes out there and anybody could start,” said Tims, the starting slotback and an all-conference punt returner.

McWashington, the starting flanker, takes it a step further: “You could have a game where all five of us get five catches and go for a hundred (yards), or you could have a game where one of us gets 15 catches and goes for 300.

“With this group, everybody is so talented, everybody makes plays. And we all get along better than any five people I know.”

Discretion the better part of valor.

Leon Bender, the Cougars’ 6-foot-5, 299-pound starting defensive tackle, broke through the second-string offensive line during the morning workout and found himself face-to-face with scout-team quarterback Sam Baurichter, a 6-5, 186-pound freshman.

Since quarterbacks are off-limits to contact, the play was promptly whistled dead. But Bender, never one to shy away from a confrontation, proceeded to shadow Baurichter’s face, much like a boxer engaging in a pre-fight staredown.

The 19-year-old rookie wisely turned back to the huddle.

Gibbons tweaks leg

LeJuan Gibbons, the leading candidate at left cornerback, appeared to injure his right calf toward the end of the afternoon workout.

The extent of the injury was not known. Gibbons, who has a history of injury problems, was limited in the spring by a bum left calf.

Gleason weighs in

Junior linebacker Steve Gleason delivered one of hardest hits on the Cougars’ first day in full pads when he greeted walk-on offensive lineman Tracy Easter during the morning session.

Easter, playing right guard, was pulling to the left somewhat lazily when Gleason popped him at full speed.

The 258-pound Easter, from Northport High, somehow managed to stay on his feet and appeared to be unaffected by the blow.

One day earlier, freshman running back Adam Hawkins suffered a concussion when hit by Gleason.

Gleason, from Gonzaga Prep, is the Cougars’ starting strong-side linebacker.

Notes

Tight end Love Jefferson made one of the day’s best catches, but also provided the ugliest drop. Jefferson held onto a low pass over the middle despite great coverage from strong safety Duane Stewart. The drop came after Leaf delivered a perfect strike in the end zone. … The Cougars’ first fall scrimmage is set for this afternoon at 4.

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