‘Offensive’ Describes Coug Scrimmage

Offensive linemen don’t usually mince words.

Ryan Tujague was no exception when it came to summing up Washington State’s offensive performance in Monday’s scrimmage.

“That was bad,” the 6-foot-7, 305-pound senior said. “Really bad.”

So bad the chains moved only twice when starting quarterback candidates Jason Gesser, Paul Mencke or Steve Birnbaum were on the field. And one of those times came after the defense was called for roughing the passer and was penalized 15 yards.

“Nobody could get it together,” said wide receiver Leaford Hackett. “We just weren’t clicking.”

And because none of the quarterbacks were clicking, WSU coach Mike Price might delay the picking of a starter until later in the week.

“This scrimmage they did poor,” the coach said.

“Birnbaum played better than anyone else.”

The senior saw the least amount of action, but completed 5 of 7 for 32 yards. But he was also sacked four times and lost 22 yards.

Mencke was 7 of 10 for 52 yards, but he was bailed out of a couple of tight spots by spectacular catches.

Gesser’s lack of experience showed. Running primarily against second- and third-string defenses, the freshman was 0 for 7. He was also sacked and then had to leave the game with a hamstring injury.

Some of the blame for the poor performance can be laid at the feet of the offensive line. Reed and Ryan Raymond, the regular starters, were missing from the right side and the rest of the line was never able to get into sync.

“We haven’t really been involved in any game setting and we found out we didn’t know how to respond,” said Tujague. “Everybody just got frustrated and when everybody is frustrated nothing is going to happen.

“We can’t let that happen again,” he continued. “We have to get better. Sure, the Raymonds were out, but that should have given the lower guys an opportunity to step up.

“We got to take it one step at a time, but we still have a lot of steps to take.”

The problem with the running game is that it didn’t take enough forward steps. Five running backs combined for 13 carries and 15 yards against the No. 1 or No. 2 defenses.

Freshman Deon Burnett, one of the players the coaching staff is hoping can replace Kevin Brown, had three rushes for 4 yards against the first and second string defenses.

“Deon wasn’t spectacular like I thought he might be,” said Price. “(Brad) Philley probably ran the best of anybody.”

But most of Philley’s yards came against the reserve players. The rushing attack was without Jeremy Thielbahr. The designated starter at the beginning of fall camp has been out since Friday with a hamstring injury.

“It’s hurting him,” said Price about Thielbahr’s position on the depth chart. “And it is hurting us too.”

While the offense didn’t scrounge up any points, the special team did. Chris Martin took the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and Hackett had no problem picking his way through the coverage team on punt returns.

“If we had a game we would have won the game because of our defense and our special teams,” said Price.

The offense will get a chance to redeem itself Thursday in the second scrimmage of the fall.