Top of the Hill

PULLMAN — The Cougars have a long history of playing pitch-and-catch on offense, preferring to throw their way into the end zone rather than run for it.

While the 2004 Washington State University offense is far from the most prolific in school history, one player does have a chance to stand alone atop one impressive list in the record books.

Wide receiver Jason Hill, who hadn’t caught a single pass in his career before this season, is one touchdown reception shy of tying the Cougars record for a single season. The sophomore has 10 scoring grabs in the team’s first nine games, and with two games left in the season, he’s within striking distance of the top of the list. Kevin McKenzie (1997), Chris Jackson (1997) and Devard Darling (2002) are all in first place with 11.

“In the beginning, it was like, if I get there I get there,” Hill said. “Now that I’m close enough to get it, I want to get it. “Just like any big-time record, it’s better to hurry up and get it over with than to let it hang around because you start pressing.”

Hill’s impressive performance in this, his sophomore season, has his coaching staff amazed. They almost wish they could have a second shot at last season, when Hill played sparingly at wideout and was used mostly on special teams.

“We probably should have thrown the ball to him last year,” head coach Bill Doba said, echoing a sentiment mentioned earlier in the year by offensive coordinator Mike Levenseller. “We thought he should be pretty good, and I’m just impressed with the kid. I think he’s going to get a lot better. He still can improve on route-running. He still can improve on blocking.”

But with all the success Hill has had this year, his pass-receiving productivity hit a bump midseason when quarterback Josh Swogger went down with a season-ending foot injury. In the six games Swogger started before his surgery, Hill reeled in 22 catches for 598 yards and nine touchdowns. Since Alex Brink has taken over as a starter three games ago, Hill has 10 catches for 199 yards and one score. (In fairness, Brink threw a touchdown to Hill in the season’s second game against Colorado.)

Part of the reason is the different skill sets brought to the table by each quarterback. Hill had success running deep routes and Swogger was able to consistently find him by throwing over the top of the defense. Brink doesn’t have the same arm strength, and so Hill has had to run more short and intermediate routes.

“We’re starting to become more comfortable with each other. We’re becoming more friends than just teammates,” Hill said of Brink. “They throw different balls, so it’s an adjustment. But it’s going to come fast, and hopefully this week that adjustment will look pretty good.”

Things actually started to look better for Hill, and the rest of the Cougars, for that matter, at UCLA last week. Hill caught his first touchdown pass since Brink took over, on a sideline screen, waiting patiently for offensive lineman Sam Lightbody to clear out a cornerback before scampering 18 yard to pay dirt. Later in the game, Hill put up another 56 yards, almost all after the catch, that started on the left side of the field and ended up on the right sideline.

“We haven’t thrown that fade pattern very much since Josh went out, but boy, he really made a great catch-and-run last week,” Doba said. “The thing I really liked about it is he slowed down and used his blockers, had good vision. He didn’t just take off running and go out of bounds.”

The Cougars have also taken a liking to Hill’s approach to each game. Hill didn’t make a peep in public when the ball wasn’t coming his way, and it appears that he’s back on track to catch touchdown Nos. 11 and 12.

“People forget the kid didn’t catch a ball last year,” Levenseller said. “He’s really a long way ahead and he’s improving all the time. Every day in practice he does something and gets better at it. I like that.”

Notes

Graham Siderius appears to have nailed down the WSU place-kicking duties, at least on field goals. Siderius hit 2 of 3 kicks at the end of practice Thursday while Loren Langley hit 1 of 3. Still, head coach Bill Doba said he’s leaning towards using Langley on extra-point attempts. … Both cornerback Alex Teems (neck) and wide receiver Chris Jordan (groin) successfully completed every WSU practice this week and should be able to start. … Linebackers Brian Hall (stinger) and Brian Winter (leg bruise) are out for WSU and won’t make the trip to Arizona State. … Doba said running back Chris Bruhn had a better week of practice as he continues to heal from a knee injury. Bruhn will back up Jerome Harrison and Allen Thompson and could see playing time this week, depending on how well the other rushers are performing.