Cougars kick off their second season on the Brink

PULLMAN — The Washington State University Cougars are more than halfway through the 2004 football regular season, and in many ways Tuesday marked the first day of a second season.

With starting quarterback Josh Swogger sidelined for the rest of the season with a broken bone in his left foot, backup Alex Brink, a redshirt freshman, took over for the first time as WSU’s starting quarterback. Brink will be charged with the responsibility of trying to lead WSU to at least three wins in the final five games, which would give the Cougars enough wins to qualify for a bowl game.

Brink, who grew up in Eugene, Ore., not far from the site of his first start this weekend at Oregon State, is still in the process of getting used to his new role at the top of the depth chart.

“I was shocked,” Brink said of the injury to Swogger, which was diagnosed Sunday night. “I knew he was a little dinged up, but I didn’t realize it was something serious.”

Brink has played in two games this season, coming on in relief for Swogger against Colorado and Idaho. The freshman made his share of errors in those games, most notably a propensity to put the ball on the ground, but he also exhibited the ability to move the team down the field.

“I’ve definitely learned from my mistakes in the Colorado game and the Idaho game,” Brink said. “I have to protect the football better and make quicker decisions, get up to speed with how fast things are going. I think I’ve learned those things and I’m ready to improve and win some football games.”

Brink is considered a more mobile quarterback than Swogger, especially after the sophomore was hit with knee, ankle and shoulder injuries. While the new starter doesn’t have nearly the arm strength of Swogger, Brink’s legs — and his reputation for being a quick study — could allow WSU to open up the playbook and provide opposing defenses more things to worry about.

“He’s got a lot more mobility than Josh, especially in these last couple of weeks,” said WSU head coach Bill Doba. “So you go back to the boots and the scrambling and the sprint-outs and some of those things we weren’t able to do these last couple of weeks. He’s a very intelligent young man, and I think you can actually expand the game plan a little bit more.”

Doba also said for the first time that Swogger’s rehab, expected to last from 3-6 months, could cut into his ability to rejoin the team fully for spring practices next year. Doba said Swogger would probably be limited to drills and throwing on the side, with scrimmages in much greater doubt.

The Cougars have a number of other concerns that are more pressing. Aside from Brink, WSU has to worry about its frightening lack of depth at the position. Behind Brink is a true freshman, Gary Rogers, whom the team had planned on redshirting all season. Rogers began the year as a scout team quarterback, moving up to third string when Mike Reilly left the team just before the season opener. Now the 18-year-old is second on the depth chart.

Quarterbacks coach Timm Rosenbach said the Cougars would try to get Rogers into a game as soon as the opportunity arises, foregoing the redshirt to give him game experience, a precaution in case Brink also has to leave with an injury.

“We recruited him to play at Washington State. His time came a little sooner than we thought,” Rosenbach said of Rogers. “We’ll prepare him the best we can and he’ll do a good job.”

The Cougars are also without a third-string signal-caller, so punter Kyle Basler and kicker Graham Siderius, both high school quarterbacks, are attending meetings with Brink, Rogers and scout team quarterback Travis Elisara. Basler took some snaps in practice on Tuesday as well.

“We’ll take it and do our best with it. It’s a good opportunity,” Siderius said. “It’s cold — we need to do more out here to stay warm.”

Injury update

WSU will go to Oregon State this weekend missing more than just a starting quarterback. Running back Chris Bruhn, who has started every game this season, could miss 2-3 weeks with a knee injury.

The Cougars had feared there might be a torn meniscus or torn cartilage, but an MRI revealed only some separation from the bone. Doba said linebacker Chris Baltzer had a similar injury, and used his recovery time to estimate how long Bruhn could be out.

Jerome Harrison, the team’s leading rusher in recent games, will take over in the starting lineup. He will split time with Allen Thompson.

Safety Jeremy Bohannon, who missed practices last week with a lower back strain, was able to practice Tuesday, although he said there was still some lingering pain. Defensive tackle Steve Cook missed practice, but Doba said it was just because of illness, not injury.

WSU did get back linebacker Brian Winter, who has missed almost all of this season with a broken leg. He was able to participate in contact drills on Tuesday.