Room for HoJo now

PULLMAN — You can buy a hamburger at a fast food joint for less than a buck. In his freshman year, though, one cost Washington State’s Aaron Johnson a lot more than that.

Johnson came to WSU as a tight end, but with a stern warning from head coach Bill Doba.

“I was recruited at 230 pounds. I came here weighing like 270,” Johnson recalled. “Coach Doba told me I’m one hamburger away from playing D-tackle. One night, we had hamburgers and I wasn’t paying attention. Coach Doba came up to me and said, ‘Hey, you’re a D-tackle now.’ “

Doba still remembers Johnson making the switch — though his side of the story is a little different.

“After running pass routes for Coach (Robin) Pflugrad three days, his knees were so sore,” Doba said. “He said, ‘Coach, can I have an appointment? I want to talk to you about moving to defensive tackle.’ I said, ‘Son, you don’t need an appointment. You just go there and get that jersey changed right now.’ “

Not only is Johnson — now a redshirt freshman — a defensive tackle, but he’s a starter. Last week against Colorado, starting tackles Steve Cook and Ropati Pitoitua both went down with injuries. The knee and ankle problems, respectively, could keep them on the shelf for 3-4 weeks.

That means that both Johnson and sophomore Odell Howard have been thrust into the first unit for the first time this week, and will likely remain there at least a game or two into the Pac-10 season.

Howard, strangely enough, also came to WSU as a tight end and actually played quarterback throughout high school. So the Cougars face the perhaps unenviable situation of having two players who two years ago were on the other side of the ball — in fact, at skill positions — now anchoring the defensive line.

“The only thing I worry about is Idaho attacking those guys,” defensive line coach Mike Walker said of WSU’s opponent Saturday night. “I know the guys are going to be mentally ready and hopefully physically ready. I just want to make sure they’re responsible for what they’re supposed to do.

“I talked to them about three times this week already. They’re probably sick of me by now. But they’re ready to go and I’m excited for them. A long time ago someone told me a hero is born every day.”

Howard and Johnson — if needed, the duo’s nickname won’t be tough to figure out — already have stepped in effectively. Against Colorado, both saw fairly significant playing time after the injuries, and still the WSU defense allowed just 125 total yards and three points in the second half. Johnson, in his first collegiate game, made three tackles and two of them were in the backfield for losses.

“They fit right in,” Walker gushed. “Didn’t lose a step, really, to tell you the truth. We were wondering how they were going to do. After AJ made a couple of big plays, they were rolling.”

Still, after playing around 35 downs against the Buffaloes, there’s no doubt that the two will see far more snaps than they have in a college game.

“We were running and (the coaches) were like, ‘You’re not going to get 30 snaps. You’re going to get about 60 snaps,’ ” Johnson said. “Me and Odell look at each other and we’re like, ‘Ohhh, man. We’ve got to start running harder.’ “

Both tackles say their experience on the other side of the ball can help them out. They may be bigger now — Johnson is 6-foot-6, 305 pounds and Howard is 6-3, 284 — but they’re both still athletic.

“Aaron’s big enough to handle anything they bring at him and Odell is athletic enough to handle whatever they bring at him,” said Walker, who has junior Bryan Olson plus freshmen Jon Conlin and Mark Matthey left to back up his starters. If necessary, starting defensive end Adam Braidwood can also move inside.

But there are also negatives that come with the lack of experience on defense, something both players readily admit.

“If I’d have played D-line when I was in high school, I could feel the blocks better and tendencies,” Howard said. “Now, I have to go off of what the coaches tell me and learn more instead of just going off of what I know already.

“When you’re in high school and you’re taking snaps (at quarterback), you don’t really want to get down and dirty with the O-line. Now I see what they went through and what they go through.”

Both Howard and Johnson have embraced the switch to defense, agreeing that it has given them a greater opportunity to contribute and be a factor for the Cougars. But as any one-time offensive skill player would say, they do pine for their old roles at times.

“I do miss having the ball in my hands sometimes, controlling the game,” Johnson said. “But when you get a tackle, it’s all eyes on you. That’s a good feeling.”

Perhaps speaking for both of them, what if the defensive lineman’s dream comes true and the ball finds them this week?

Said Howard: “I’ll know what to do with it.”

Notes

Doba said the starting guard spots on offense have tentatively gone to Bobby Byrd and Charles Harris. Byrd has seen an increasing amount of playing time on the left side as the season has progressed, but Harris’ unseating of Norvell Holmes on the right side is a bit more surprising. Holmes was the biggest star on the line during camp. … Cornerback Tyron Brackenridge is expected to miss his second game this weekend because of a nagging hamstring problem. The junior college transfer will again be replaced on kickoff returns by running back Kevin McCall.