Swogger practices full time
PULLMAN — While Washington State will probably wait until game day to make a final decision on quarterback Josh Swogger, the Cougars are optimistic that the sophomore starter will be able to play with a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
Swogger practiced again on Wednesday and wasn’t held out of any drills, from warm-ups to 11-on-11 work.
“He looks like he’s going to be just fine,” head coach Bill Doba said at the conclusion of the practice session. “He’s moving around well and so we’re just planning on him going. Again, we’ll wait and see how he warms up. I mean, the thing could blow up like a balloon overnight.”
Swogger has played with a brace on the knee both days in practice this week, and doesn’t walk with any noticeable limp.
The coaching staff said following practice that perhaps the biggest positive for the quarterback was his ability to take so many snaps in practice.
“He’s fine. As far as making decisions and stuff like that, the film will help him a little bit,” quarterbacks coach Timm Rosenbach said. “He made a lot of good ones today, so that was encouraging.
“He did a good job. He had to get some reps today, and he did.”
Freshmen have it covered
Swogger, or backup Alex Brink, whichever ends up getting the nod, will be throwing against a pair of starting freshmen cornerbacks.
Arizona has received good production this season from redshirt freshman Wilrey Fontenot and true freshman Antoine Cason. In fact, Cason leads the Wildcats in tackles this season with 24.
“Antoine Cason, a true freshman, is probably one of the best true freshmen I think I’ve ever coached, just with his instincts and his ability to play the game,” first-year Arizona head coach Mike Stoops said. “He understands positioning. He just has a knack for making plays. He reminds me a lot of Derrick Strait at Oklahoma. Antoine has played way beyond his years. He’s a fabulous player. And then you have Wilrey Fontenot. He’s more of a feel corner and has tremendous speed and quickness. Again, that’s obviously his strength, his ability to cover. Our secondary is playing well.”
While Fontenot entered fall practices expected to contribute this season, Cason’s immediate impact came as somewhat of a surprise. The newcomer didn’t start taking reps with the first team until the week before the Wildcats’ season opener against Northern Arizona.
“You saw it in practice,” Stoops said. “The kid just kept making plays. He had a knack and was very smooth. The game was never overwhelming to him. He was just very calm and patient.
“The great ones have what he has. Again, he gives us a strength over at corner.”
Ticket update
WSU will be opening up the Pacific-10 Conference season on the road, but tickets for home games are still selling at an unprecedented rate.
The school has a final policy in place for Apple Cup tickets.
Season-ticket holders are currently the only ones in the general public able to purchase tickets. There are end-zone seats in section 35 as well as scattered singles available for them to purchase. That sale, however, will cut off Oct. 1, according to WSU Director of External Operations Pete Isakson.
At 10 a.m. Oct. 4, the remaining tickets — almost certainly less than 1,000 — will go on sale to the public online at TicketsWest.com. Fans who are interested in purchasing those seats are advised to be ready as soon as the window opens.
“I would bet within 20 minutes to a half an hour we’ll be all sold out,” Isakson surmised.
It’s possible that the Apple Cup online sale will be the only way for fans to find two seats together this season — and that’s far from a guarantee.
The Stanford game on Oct. 16 has only single tickets available, even after the Cardinal returned 500 tickets to WSU. Those seats disappeared in a matter of hours, another sign that demand for football tickets has taken off this season.
Fans who wish to purchase those singles can do so by calling 1-800-GO-COUGS, then choosing option three.