Togiai trades sports
PULLMAN — There aren’t a whole lot of similarities when it comes to hockey and football. So why in the world would Justin Togiai, recently a minor league hockey player, turn to the gridiron?
“He likes to fight and run into people,” offered Jason Beeman, a former teammate with the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League.
Togiai, who once had a tryout with the San Jose Sharks but more recently piled up 256 penalty minutes in 112 games over two seasons for the Americans, is taking that aggressive attitude with him this spring as a walk-on linebacker for Washington State.
“It was a part of my game in hockey, either body-checking guys or fighting guys, so I didn’t think putting on the pads and hitting guys who are 300 pounds would be that big of a deal,” Togiai said. “I guess I just missed out on being part of a team and doing something physical and active.”
Togiai appears to have fallen into a nice spot. With the Cougars desperately thin at linebacker because of injuries, walk-ons have seen plenty of repetitions this spring.
The 21-year-old freshman has managed to garner some attention this spring, despite the noticeable lack of experience.
“He’s a pretty good hitter,” Cougars head coach Bill Doba said. “Hockey player, you would expect that. You’ve just got to get those skates off.
“He’s one of the couple, three kids that walked on here in the spring that’s done a pretty nice job. He’s very physical. He has to learn how to change directions and a few of those kind of things.”
As a football player, Togiai is admittedly raw. The Kennewick native last played the game four years ago, and even then he played for just three seasons. In high school, Togiai was a defensive tackle, so what knowledge he did gain in high school doesn’t help much now at his new position.
But Togiai, who ended his stint with the Americans after the 2002-03 season, said he’s still enjoying his newest athletic opportunity. Still, there are some downsides to the more structured sport.
“It’s really fun,” Togiai said. “They have me playing — or trying to play — linebacker, which is totally different than high school.
“(But) there’s also no fighting in football, so that kind of hurts.”
The good-natured freshman knows that there are no guarantees with WSU, where he goes with the help of a scholarship provided by the WHL. Some walk-ons new to the team this spring may not be invited back this fall, but Togiai said there’s no doubt that he wants to keep playing this fall.
“If I make the team, for sure,” he said. “But they’re still making cuts after spring camp at the end of this week.”
Notes
Michael Willis, a safety out of Tacoma, has received final clearance on his test scores, according to sources. While Willis can technically be recruited by any school, he is expected to join WSU this fall and could be an immediate factor in the Cougars’ secondary, which is still searching for starters. The Cougars had hoped Willis would join the team in January as a grayshirt freshman and participate in spring practices. …
The final spring scrimmage is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday in Martin Stadium, and is open and free to the public.