Doba won’t waver from Swogger
PULLMAN – After discussing 20 new recruits he had just signed to play for Washington State University in the years to come, head coach Bill Doba also addressed a position that should have a much greater effect in 2005 – his starting quarterback.
Despite the fact that foot surgery from last October appears likely to keep him out of some spring drills and scrimmages, Josh Swogger was named by Doba as the guy to beat under center.
“Josh, you know he earned that position,” Doba said Wednesday. “He’ll start. Basically, it’ll be his position to lose.”
Doba had said at the conclusion of the 2004 season that he wanted to have his mind made up by the time spring practices begin in the last week of March. In selecting Swogger, Doba said he was going on the logic that Swogger had won the job last season and didn’t deserve to lose it just because of injury.
In his sophomore season – his first atop the depth chart – Swogger made six starts and compiled a number of injuries before a broken navicular bone in his foot required surgery and ended his season.
“We think we might get a little practice out of him this spring,” Doba said of Swogger’s ongoing recovery. “It won’t be in scrimmages or anything, but he’ll be able to drop back and do some skelly work. The foot is mending well, as it’s supposed to, or the bone in the ankle is mending well.”
After Swogger went down for the season, the Cougars were left perilously thin at the position, but backup Alex Brink managed to take every snap the rest of the year as a redshirt freshman. That left Doba, who has proclaimed his dislike for a two-quarterback system on many occasions, with an off-season decision to make.
Swogger was 3-3 as a starter; Brink was 2-3 including the Cougars’ first Apple Cup win since 1997.
Doba also essentially ruled out linebacker Will Derting and wide receiver Chris Jordan for spring practices. Derting, the coach said, could participate in some pass defense drills, but that would be the maximum after he had two wrist bones surgically fused in December.
Jordan will not play until the fall following arthroscopic knee surgery, also in December.
Notes
The lack of a top-flight running back recruit guarantees the starting job next year to Jerome Harrison, who took over in the backfield as the season progressed and ended up with a team-leading 900 yards on the ground. There will be room for other to contribute in support, however, with the departure of Allen Thompson because of chronic shoulder problems. … It was previously reported here that offensive lineman Sean O’Connor was no longer with the team because of academic issues. That was incorrect, and O’Connor is still with the team. As a sophomore last season, O’Connor filled in as a backup at multiple spots on the line as well as at tight end.