‘Opportunity of a lifetime’
For the first time since graduating from East Valley High School, Andy Roof is a starting football player.
The former All-State lineman was a redshirt his first year at Washington State. Last year, his first as a member of the Cougar varsity, he spent filling in on the offensive line and playing on special teams.
“The first time I came running out of the tunnel in pads and a uniform was pretty incredible,” he said. “And that first game at home, against Idaho, when I got on the field for the first time was pretty incredible, too. It was only a PAT, but I was out there.”
If that Idaho game was special, Roof can’t wait to play at Auburn, Sept. 2, in the Cougars’ season opener, which will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Going into spring drills, offensive line coach George Yarno rewarded two years of hard work by Roof by installing the sophomore-to-be as the team’s starting right guard to replace the graduated Norvell Holmes.
“I respect George Yarno as much as any man I’ve ever met, both as a coach and as a person,” Roof said. “Not only did he play 13 seasons in the NFL, he was considered kind of a tough guy on the offensive line. The attitude he brings to our offensive line is something special and I don’t think I could get that from any other coach.
“When coach Yarno told me he was going to give me an opportunity to play this year I was really excited.”
The coach played high school football at Ferris, earning All-Greater Spokane League honors after his senior season (1974-75), before becoming a two-time All-Pac 10 defensive lineman at Washington State and playing professionally for Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Houston and Green Bay of the NFL and the Denver Gold of the USFL
Roof had been one of four linemen bidding for two starting positions: center and right guard. When he was tabbed as a starter, he made the position his to lose.
“Going into this summer I just wanted to work hard and make sure I earned it,” he said.
Yarno predicted big things for the former Knight.
“I think he can be a dominating player by the time he’s a senior,” he said during spring drills. “He’s had a great spring. He was put in the starting position. I told him, ‘Someone’s going to have to beat you out.’ And he’s really taken off with it, working hard. He needs to trust people around him a little bit more, which will come with time.”
Summers in Pullman are all about building that kind of trust.
“The guys that are here over the summer, we hang out together,” Roof said. “My two best friends live right across the street, Dan Rowlands (sophomore starting center) and Jake McKinney (redshirt freshman tight end), and we hang out every day, whether it’s spending hours in the weight room or in the film room. We go to the river together; we barbecue together.
“It’s important that we spend that time together. It makes you want to play hard – not just because it’s some guy you practice with, it’s your friend. Our offensive line is tight – I’m not just playing for another offensive lineman, I’m playing for one of my buddies: I’m going to make that block.”
His installation as a starting guard is a shift for Roof, who spent his entire high school career and first season in Pullman as a tackle. But, he insisted, if you can play tackle, you can play guard and vice versa.
“It’s a lot different,” he said. “You need to be able to pull around the corner to make the play against the linebacker, you need to be able to cut down pursuit on outside plays and, of course, you have to be able to handle the big guys inside. You need to be quick and powerful.”
Last year the Cougars relied on senior center Nick Milhauser to pull out to lead the running attack. This year, Roof is likely to find himself filling that role – making the 6-foot-4-inch, 315-pound guard a punishing lead blocker.
Roof may be in the minority, but he insists he’s looking forward to the start of two-a-day practices.
“Starting for Washington State is the opportunity of a lifetime for me,” he said. “I’m really excited and I can’t wait to finally put the pads on and get started with the season.
“I always kind of figured I’d end up here. I was born in Pullman and raised in Clarkston before my family moved to Spokane when I was in the fourth grade. I’m an East Side kid. I looked at Oregon and stuff, but Pullman just fit me. There’s something about Cougar Pride that I just love.”