Kicker earns his due
PULLMAN – Washington State’s second scrimmage of the fall was over, and the Cougars took a knee at Martin’s Stadium’s 40-yard line. They gathered around head coach Bill Doba to hear his judgment on the 80-play intrasquad battle.
What Doba said will stay between him and his team, except one piece of news that brought a cheer. It concerned kicker Romeen Abdollmohammadi.
“Romeen is money,” said Doba, though it turns out that cliché had two meanings. “As I told him after practice, he used to be a walk-on. He’s no longer a walk-on after today, hitting those three (field goals). That’s what they were yelling about.
“We had one open (scholarship) and we’re going to give it him. He’s earned it.”
Abdollmohammadi was one of the offensive stars Wednesday – a day when the temperature on the turf flirted with three digits.
The senior, who missed his only high school field goal attempt, nailed three Wednesday, the shortest from 37 yards, the longest from 44. And they all were into what little breeze there was.
His scrimmage output matched his total from last year, when the former soccer star replaced an injured Loren Langley against UCLA and finished out the year.
Langley is nursing a sore quad muscle right now, but Abdollmohammadi entered the fall at No. 1 and has cemented his spot – and a scholarship.
But he wasn’t the sole star Wednesday, though those shining brightest were on offense:
“Quarterback Alex Brink, given plenty of time all day by the offensive line, guided the No. 1 offense to two touchdowns and a win in the scrimmage-ending four-minute drill (the offense tries to run out the final four minutes of a game).
“It’s great to have a senior quarterback, who has started 28 games,” Doba said. “He’s throwing the ball well right now.
“The whole offense just played well. They started slow, but overall they played with a little more enthusiasm then they did the last time.”
Brink was 11 of 17 for 129 yards, with 32 coming on a one-handed catch by Charles Dillon and another 15 – and a score – courtesy of Michael Bumpus’ twisting grab in the left-corner of the end zone.
“The No. 1 offensive line didn’t open huge running lanes against the revamped defensive front (Dwight Tardy, Chris Ivory and Kevin McCall combined for 26 yards on 14 carries behind the top unit, with McCall scoring from a yard out). But Brink wasn’t touched all day and, on one play in the four-minute drill, had time to come off a hot read and find Benny Ward for a 23-yard, drive-extending, third-down completion.
“They’ve really gotten on the same page the last couple days,” Brink said of the line. “Having the double days, and having the opportunity to keep seeing what they need to work on, has really helped them. Today I got plenty of time on almost every play.”
“ The special teams were special. Though Abdollmohammadi did miss an extra-point, that was the only hiccup. Punter Darryl Blunt and his backup Reid Forrest combined for three punts that not only averaged more than 40 yards but were also high enough that they were not returned.
The No. 1 kickoff return team sprung Dillon for a 44-yard return and backup field goal kicker Wade Penner connected from 37 and 42 yards.
With all the positives on offense, there were negatives on defense. That’s the nature of an intrasquad scimmage.
“ The new-look defensive line did a good job versus the run, but Doba thinks Ropati Pitoitua needs work on the differences between playing tackle and end, where he was exclusively Wednesday.
“Ropati is out in a new spot and he needs to learn to get off that edge a little bit better,” Doba said, explaining the senior is used to being right over the football but now has to react to it from a greater distance. “We put in a lot of things this week and I tried to limit what we’re going to call, but there was just a little bit of confusion and a little hesitation.”
“ And the young defensive backfield struggled in coverage, with freshman Chima Nwachukwu the victim on Dillon’s catch and Husain Abdullah and junior college transfer Devin Giles unable to contain Bumpus on his touchdown catch.
“Offensively, we moved the ball pretty darn well, we made some nice throws and catches, but we played poor defensively,” Doba said. “Again, the thing that concerned me was the dang corners. They got beat deep twice, or three times, I guess.
“They’re back there, but they’re not making plays. They’re letting the guy run right by. I thought their tackling was better – it looked like they came up and supported – but we’re not getting off the blocks quick enough. We’ve got to get better at that.”
Notes
The best hit of the day was delivered either by safety Alfonso Jackson, who flew up to knock Ivory back a yard on an early running play or by reserve linebacker Brady Emmons, who crumpled freshman receiver Greg Walker following a 10-yard gain. … The No. 3 offense scored twice against its defensive counterparts. Freshman Marshall Lobbestael overthrew open tight end Aaron Gehring from the five-yard line, then found him on the same route one play later. Cole Morgan tossed a touchdown pass to freshman Jeshua Anderson, who made the 25-yard catch while falling backward into the end zone. … The Cougars will practice twice today (10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.) but Doba said they won’t be in full pads in the morning. “They’re young kids and they need some rest. We’ll probably just go in helmets.” … Among those who didn’t play were starting receiver Brandon Gibson (knee) and a few key reserves, including linebacker Andy Mattingly (ankle), long snapper Tony Thompson (knee) and defensive back Markus Dawes (shoulder).