Defense has its say during WSU’s second spring scrimmage

PULLMAN – Simply put, the defense came to play.

“They set the tone today,” Washington State football coach Paul Wulff said following his team’s second spring scrimmage, played in front of a sparse Mom’s Weekend crowd at Martin Stadium on a sunny Saturday morning.

“They played well, they played hard, they played fast,” Wulff added.

The defense popped the pads on the offense’s first four possessions, posting two sacks, yielding no play longer than 4 yards and forcing four three-and-outs.

“We came out on fire,” safety Tyree Toomer said.

The No. 1 offense gained 8 yards combined in its two possessions against the starting defense, while the backups gained 3 yards in their two possessions against the corresponding defense.

Overall, the offense gained 251 yards in the 57-play, 50-minute scrimmage. Backup running back Leon Brooks was the leading rusher with 21 yards on 10 carries as the offense rushed for just 56 yards on 25 attempts.

Quarterback Jeff Tuel was 9-of-14 passing for 113 yards, most of that coming on the offense’s lone productive drive in its nine full-field possessions.

The third time the starters had the ball, Tuel led the offense on a seven-play, 70-yard march, finishing it with a perfect 35-yard strike to Marquess Wilson down the left sideline.

Cornerback Damante Horton left a small hole and Tuel put the ball in it.

“It’s like when people try to guard Kobe (Bryant), they do all they can,” Toomer said of the throw. “It’s great defense, but it’s just better offense.”

“He can throw the deep ball,” Wulff said of Tuel. “We have to make sure we utilize that strength of his. And we’ve got some guys that can go deep. It’s got to be a big part of our offense.”

But the defense bounced right back, coming up with three consecutive turnovers.

Backup corner Anthony Martinez forced an Isiah Myers fumble that Darren Markle recovered. Corner Aire Justin made a diving interception of a long Tuel pass aimed at Bennett Bontemps deep down the middle. And linebacker Tyrone Duckett jumped a David Gilbertson pass meant for tight end Andrei Lintz.

“We stopped them (early) and we didn’t just get comfortable, we built off of that,” said Toomer, a redshirt junior. “I think that’s the best we’ve performed defensively since I’ve been here.”

When the offense went into red-zone work, starting at the defense’s 25, it was only able to put it in the end zone twice, the starters on Logwone Mitz’s 2-yard run and the No. 2 unit on Leon Brook’s 1-yarder. Twice the defense forced field-goal attempts, with walk-on Zack Sampson nailing a 39-yarder and Alex Hoffman-Ellis blocking Andrew Furney’s 46-yarder.

“That’s what happens when you play each other for as long as we do,” Tuel said of the defense’s day. “They start scheming our stuff a bit and start jumping our routes. It was really good to see the defense come out here and do a lot of good things.

“That’s just how it’s going to go sometimes. Offense will have their days, so will ‘D.’ I tip my cap to them. It was a good day.”