COUGARS

A quick summary of Washington State coach Paul Wulff's Thursday afternoon press conference awaits on the link, so read on.

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• If you've been paying attention you know Washington State has used a lot of true freshmen this season, something happening more and more around the country. And if you paid attention to last night's blog post, you know that true freshman Eric Oertel, from Wisconsin, was running with the twos on defense, playing the strong side linebacker spot. Well, Wulff said Thursday Oertel would play this weekend on special teams, probably filling a hole opened when Rickey Galvin went down. Galvin only had one carry before breaking his arm, but he was on a lot of special teams. And Oertel has a one thing Galvin had – speed – and another he didn't – size. Oertel is 6-foot-1, 190. ... In other news, Wulff said a decision about Chima Nwachukwu's availability would be made Saturday. If the senior safety can't go, another true freshman, Deone Bucannon, will take his place. ... Wade Jacobson won the left guard battle this week, though Tyson Pencer should see quite a few snaps there. It's humid here in Dallas and the temperature is more than 90 degrees – and it's almost 8. Expect a lot of subs on the O-line. ... The good news on the injury front is that middle linebacker Mike Ledgerwood and Bernard Wolfgramm will play. ... Isiah Barton will start in the slot again, as he did against Montana State. ... Kristoff Williams practiced this week but his sore toe may not allow him to go Saturday. We'll keep on eye on that. ... And that's about it except we talked with a few players and co-defensive coordinator Jody Sears this week. The subject was defending the run-and-shoot. Want to read Friday's story today? Use this link.

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• That's all for now. Time to try some barbecue. We'll be back as usual in the morning. Until then ...

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