WSU practice notes: Thursday Night Football
Washington State had its weekly underclassmen scrimmage this even, and James Williams again stole the show.
The freshman running back had the day's most impressive play when he knocked a linebacker to the ground, absorbing the would-be tackler's hit, quickly collected himself and fan to the sideline to create space and then to the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown.
He topped that play later taking a quick pass near the sideline and dancing around a defender, avoided a second tackle attempt and raced to the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown reception. He also had some impressive intermediate runs throughout the practice and, as one practice observer remarked, it will be very interesting to watch him compete for carries with the older running backs in the spring, if he doesn't play this year, that is.
We saw more backups than usual playing on the defensive side of the ball, with guys like Darius Lemora, Reggie Coates and others playing who might also be expected to contribute on Saturday. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch wasn't available after practice, so we couldn't ask him what's up, but I would assume the idea is get those players some extra contact reps because they haven't been getting as many in games as they might have.
Peyton Bender took the first turn at quarterback and easily led the offense down the field for a touchdown, completing intermediate passes in the driving rain for about 10-15 yards at a time. The drive ended on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Sweet, who ran a corner route then turned and outleapt the defender.
The offense turned around and Bender's luck changed when he threw a passed that was broken up by Treshon Broughton and intercepted by Andrew Hecker. Bender rebounded with a 14-yard pass to Kyle Sweet, but then had a weak pass to the sideline intercepted by Pat Porter.
Shortly after, Tyler Hilinski took over at quarterback. Hilinski threw the ball well but held on a bit long, getting sacked by Kingston Fernandez and Coates. I should note, however, that the defensive line was getting the best of the offensive line for most of the scrimmage and Hilinski doesn’t bear all of the blame for the sacks.
Christian Jorgensen also took reps at quarterback. The freshman walk-on was generally off target but had a few nice completions.
The Cougars practiced prior to the scrimmage and the defense seemed to have a good day, although it was entirely against the scout team. Charleston White, Coates and Paris Taylor each intercepted passes, and Taylor's was particularly impressive as he read the quarterback's eyes and broke on the pass immediately.
For the second consecutive practice I did not see Isaac Dotson. Parker Henry started at nickelback in Dotson's place.
