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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Cougars shake off cobwebs

PULLMAN — Save for an embarrassing lunch-room attempt at the Washington State fight song by one freshman — and the chorus of boos from teammates that followed — the Cougars came out of their first day of practice for the 2004 season smiling.

Freshman wide receiver Michael Bumpus burned veteran cornerback Karl Paymah for a big catch, defensive end Mkristo Bruce made a nifty interception and junior college transfer Tyron Brackenridge impressed at cornerback. But head coach Bill Doba cautioned that for at least this day, big plays weren’t necessarily the top priority.

“We want to try and stay healthy, and we want to fly around when there’s no one in the area to run into,” Doba said after conducting his first session of the fall, with just helmets and no pads. “Wait until the pads get on and out in that scrimmage, that’s when we’ll really know what’s going on.”

Going into camp, the Cougars are in good health, with just a small handful of players still in limbo. Just four out of more than 100 couldn’t take the practice field on Monday: sophomore offensive lineman Sean O’Connor, who is questionable for the season opener after back surgery; freshman Blake Ferguson, who tore a ligament in his thumb and could be out for one more month; freshman tight end Ben Woodard, likely out for the year with a torn ACL; and freshman offensive lineman Eddie Vickers, who did not pass his physical and is undergoing a cardiac workup before getting clearance to play.

“You add in the whole puzzle,” team trainer Bill Drake said of Vickers’ situation. “We’ve got some family history a little bit, you’ve got some current reports of symptoms during workouts. And in his physical (Sunday) night and the normal listening and things that we do, you pick up a couple things and say, ‘OK, this is enough of a question that we’re going to do the full-blown test.’ The next two days he’s going to have two or three tests done and I’m hoping we’ll know a lot more.”

But three other players who had major health concerns have been cleared to play and were on the practice field Monday. Sophomore wide receiver Chris Jordan had offseason knee surgery for a torn ACL, but was on the field without a brace and ran well, though Drake said he’s likely to suffer some pain throughout the season. Another sophomore wideout, Jason Hill, had offseason shoulder surgery to repair cartilage damage and has been able to work out over the summer with teammates. Finally, senior guard Patrick Afif, involved in what might be the team’s most important positional battle early in camp, had arthroscopic knee surgery twice, but is able to practice.

Drake said Afif had a difficult summer of recovery, and is still not 100 percent. But Afif will have to show he can overcome the knee problems in camp if he is to claim the starting spot on the left side over redshirt freshman Bobby Byrd. Former defensive tackle Bryan Boyer has been switched to guard to join the competition and shore up what appears to be the Cougars’ greatest concern on offense.

But Afif may have gotten some help in the form of a new brace, a type that the Cougars hadn’t used before Monday.

“The brace is supposed to be the cure-all,” Afif said following practice. “My knee hasn’t felt this good, even without it on, on the good days. I have a lack of cartilage on the inside of my knee, and it takes the weight off the inside and moves it to the outside.”

Making the grade

WSU, which has already had seven of its incoming recruits denied admission, had three more new players miss practice because of academic reasons.

Jerome Harrison, expected to compete for time at running back, is waiting for his final results from junior college before he can officially join the team.

Offensive lineman Andy Roof is on campus but has not been cleared yet. According to Doba, a clerical error at Roof’s high school is to blame. Wide receiver Charles Dillon also has unresolved academic issues.

“We should know something on both of those kids by Wednesday or Thursday,” Doba said.

Of the players already denied admission, Doba said he hopes to still get Tyson Kirksey, Letrell Myers, Benny Ward, and Michael Willis. If those players are eligible by January, they can enroll and practice with the Cougars next spring before entering their first year of eligibility with WSU.

Notes

Aside from the Afif-Boyd battle at left guard, Doba cited three other positional issues to be watched in camp — Brackenridge and Don Turner at cornerback, Pat Bennett and Steve Dildine at weakside linebacker, and Graham Siderius and Loren Langley at kicker. … Doba’s assistants enter this season with new three-year contracts. Before this year, the coaches were working under one- or two-year deals. … Doba restated the fact that his is the only team from last season’s top 10 to be unranked going into the 2004 season. Will that be used as motivation for his players this year? “I might mention it,” the grinning coach said.