Cougar football ramps up practice with scrimmage on day 8
Running back Gerard Wicks carries the ball during a practice at Martin Stadium, Saturday, April 14.
April 14, 2014
The second scrimmage of the spring season on Saturday gave the Washington State football team a chance to bring out their A-game and leave it all on the field.
Day 8 is in the books and included high intensity and a sneak peak of what to expect for the upcoming Spring Game in Spokane.
“We’re a whisker away from good things from both sides (of the ball) but we bounced around good and we had good effort,” Head Coach Mike Leach said.
Running back Theron West continues to make strides after a breakout performance in the New Mexico Bowl. He was the beneficiary of a touchdown pass from redshirt senior quarterback Connor Halliday in the scrimmage. West and redshirt freshman Jamal Morrow shared reps on Saturday with the first-team offense.Â
However, the offensive line is the group under a microscope. The unit lost three starters to graduation and is in the process of becoming a more solid group, headed by Gunnar Eklund and Joe Dahl who are the remaining starters up front.
 “They’re playing well, they’re young, they’re doing everything they can, they’re getting a lot of stuff thrown at them,” Halliday said about the offensive linemen.
 The scrimmage was broken down into four parts, allowing senior QB Halliday, Tyler Bruggman and Luke Falk to receive reps under center. Halliday ran two sets with the offense while Bruggman and Falk each had one set.
Halliday was 10 of 17 in his two appearances, throwing two touchdowns, one to West and the other to redshirt senior wide receiver Vince Mayle.Â
“Vince is a heck of a player,” Halliday said. “We’re going to ride him the rest of the year.”
 Bruggman was 5 of 10 with a touchdown to wide receiver Drew Loftus. Falk had a shorter scrimmage period, but was 5 for 7 and was sacked once.
 The crowd at Martin Stadium was the largest of the spring season, due mostly to the added number of people in town for Mom’s Weekend.
 “We wanted to just put on a show man,” West said of the large crowd. “We love it, we truly do. Go Cougs.”
The Cougars next take the field at 3 p.m. tomorrow in Martin Stadium.
