With the Crimson and Gray spring game looming over their heads, the WSU football team’s early freshmen enrollees experienced an intense, high-speed and profanity-filled spring practice on Tuesday.

Since spring football began four weeks ago, the competitive practice atmosphere players and coaches within the program created is only part of the adjustment to the division-one level of football for freshmen on both sides of the field.

Freshman defensive back Zaire Webb and freshman wide receiver Anthony White Jr. arrived in Pullman last month just before spring practices began, and have already drawn praise from Head Coach Mike Leach, despite the elevation in competition.

“[They’re] both improving, it’s very difficult, you just get here straightaway out of high school,” Leach said of Webb and White Jr. “I think they’re both ahead of schedule and I’m pleased with their spring so far.”

Both freshmen traveled about as far away from home as possible to attend WSU. Webb and White Jr. hail from Florida.

White Jr. said the bonds he has made with other incoming freshman and some of the veteran Cougar players have made his transition across the country much easier.

“We [incoming freshman] kind of just jelled, they feel like I’m a funny guy so it’s all love,” White Jr. said. “Tavares [Martin Jr.] finds time to give me hints and tell me the plays when I get confused.”

WSU extended its recruiting lines to the Southeast, intending to add more skill players from a dense region of talent.

White Jr. is a 6-foot-1-inch wide receiver from Miami who played at Miami Central High School. He was rated a four-star prospect by multiple recruiting sites, the No. 53 wide receiver prospect in the country by rivals.com and the No. 6 athlete in the state of Florida by scout.com.

Other prominent SEC schools like LSU and South Carolina also gave White Jr. looks, but as a defensive back instead.

White Jr. wants to focus on his alertness and pace of play this spring in order to be ready for the fall.

“As far as the signals go, it moves a little faster,” he said. “It’s a different level so the pace is different.”

On the other side of the ball is Webb, who chose WSU over schools closer to home such as North Carolina, Florida and Georgia in hopes of getting more opportunities to make plays against pass happy offenses, such as WSU’s patented Air Raid.

“We’re playing against teams that pass a lot, so it’s good work for a DB [defensive back],” Webb said.

Webb played at Duncan U. Fletcher High School in Neptune Beach during his junior and senior seasons. The three-star prospect was the 25th-ranked cornerback in the state of Florida by espn.com.

Similar to White Jr., Webb has been “thrown into the fire”, to try to adjust to the pace and intensity of college football as well as develop his football IQ, with help from Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Coach Alex Grinch.

“[Grinch] throws a whole bunch of different plays at us, if somebody goes in motion the whole play is different,” Webb said. “He’s an intense dude. If you make a mistake technique-wise, he’ll be quick to snap, but he’s the calmest dude outside the field.”

Both freshmen have gotten their feet wet in the deeper waters of college football this spring and will have their chance to make a good impression in Saturday’s game before the regular season rolls around in September. Kickoff for the Crimson and Gray spring game is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Joe Albi Field in Spokane.