Cougs well-stocked for Pac-10 success

Carter Strickland - Staff writer

PULLMAN _ Back in July, when the pundits were done throwing darts and the Pac-10 preseason picks were revealed, Washington State coach Bill Doba reveled in his team's spot -- seventh.

"Perfect," the coach said. "That's just where I want to be."

It's a good thing Doba is so comfortable in that position because undoubtedly it will become a familiar one for the coach and the Cougars. Rest assured when the preseason picks come around next season, the Cougars, who finished second this season, first in 2002 and tied for second in 2001, will be picked seventh or possibly even worse.

After all, WSU will lose nine starters on the nation's 19th ranked defense. On offense, the quarterback, the center, the top offensive lineman, Josh Parrish, and two of the top three receivers are gone. On top of that, wide receiver Devard Darling has a family member checking out possible early entry to the NFL for the junior. It's highly unlikely that Darling will make that jump, however.

Still, the wildly-held assumption will be that Washington State's run of fun will end in 2004. Even Doba, very early this season, pondered the possibility of the team's future success. But now after weeks of practice and hours of evaluation, Doba has once again reason to believe his 2004 team will be just where he wants it to be -- picked seventh early and contending late.

"You know there is a pride there," Doba said. "A tradition has been started. They have swagger."

They also have Josh Swogger on offense. The freshman was able to get quality playing time this season, and although he struggled in the Apple Cup, he proved he could develop into a solid Pac-10 passer.

Still, Swogger will be pressed in spring ball by Chris Hurd. Hurd, who left the team to take care of a knee injury, is expected to return in January and will be ready to compete in the spring. Prior to his departure, Hurd had a better command of the offense than Swogger. But because of his playing time this season, it might be hard to unseat Swogger for the starting job.

Doba has also been impressed with freshman Alex Brink. Brink, who has added 15 pounds to bulk up to 205 pounds, could prove to be a combination of Swogger and Hurd. He has the pocket presence of Swogger and an understanding of the offense like Hurd.

"He's a playmaker," Doba said of Brink. "He needs to get stronger. But he has got great potential."

The wide receiver position may not be as deep as it has been in the past, but Washington State should have five ormore reliable receivers. Aside from Darling, who will be the first option on many plays, freshman Jason Hill could become a standout. One of only two true freshmen to play this season, Hill has the height (6-foot-2), speed and hands to earn a starting spot. Chris Jordan kick-started his career with two touchdown catches at Stanford, but suffered an ACL tear in the Apple Cup. Jordan is expected to miss spring ball, but should be back in the fall.

Two other intriguing receivers are Tramaine Murray and Jevon Miller. Murray was a junior college transfer who redshirted this season. Typically, wide receiver coach Mike Levenseller has done a solid job of developing JC talent in their second season with the program. Miller was injured most of his sophomore season. But he is a good athlete with the ability to make difficult catches and run the reverse.

Cody Boyd should be another factor at wide receiver. Now that the coaches have seen what the 6-8 freshman can do, they might be tempted to move him from tight end into the slot more often.

On the line, the Cougars could and probably should be better. At times this season the line struggled grasping new line coach George Yarno's system. Three of the five starters are back next season and will have a chance to go through another spring ball with Yarno.

"On the line we have got a possible All-American candidate, two of them I think, in the two tackles," said Doba of Calvin Armstrong and Sam Lightbody.

In the middle of the line, the Cougars have the bodies, but need to figure out where they fit. Nick Mihlhauser could play center or guard. Same with Keola Loo. Sean O'Connor, a walk-on who has earned a scholarship, is another option at center. And freshman Bobby Byrd may contend for a starting spot in there somewhere.

At running back, the expectations are that junior Chris Bruhn will be back. Bruhn, who struggled to make it into the school academically, appears to be on track. He was the second-leading rusher on the team with 309 yards on 68 carries. Junior-college standout Jerome Harrison is also expected to be in Pullman in the fall.

On the other side of the ball, the defense, because of some blowouts and injuries, has had a chance to develop younger talent this season.

The four likely starters on the defensive line next season -- Adam Braidwood, Mkristo Bruce, Steve Cook and Odell Howard -- played in 37 of a possible 48 games. The four top returning linebackers -- Will Derting, Scott Davis, Steve Dildine and Brian Hall -- played in 46 of a possible 48 games. The top five defensive backs -- Hamza Abdullah, Karl Paymah, Don Turner, Alex Teems and Jeremy Bohannon -- played in 58 of a possible 60 games.

"Those guys are going to carry on the tradition," Doba said. "And then we have Will Derting back. That's a great linebacker to build a defense around."

Derting was second on the team in tackles as a sophomore with 82. Next season he will be moved from the outside to the middle so teams can't run away from him. Dildine, a freshman this season, should add increased speed on the outside. And Davis pushed for a starting job as a freshman this season. He had four tackles for loss and three fumble recoveries as a backup.

Some younger players should get time next season as well. Defensive end Rayshawn Bobo has blown past veteran offensive linemen in drills. Doba said that speed could be used in much the same way the Cougars have utilized D.D. Acholonu and Isaac Brown.

In the secondary Hussain Abdullah and Christian Bass have had productive redshirt seasons. Bass is the more physically mature of the two and could press for time at safety.

At kicker the Cougars are expected to replace Drew Dunning, the school's all-time points leader, with Loren Langley from Puyallup. Langley reportedly put it through the crossbars three times on kickoffs in his high school career.

"The cupboard is not bare," Doba said.