Cougars kick off spring football earlier than ever

PULLMAN — Washington State quarterback Zevi Eckhaus woke up Saturday morning with a different feeling than the past two at-times-sub-zero temperature months.

“Definitely a little smile on my face waking up today, knowing we’re gonna play football,” Eckhaus said.

After several weeks of winter workouts and walkthroughs, Eckhaus and his teammates partook in WSU coach Jimmy Rogers’ first spring football practice on Saturday at the aptly named Rogers Field in Pullman.

Due to NCAA rules, Saturday served as the first chance for the 2025 WSU football team to don the Cougar-crested helmets, run plays and participate in “football activity.”

The first two days of spring football are pad-free, with the speed and intensity increasing as the pads come on later this week.

WSU will hold 15 total practices over the next six weeks. The team will meet every Tuesday and Thursday and select Saturdays, culminating in the Crimson and Gray game, a spring scrimmage on April 12 at Gesa Field.

“Every rep matters, whether you’re taking it live or whether you’re watching it. You got to grow, and this whole preparation of 15 practices is huge,” Rogers said.

Why practice so early?

Three words: the transfer portal.

A March 1 start to spring ball is about three weeks earlier than former coach Jake Dickert and his predecessors began their spring practices.

However, recent changes to college football have required the Cougars to change with the times.

The spring transfer window opens on April 12, the day of the Cougars’ spring game.

Rogers, the new Cougar football coach who took the job on Dec. 28, wants to give his staff the ability to address any roster holes through the portal in April.

While Saturday’s practice began at 9 a.m., Cougar football players will rise with the sun and hit Rogers Field (or the Taylor Sports Complex) at 6:30 a.m. every Tuesday and Wednesday. Their next Saturday practice is at 9 a.m. March 22.

WSU will venture north on March 29 to practice at One Spokane Stadium and host a kids football clinic afterward.

The WSU spring game will be open to the public and take place two weeks later at Gesa Field in Pullman.

Building brotherhood

WSU returns just 21 letter winners from last year’s roster. Rogers brought a good chunk of his South Dakota State coaching staff and 16 former Jackrabbits from Brookings, S.D., to Pullman.

The Cougs have also welcomed a slew of transfers from other schools and a freshman recruiting class, some of whom have enrolled early in college and are already on campus practicing with the team.

Eckhaus said the Cougs may have come from many different places, but the team has made a point of hanging out together and connecting with each other.

“We all got the same logo on our jersey,” Eckhaus said. “We’re all WSU now. So there are no differences. We’re all moving as one. We’re all moving as a team. We’re all moving as a family.”

What makes a great practice?

South Dakota State transfers like senior safety Matt Durrance are used to Rogers’ standard of practice.

Durance said the practice he experienced Saturday in Pullman was “almost an exact copy” of what he experienced in Brookings, S.D.

The standards are the same as well.

“You need to be prepared,” Durance said. “If you can’t align right, then the whole play is over.”

As the WSU offense took the field in crimson jerseys and the defense was clad in white, the energy was up.

The expected starters took reps with the presumed No. 1 offense and defense. Returning offensive lineman Brock Dieu and Christian Hilborn protected Eckhaus and celebrated big catches from transfer wide receiver Devin Ellison and returner Leyton Smithson, back at the receiver position after spending a season as a reserve safety.

SDSU transfer running back Angel Johnson and returning linebacker Keith Brown did not participate in practice because of an injury.

Rogers said Johnson’s injury will keep him out all spring camp while he expects Brown to be back in action sometime within the next six weeks.

The Cougs only have 14 more practices to lay the foundation for Year 1 of the Rogers era. It’s a reality the first year coach is amply aware of.

Rogers made his expectations clear.

“The urgency, the desire to want to be out here, because you’ll see naturally (by) practice 13, the excitement is kind of somewhat lost,” Rogers said. “It’s important to try to come out here with the right energy, the focus, the communication, the willingness to finish every single play — all of those things matter.”

WSU’s Williams shines at NFL combine

Former WSU wide receiver Kyle Williams turned heads with a blazing 4.40-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.

The 6-foot receiver spent the first three years of his college career at UNLV. In 2023, Williams caught passes from WSU QB Cam Ward, the potential No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.

In 2024, he recorded 70 receptions for 1,198 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Williams reportedly met with the Patriots and the Bears at the combine. His former QB Ward, who spent his graduate year at Miami, did not work out, but held a news conference on Friday and met with teams.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.