In WSU's second spring scrimmage, RB Maxwell Woods breaks out and QBs clean things up
Apr. 18—PULLMAN — As the weeks have gone by, as Washington State holds one spring practice after another with only two-hand touch tackling, Maxwell Woods has sometimes felt squeezed. He'll get a handoff, take off upfield, encounter a defender, make his move and dash past.
Whistle. "There's been a couple times where it feels like I definitely broke this tackle," Woods said, "or he may have got me. " In WSU's scrimmage on Saturday, the team's second of three this spring, Woods left little room for doubt.
The Cougars tackled in earnest for about the first 40 minutes, giving their rising sophomore running back a chance to catch a touchdown pass and rip off a couple other chunk gains. He looked quick and elusive, same as he did in the winter, when he cleared the century mark in rushing yards to help WSU win the Potato Bowl and send a surge of excitement throughout the program's orbit. Woods is back for another season, as are fellow running backs Kirby Vorhees and Leo Pulalasi, who figure to make for a foreboding tailback trio in the fall.
They've spent the past few weeks using spring ball to set the stage, but only in parts of scrimmages with live tackling have they found chances to put on display what could make them lethal in the fall. "It really is nice to see on Saturdays, being able to get the opportunity to really show if we're gonna make that guy miss, or if they tackle us," Woods said. "So it's a great time.
I felt like we had a great day offensively and defensively today. " The Cougars, who will wrap up their spring slate with their annual Crimson and Gray game at 2 p. m.