WSU Football Rookies Report Today
Defending Pac-10 champs open team workouts August 13.
August 7, 1998
PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State University's 1998 football season officially gets underway today with the reporting of 30 rookies, including 16 scholarship freshmen and five scholarship transfers. The defending Pacific-10 Conference champions open team workouts August 13, begin contact drills August 16 and open the season at home Sept. 5 against Illinois.
WSU's newcomers will go through four days of orientation meetings and then testing and conditioning workouts four times early next week.
Head coach Mike Price, who captured several national coach of the year awards last season after guiding WSU to a 10-2 record, the conference title and the school's first appearance in the Rose Bowl since 1931, will assemble his veteran players August 11.
WSU players will participate in the team's annual Football Media/Photo Day functions August 12. The first practice takes place at 9 a.m. August 13. After three days of working out in sweatclothes, the Cougar gridders will begin contact drills August 16 with a single afternoon practice.
WSU coaches expect the maximum 105 players to be on hand for the opening practice, with additional players reporting after school opens at WSU August 24.
Tentative scrimmage dates have been set for the afternoon workouts August 18 and 20 and a morning scrimmage Aug. 22.
ROSTER ADJUSTMENTS: The list of WSU veterans who will NOT participate in football this fall includes the following: LB Greg DuPree (Sacramento, Calif.), TE Brenden Marshall (Longview, Wash.), De Nate Mallory (Kent, Wash.), WR Cory DeSanti (La Puente, Calif.), and OT Jon Ottenbreit (Cheney, Wash.); four members of WSU's recruiting class announced last February will be absent when drills begin: freshmen DB David Baker (Tacoma, Wash.), WR Derrick Dillon (Puyallup, Wash.), WR Tim Lemon (LaMirada, Calif.) and junior college transfer DE Saeed Abdul-Malik (Duarte, Calif.).
ROOKIE ROSTER ADDITIONS: WSU has added three scholarship players to the roster of rookies reporting Aug. 7...they include freshman WR Curtis Nettles (Culver City, Calif.) and two transfers, DL Eric Hodges (Sierra CC) and DB Dante Minners (Bloomington, Calif., Citrus CC).
USA TODAY POLL LIKES WSU: Seven Pac-10 schools, including Washington State, received votes from the 62 head coaches voting in the 1998 pre-season USA Today poll...WSU was ranked 36th in the opening poll with 41 points...other Pac-10 schools receiving votes were: 7. UCLA, 9. ASU, 17. Washington, 25. Arizona, 27. USC and 50. Oregon...Ohio State topped the poll with 31 first-place votes...they were followed by Florida State (10 first place votes), Nebraska (12), Florida (1), Michigan (4) and Kansas State (1).
PAC-10 MEDIA PICK WSU 7TH: Defending Pac-10 champion Washington State has been picked by members of the media to finish seventh in 1998, the same as they were picked a year ago before going 10-2 and finishing the season ranked ninth nationally...UCLA is the top choice of the 30 members of the media voting in this year's poll...the Bruins received 16 first place votes, two more than second place Arizona State received...Washington finished third in the poll, followed in order by USC, Arizona, Oregon, WSU, Stanford, California and Oregon State.
