Apr. 2—This weekend, Washington State fans based in Spokane won’t have to make a 90-minute drive to watch their team in action.
Instead, they’ll be able to head over to Union Stadium, where the Cougars are set to host an open practice at 11 a.m. on Saturday. After practice, which is scheduled to wrap up around 12:45 p.m., players will host an hour-long clinic on the field, including a chance for kids to get autographs and take home a poster. Registration is required and can be found at https://app.wsucougars.com/cougar_football_kids_clinic_spokane.
It will be the team’s sixth practice of the spring, including its final open practice until the spring game on April 25 in Pullman.
“Number one, it’s always about trying to engage with the fans and create that connection,” WSU GM Brad Larrondo said. “We ask a lot of them to do things, we come here on game day, to help us with resources. And for us, it’s all about giving back to the community. Taking a practice on the road also puts our players in a position where they have to kinda adjust, go to a place where they haven’t necessarily been before or worked out before. Creates a little bit more of that camaraderie.”
This spring, new head coach Kirby Moore is working to integrate a collection of about 39 newcomers to the team, including transfer quarterback Caden Pinnick and Florida transfer wide receiver Tank Hawkins. A native of nearby Prosser, Moore took the job in December, coming over after a three-year stint as Missouri’s offensive coordinator.
About six months away from WSU’s season, the program’s first in the rebuilt Pac-12, the Cougars are trying to integrate newcomers with returners. Some of the players returning include the running back trio of Kirby Vorhees, Maxwell Woods and Leo Pulalasi, receiver Tony Freeman and offensive linemen Ashton Tripp, Jonny Lester, Kyle Martin, Noah Dunham and Jaylin Caldwell.
It’s also the team’s second time practicing away from Pullman this spring. Last weekend, the Cougars hosted an open practice in Pasco, roughly 30 minutes from where Moore grew up. To the program, the idea is the same: connect with fans and make themselves accessible.
“There are a lot of Cougs there, and we want to be able to embrace them,” Larrondo said. “We want that fan base in Spokane Valley and Spokane to want to come here to Pullman, to watch us play in the fall, to come to support our basketball team, to whatever sport that they’re interested in, to come over to Pullman and support Cougar athletics. And we know there’s a lot of people there that have an interest in that. So when we can meet them where they’re at for something like this, for a practice and then a youth clinic, it shows that we’re invested in them, because we’re asking them to invest in us as well.”
