The intensity was high as the WSU football team opened up its third season under Head Coach Paul Wulff with the first practice of the spring on Thursday.

The Cougars donned only their silver helmets, and contact was limited, but the head coach said he liked what he saw from the team.

“When you’re teaching these guys a second time, it’s a lot easier than it is teaching them the first time,” Wulff said. “We have a number of players that are now playing the second time through, so things are a lot more crisp.” Senior defensive back Chima Nwachukwu was all over the field making plays on defense and was a vocal leader throughout practice.

“It was good for the first day,” he said. “A lot of guys were enthusiastic. We were flying around and getting the rust off. Had a little fun.” A concern for WSU in the first two seasons under Wulff has been depth on both the offensive and defensive lines. To help with the lack of depth, Wulff and his staff brought in three junior college transfers to help on both sides of the ball.

“They definitely fit right in,” Wulff said. “And there’s no question with more practice time, between now and the season, that they have an opportunity to make a difference for this football team. All three of them do.” On the defensive side of the ball, junior college transfer Brandon Rankin will have a large role in getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks in the fall. The transfer from Butte Community College saw most of his action at defensive tackle as opposed to his more natural position of defensive end in his first day of practice.

“It’s faster than what I expected,” Rankin said. “I’m just getting back into the hang of it. It’s been awhile.” The two other new faces, junior offensive linemen Wade Jacobson and David Gonzales, both saw extensive time working with the more experienced Cougars on the offensive line.

Sophomore quarterback Jeff Tuel said he liked what he saw from both of his new linemen.

“They’re both what they look like,” Tuel said. “They’ve got great feet and size. I think they’re going to do some great things.” Tuel’s passing was sharp, and he routinely made good decisions with the ball while hitting open receivers. However, a few of his passes got away from him that resulted in a pair of interceptions for the starting quarterback.

Nwachukwu said there are some key differences between this year’s team and the previous two Wulff has coached.

“We are a lot more comfortable with everybody,” Nwachukwu said. “We know what to expect for sure. We got a lot of guys. We got some really good players that are coming in for us, so that should be exciting to see next season.” The Cougars will practice in helmets only on Friday before putting on the pads on Monday. The Cougars will wrap up its 15-practice spring with the annual spring game at 5:30 p.m. on April 24.