The WSU football team returned to the practice field Tuesday after coming off a strong performance in the scrimmage Saturday, but Head Coach Paul Wulff said the team didn’t practice with the same intensity he’s seen this spring.

“It’s one of those practices, you get in it and you realize we’ve got to grind through this,” Wulff said. “It just wasn’t a good day emotionally, and therefore, it wasn’t a day where we could grow as much as we wanted to.” The practice started off strong with all three kickers connecting on all their attempts. Senior Nico Grasu rebounded from a poor performance Saturday to connect on both his kicks.

Shortly after, the practice took a turn for the worse when both redshirt junior defensive end Brandon Rankin and redshirt freshman running back Leon Brooks suffered injuries, forcing them to miss practice time. Both returned to the field, but Rankin had his left knee taped up.

Wulff said none of the injuries suffered Tuesday appeared to be serious.

The star on Saturday, redshirt junior running back Logwone Mitz, saw most of the reps in the backfield after Brooks injured his foot. Mitz carried the ball 16 times in the scrimmage and showed flashes of his powerful running Tuesday. He also fumbled a ball that was returned for a touchdown by senior linebacker Hallston Higgins.

“I’ve got to be able to take the workload for the offense, especially at running back,” Mitz said. “Whether we have two, one or six running backs, we’ve all got to be in shape and be ready for that day. I wasn’t ready for today, and I just got to get better and come out ready on Thursday.” The play of the day came when redshirt freshman linebacker Darren Markle intercepted a Marshall Lobbestael pass and returned it for a touchdown. “It was a play-action pass,” Markle said. “Marshall rolled out. I just kind of baited that little flat round, and when he threw the ball, I just jumped it and picked it.” The defense almost had a third touchdown, but redshirt junior cornerback Aire Justin dropped a pass thrown by sophomore Jeff Tuel.

Tuel tested Justin again later in practice and saw a different result the second time around.

Junior receiver Jared Karstetter got behind Justin toward the end of scrimmage, and Tuel threw a perfect ball to hit his receiver in stride for a touchdown that spanned the distance of the practice field.

Both sides of the ball made a few big plays, but the practice lacked the same fire the Cougars played with Saturday.

“It was our least focused day,” Wulff said. “We came out flat, and I don’t know if we got a lot done today. Sometimes, you have those days, and it’s how we’re going to respond off this practice on Thursday.”