WSU football has games and goals

Mar. 24—From air hockey matches to a receiver who wants to be the best in the nation, here are some notes and quotes from the second day of Washington State football practice Thursday in Pullman.

Race for the Roses

The Cougars are undertaking what WSU coach Jake Dickert dubs "Race for the Roses" — a friendly yet serious spring competition as the team works toward its goal of getting to the Rose Bowl, the pinnacle for Pac-12 Conference teams.

It started with Dickert giving every player a rose in January — and no, not because he wants to be the next contestant on "The Bachelor."

"If you can't visualize what you want, how can you go out every day and attack it?" Dickert said.

Players get points for good grades, partaking in Cougar events off the field, community service and the like, and they can lose points for missing class and other negative behaviors.

There also are weekly 1-on-1 competitions in various off-the-field games with the champion getting to face Dickert at the end.

So far, the coach is 1-4 in those competitions. He lost to sophomore defensive back Stephen Hall in NBA Jam, sophomore kicker Vincent Gourley in ping pong and freshman receiver Cole Pruett in cornhole. But he beat sophomore receiver Tsion Nunnally in the card game Uno.

"I'm 1-4 in those championships. Competitive nature, I'm not doing so well, but when you compete, you connect," Dickert said. "It's a competition to get to know each other. ... There's all madness to it and we have a little fun with it."

This week's competition is air hockey.

"It's been a rough road for me," Dickert said. "I gotta get back on track."

Juice Players of the Day

The "Juice Players of the Day" went to a pair of linemen: junior center Konner Gomness and junior defensive tackle Nusi Malani.

Gomness was constantly running and blocking 20 yards downfield and then sprinting back to snap the ball for the next play.

And Malani brought some much-needed energy on the defensive end.

"I think this man has juice running through his veins," Dickert said. "He's an energy-giver to everybody."

Getting to know receiver Kyle Williams

The rolling wheat fields of the Palouse are quite a flip from the bright lights of Las Vegas for UNLV transfer Kyle Williams.

But the junior receiver's goals are the same.

"My ideal mindset is to be the best in the nation and best overall and win the Biletnikoff (Award), so that's my goal every day," said Williams, mentioning the award that goes to the best receiver in the NCAA.

Williams played three seasons for the Runnin' Rebels, finishing first or second on the team in receptions each year on a team that doesn't pass as much as the Cougars do. He had 40 catches for 541 yards with a career-best five touchdowns and had three-plus catches in all nine games played in 2022.

The 6-foot-1, 187-pounder described himself as an all-around receiver, comfortable in deep and intermediate routes.

"It's definitely exciting. The change from my old school is definitely up to bit," Williams said. "The enthusiasm, the competitiveness is there. Iron sharpens iron every day and I'm loving the change and upgrade that I'm in."

The Los Angeles native said he's not used to living outside of a city environment, but that's partly why he chose WSU in the first place.

"The brotherhood, the family. It's not about the flash and the big lights," Williams said. "It's everybody just (getting) to the nitty gritty, the down and dirty and doing what it takes to win."

Wiebe may be contacted at (208) 848-2260, swiebe@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @StephanSports.