WSU Spring Football 2013: Defense Steps Up on Day 5

On what turned out to be a beautiful Saturday afternoon, tailor-made for a huge offensive day; no wind blowing, no rain, no snow, no hail, just pure sunshine, the defense ended up ruling the day. Led by none other than Rahmel Dockery.

Dockery, who came in last year thinking he was going to play wide receiver, struggled to make the transition to corner back. There was even rumblings that he wouldn’t return to Pullman to resume playing at Wazzu. Safe to say he’s turned a corner.

Rahmel showed that he does indeed have the skills that the coaches saw to be that lock down corner. He came up with two interceptions on the day, both times reading the QB to perfection, stepping in front of a pair of 10 yard curl routs for the INT.

He even caught Coach Leach’s eye.

"“I think he’s starting to take off now and we’re just going to have to try and accelerate that”"

The emergence of Dockery is a welcomed surprise to say the least. With an already thinned out defensive backfield, the team will need all the able bodies they can get. Spring is a time for underclassmen to step up, let’s hope Dockery can grow up this spring and become a surprise impact player this coming Fall. He certainly has the skill set to do so.

Another player looking to impress and make an early impact, resides on the other side of the ball; Robert Lewis. With what he lacks in stature, he more than makes up with his pure speed. Over the last couple of practices, Lewis has been getting more and more in the mix.

"“He is ahead of schedule” Leach said of Lewis “He needs to learn stuff for it to become automatic, but you know he’s pretty smart, he’s picked it up pretty fast.”"

Wazzu has 9 more practices before the Spring Game up in Spokane on April 20th. Look for more youngsters to get an opportunity and get a shot at playing time. This is their time to really shine before Fall, when the coaches will look to start nailing down their starting line up, and send the youngsters either to the two deeps, or scout team.

So with that being said, who are you looking forward to get some more playing time this spring and try to make an impact? 

Let us know in the comment section down below! And as always, GO COUGS!