Last spring, the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out Nick Rolovich’s first spring camp at Washington State. Things didn’t get much easier from that point for Coach Rolo either. After a canceled season, a revived season and multiple cancelations, the Cougs could use a bit of normalcy.

Luckily, at least so far this spring, that’s exactly what the team has gotten.

On Tuesday, the team hit the field for their 10th of 15 spring football sessions. The team will have just two more practices before they play in the annual Crimson and Gray spring game this Saturday. That scrimmage will, of course, be the first for the Cougs under Nick Rolovich. Earlier this week, the program released some information about what we can expect from the team’s final scrimmage.

First and foremost, fans will not be allowed to attend the event inside Martin Stadium. The team made that news official in a press release. Instead, attendance will limited to guests of players and coaches. The university did not explain why the move to limit attendance was made, we can assume it has a lot to do with Whitman county dropping to phase 2 of the state’s reopening plan.

While you won’t be able to watch the game in person, WSU says they have you covered in other ways. The game will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network and on WSU radio. The University is also doing a Facebook Live stream with a special pregame show and live look-ins during the game.

But once the event starts, what can we expect? During his press conference Tuesday, Rolovich outlined how the event will be run. One of the biggest changes will be how the teams are separated. Under Leach, the two squads were made up of players from both sides of the ball. Rolovich says, however, that his spring game will have the offense make up one side and the defense make up the other. Rolovich also added that, for the most part, the 1’s will take on the 1’s while the 2’s will face the 2’s.

“This is about having a good football practice at the core,” Rolovich said. “The highest level of competition I think is what will give us the best moving forward. Hopefully it’s a good show. We hope it’s enjoyable and all that, but it’s only practice 13 for us on Saturday so we’ve got to get some good work in.”

The Crimson and Gray game gets started Saturday at 2 p.m. in Pullman.

Links

Washington State's leadership council serves important purpose in wake of George Floyd trial | The Spokesman-Review
PULLMAN – The leadership council Nick Rolovich assembled prior to his first season as Washington State’s coach was designed in large part to give his football players a voice and underline the player-first philosophy he’s trying to establish in Pullman.

Cougar Spring Practice - Day 10 - Washington State University Athletics
Washington State Football continued its spring drills with a two-hour practice in helmets and shoulder pads Tuesday afternoon.

Pac-12 basketball outlook: Which teams are rising, and falling in 2021
How much of the NCAA Tournament success was a mirage? What's the immediate outlook for the conference? We assessed the direction of each program coming off the season of COVID.