WSU Football | "Bump" brings all as USC looms large

His teammates call him "Bump," and it's an abbreviation of not only his last name but of the mayhem he endures as Washington State's slot receiver.

Michael Bumpus leads the Pac-10 with 22 catches in three games. A lot of those catches have been over the middle, where linebackers treat receivers with the same consideration tigers give raw meat.

"He's taken some hellacious hits," said WSU coach Bill Doba. "He just gets up with a smile on his face."

Bumpus said, "Any receiver wants to be outside because you don't have to deal with those linebackers. But right now, I feel more comfortable in the slot."

The senior slot receiver lines up between one of the wide receivers and linemen. Courage to run in traffic is a requirement as well as the ability to find seams in zone defenses.

Bumpus benefits because he is in sync with quarterback Alex Brink, his fellow offensive co-captain.

"Having played with him for as long as I have, we obviously have a good feel for each other," Brink said. "I know where he's going and where he likes the ball."

An example was last week against Idaho. Bumpus changed a route because of the way he was being covered. Result? A 4-yard touchdown.

Brink and Bumpus are buddies off the field and have spent time together since 2004 when they sat together on the charter flight back from WSU's season-opening win at New Mexico.

"He's one of my best friends on the team," Bumpus said.

Brink said the same thing and noted that they have connected despite their different backgrounds.

"I'm from Eugene, Ore., and he's from Culver City, Calif.," Brink said.

The game Saturday at No. 1 USC is something of a homecoming for Bumpus, who grew up 10 miles west of the Coliseum and was recruited by the Trojans.

But when USC asked Bumpus to delay enrollment so Dwayne Jarrett (now a rookie NFL Carolina Panther) could take his place, Bumpus opted for the Palouse, where he has flourished.

He is No. 4 on the all-time WSU reception list with 147 catches and needs just two to pass Philip Bobo and Jason Hill. No. 1 is Hugh Campbell, who caught 176 passes from 1960 to 1962.

Bumpus, 6 feet 1, 194 pounds, is eager to play in the Coliseum because he was injured and unable to play when the Cougars visited there in 2005.

In the stands will be his mother, Renee, a mental-health analyst for Los Angeles County who has raised him alone since he was 3.

Part of her philosophy was to keep him busy, and that meant sports. She was afraid of injuries, though, and didn't let him play football until high school. He lettered in football, basketball, baseball and soccer at Culver City High School.

Soccer was his favorite high-school sport.

"It's my first love," he said.

He has friends on the 11th-ranked WSU women's soccer team and tries to take in as many of their matches as possible.

His soccer ability enabled him to fill in as an emergency punter last year in the road win against UCLA.

Bumpus has been the Cougars' primary punt returner, but his production has lagged the past two years, averaging 5.5 yards in 2006 and only 1.7 this year. He had more punt-return yardage in one night — 157 at Nevada as a sophomore — than he has had since then in all games combined the past two seasons.

Doba has wished out loud for better blocking, and Bumpus notes that some of the best players on the 2004 and 2005 teams were blocking for him on special teams.

Bumpus, who never redshirted, endured an academic bump in the road after the 2005 season when bad grades forced him to apply for readmission.

"I was definitely scared straight by that experience," he said.

He got back in school and has continued to scare defenses.

NOTE

• Backup defensive tackle Matt Eichelberger won't make the USC trip because he suffered a knee sprain in Tuesday's practice.

Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com