WSU Football
On the Brink, freshman ready for first start at QB

By Craig Smith
Seattle Times staff reporter

Jim Bates / The Times Freshman quarterback Alex Brink says he has learned from his earlier mistakes.

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Alex Brink, the redshirt Washington State freshman who will get his first college start at quarterback Saturday in Corvallis, says he has "learned from my mistakes" made in his two earlier appearances this season.

"I have to protect the football better and make quicker decisions and get up to speed with how fast things are going," Brink said. "I feel I've learned those things, and I'm ready to improve and win some football games."

After Brink fumbled against Idaho on Sept. 18, WSU quarterback coach Timm Rosenbach made him carry a football wherever he went for a week. Defensive players tried to slap it from him, but Brink said they never got it loose.

"I had to protect the football as I walked around campus," he said. "I did good. I didn't give it up. I was very conscious of keeping two hands on the football and protecting it when going through a crowd."

Rosenbach's orders for the rest of the season include self-preservation. With starter Josh Swogger out for the rest of the season with a fractured bone in his right foot, Brink heads a depth chart of two — himself and true freshman Gary Rogers.

"Coach Rosenbach definitely wants me to protect myself as well as the football," Brink said after yesterday's practice. "If I'm scrambling, he wants me to get down or try to get out of bounds and maybe look to throw the ball away more."

The Cougars are so thin at quarterback (scout team QB Travis Elisara is ineligible because he is a first-year transfer from New Mexico) that kicker Graham Siderius and punter Kyle Basler sat in on the quarterback meeting yesterday. Both were high-school quarterbacks and are being trained as "emergency" backups.

Brink said he was "shocked" when told Sunday night that Swogger was done for the year.

"I knew he was a little dinged up from some injuries, but I didn't realize it was anything as serious as a broken foot," Brink said. "I was shocked to begin with, and after that, I started getting excited about the opportunity to get a chance to play."

Brink said Swogger was "obviously upset" when he called him Sunday night "but he wished me good luck and I know he's going to be there supporting me and supporting the team."
 
Brink, 19, will get his first college start about 40 miles northwest of Eugene, where he grew up. His previous appearance in Oregon State's Reser Stadium was in the 2001 state-title game for Sheldon High School in a loss to McNary High School of the Salem area.

"I'm excited at the opportunity I have," Brink said. "It's unfortunate that it came under these circumstances."

Coach Bill Doba said yesterday that Brink lacks Swogger's powerful arm but "has a lot more mobility." Doba said the Cougars' plan might change to include more sprintouts and bootlegs.

Doba said coaches had discussed before Swogger's season-ending injury whether they would have to make a quarterback switch soon because Swogger's injuries kept mounting.

The Cougars started the season 3-1, and Doba admits the team's confidence has been shaken by back-to-back home losses to Oregon and Stanford.

"It's a battle now," Doba said. "Our coaches are going to have to work their tails off and try to get that thing built up."

Doba also said yesterday that starting running back Chris Bruhn is likely to miss at least two games with a knee injury. Backup Jerome Harrison, who has been the most productive back, will start against the Beavers.

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