RB Maxwell Woods, other young Cougars show real promise in WSU's Potato Bowl win over Utah State

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Dec. 23—BOISE — For a second, Maxwell Woods looked like an Olympic gymnast. With the ball in one hand, he used the other to reach down to the blue turf, where he planted his hand and regained his balance, sprinting another 35 yards into Utah State territory.

In this 34-21 win in Monday's Idaho Potato Bowl, Washington State's rushing offense never looked better. The Cougars racked up 253 yards on the ground, by far their most of the season. Their offense may have scored more once earlier in the season, but they never looked the way they did in this game, moving the ball in just about whatever way they liked.

At the center was Woods, a redshirt freshman running back who enjoyed his best game of the season, a 117-yard splurge that kept his WSU offense in gear all afternoon. In the Cougars' first bowl win in seven years, Woods cleared the century mark on only nine carries, good for an average rush of 13 yards, underscoring just how slippery and elusive he is with the ball in his hands.

He showed it off on several occasions. Shortly after his 48-yard surge in the third quarter, he broke free again, this time on a 20-yard jaunt. And midway through the fourth quarter, Woods slipped through the line of scrimmage and raced downfield for 23 more yards. But an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty brought things back after the play.

For WSU, if Woods' sharp outing highlighted anything in this game, it was this: The Cougars may turn over a good amount of players this offseason, a natural byproduct of former coach Jimmy Rogers departing for Iowa State and bringing defensive coordinator turned interim coach Jesse Bobbit with him, but new coach Kirby Moore may do well to retain players like Woods, younger players who could make next year's team pop if they stay on the Palouse.

That goes for Woods, for freshman receivers Mackenzie Alleyne and Landon Wright, both of whom hauled in long touchdown passes. Wright's came on a 39-yard strike from quarterback Zevi Eckhaus in the third quarter. Alleyne's came on a 41-yard connection in the first. The plays may have varied in length, but they sent the same message: If Wright and Alleyne stay at WSU, they could figure prominently into the wide receiver rotation under Moore, who has made offense his calling card in his young career.

That duo may get the natural shine for scoring long touchdowns. But on the other side of the ball, a couple young defenders illustrated the same kind of promise. The first is freshman safety Damarius Russell, who snared an interception and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown, only for it to get called back due to a penalty.

That was only the third game getting snaps on defense for Russell, a 5-foot-11 freshman from Waseca, Minnesota, where he was recruited by Rogers and other members of the old South Dakota State staff. He made it look normal, and with the speed he showed on the return, he could earn a similarly prominent role on next year's WSU defense.

The same goes for freshman cornerback Jamarey Smith, who earned a surprise start and made plays before the game turned five minutes old. He broke up a pass early on. He played 38 snaps, enough to make a couple mistakes typical of a freshman, especially one making only his third career collegiate appearance.

Will those guys stick around with Moore and new defensive coordinator Trent Bray, whose hire was reported on Saturday? That much is unclear. But across some three hours Monday afternoon in Boise, they showed why they could author auspicious careers — at WSU or elsewhere.

"It was awesome," veteran linebacker Caleb Francl said. "All those young guys came up to me afterwards, and I was on the verge of tears, because I really love those guys. They've improved a ton since they came in. And I was kinda sad for D-Russ there, because it got called back, but they're all talented players, all these young guys, and I'm gonna be rooting for him."

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