Tuel emerges as starting QB: Coach Paul Wulff says sophomore will enter fall camp No. 1 on the depth chart

The No. 1 question on the minds of many Washington State football fans is who will be the top quarterback - sophomore Jeff Tuel or junior Marshall Lobbestael - heading into fall camp.

That question was answered following the Cougars annual spring football game on Saturday. The answer - Tuel.

"He's running with the ones, there's no question," WSU coach Paul Wulff said. "And he's doing well, there's no question. We want to bring both those guys along, we're going to need them both, they're both going to need to play for us, there's no question."

During Saturday's scrimmage, Tuel took snaps with the first team offense for the first three quarters, while Lobbestael handled duties with the second team before joining the starters in the fourth quarter.

Lining up against the second team defense, Tuel completed 11 of 16 passes for 129 yards, and, most importantly, led two scoring drives - including one that was capped by his 16-yard screen pass to Logwone Mitz - and the Crimson to a 21-0 win over the Gray. In the Cougars' three spring scrimmages, Tuel went 25 of 41 for 297 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

Lobbestael didn't fare as well, completing only 4 of 11 passes for 27 yards and one interception in the final scrimmage. He also had two fumbles.

Tuel wouldn't say if he had officially been named the No. 1 QB, but he said he will approach things as if he were.

"Every quarterback should feel like they're the guy," he said. "If I'm in there, then I feel like it's my team and my offense to run."

In fairness, Lobbestael took most of his reps against the No. 1 defense, which limited the second team offense to 13 yards on 26 plays. Junior cornerback Aire Justin recorded the game's only interception, and three different Cougars combined for four sacks - two from redshirt junior defensive tackle Brandon Rankin and one each from redshirt senior defensive end Kevin Kooyman and redshirt senior linebacker Myron Beck. The first-team defense also recorded two fumble recoveries. "I thought the defensive line played very well," Wulff said. "They are flying around, playing well."

Wulff is clearly excited about what the 6-foot-5, 271-pound Rankin can bring to the inside of the Cougar defensive line.

"Brandon is going to give us a unique pass rush from the defensive tackle position that we haven't had here since Rien Long was here," Wulff said. "His quickness off the ball can disrupt some things in the run game and pass game. No question Brandon is going to be a great addition to our defense."

Chantz Staden lead all WSU running backs with 86 yards and two touchdowns, including a 51-yard sideline run in the fourth quarter. Staden sat out last season with an injury but is showing his old knack of injecting energy into the Cougar attack.

Junior receiver Jared Karstetter led the Cougars in both receptions and yard, with four catches for 48 yards. Ten different Cougars caught a pass during the game.

The Cougars are down to just one more spring practice, which will be held this morning at 6 p.m. There's still more to accomplish, but Wulff said hands down this year's camp has been the best in his two-plus years on campus.

"You can't do everything but so far, it's been a very productive spring," Wulff said. "A lot of players, if not all, have gotten a lot better. We've learned a lot of things, and without question this has been our best spring football. I feel really good about the progress we have made, and we still have a ways to go and are making excellent progress. We're growing."

RUSHING - Chantz Staden 10-86, Logwone Mitz 10-59, Carl Winston 10-25, Marshall Lobbestael 4-(-25), Marcus Richmond 2-8, Jeff Tuel 1-(-3). PASSING - Jeff Tuel 11-16-0-129, Marshall Lobbestael 4-11-1-27, Dan Wagner 1-1-0-13, David Gilbertson 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING - Jared Karstetter 4-48, Jeffrey Solomon 3-28, Logwone Mitz 2-22, Daniel Blackledge 1-21, Andre Lintz 1-13, Esa Johnwell 1-10, Jared Byers 1-9, Aaron Gehring 1-8, Shane Thomas 1-7, Chantz Staden 1-3.

Devin Rokyta can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 230, or by e-mail at drokyta@dnews.com.