Bosch provides insight on Utah halftime

PULLMAN -- What exactly transpired during halftime during the 49-6 loss Nov. 3 loss at Utah has become a popular topic among Washington State fans since former wide receiver Marquess Wilson alleged physical abuse occurred in the locker room. Offensive lineman Elliott Bosch and two others discussed that, Wilson’s departure and the upcoming game at Arizona State during their Monday teleconference.

“He made a decision not to be a part of this team,” Bosch said. “He decided to go his separate way and that’s fine.”

Bosch also gave his take on the “physical abuse” accusations made at the halftime of the Utah game.

“Coach (Paul) Volero came up and had the o-line and d-line and wanted to fire us up,” Bosch said. “He grabbed some guys by the chest plate and took a look in their eyes. He wanted to see if they wanted to win … that's all he was really doing."

He noted that those kinds of motivational tools should be expected, and that a good coaching staff will use those to get production on the field.

“They’re trying to change the culture around here,” Bosch said. “They’re pushing us really hard like a good football staff should.”

Any signs of abuse from within the program have fallen on blind eyes in Bosch’s case, as he noted he hasn’t seen anything that would be deemed crossing the line.

“I haven’t seen any,” Bosch said. “None.”

In a statement released Monday, athletic director Bill Moos commended Leach for the way he has handled the entire situation, even throwing a few jabs at Wilson on his way out the door.

“Of all the talent Marquess has, his effort hasn’t always been what it could and should be,” Moos said.

Jeff Tuel declined to comment on the allegations.

“I think it’s smarter to just stay away from that,” he said. “We just need to move on.”

When Tuel was healthy, he and Wilson formed one of the conference’s most prolific tandems. While they no longer are teammates, Tuel said he will remain in contact.

“A friend is a friend,” Tuel said. “You’re going to be there for a guy for whatever he needs. Marquess is one of my good friend and I’ll wish him the best.”

The soft-spoken Travis Long refused to comment on the matter, instead electing to comment only on Arizona State and his preparations for this week.

On the actual football field, Tuel, who left Saturday’s game with an apparent right-shoulder injury, came out and fully participated in Sunday night’s practice. Tuel said regardless of whether there is a quarterback competition this week, he’s ready to compete, hoping to emulate the production put forth in the first quarter against UCLA.

“For us to come out firing like that was good to see,” Tuel said. “We grew in a lot of areas.”

Some of that success can be attributed to an added emphasis on the run game. The Cougars tallied 67 rushing yards, including six sacks. Excluding those sacks, WSU had more than 100 yards on the ground, a first for 2012. Freshman running back Teondray Caldwell carried the ball 10 times for 62 yards, which was a season-high.

Bosch said the coaching staff made a concerted effort to improve the run game during practice last week.

“It makes a difference,” Bosch said. “When we end up throwing the ball 65-70 times a game, they don’t have to play disciplined. They can just tee off on us. Being able to run the ball it helps a lot.”

The Cougars get back to the practice field Tuesday evening.