Gesser has bulked up PULLMAN, Wash. >> Washington State quarterback Jason Gesser had some old friends to look up when he spent three weeks at home in Hawaii this summer.
for senior season
The St. Louis School product
aims for a Pac-10 title
and the Heisman Trophy
By Nicholas K. Geranios
Associated Press"Rice, gravy, ketchup, poi, kalua pig," Gesser said yesterday, recalling the ingredients of the plate lunch that helped him bulk up to 207 pounds from well below 200 his first three seasons.
The former St. Louis School standout hopes to use the extra weight to stave off injuries and boost his chances of contending for the Heisman Trophy by improving on last year's 3,010 yards and 26 touchdown passes.
"I've never played this heavy before," said Gesser, who needs 2,397 passing yards this season to become the career leader among quarterbacks at WSU.
A highly elusive scrambler, Gesser broke his leg and missed the final two games of his sophomore year. He played all 12 games last year, although the pounding took its toll.
"You go through a car crash every Saturday," Gesser said. The extra pounds, assuming he can keep them on, will allow him to absorb more punishment.
Washington State was a surprise 10-2 last year, winning the Sun Bowl. For the first time in 41 years, the Cougars have been forecast to win the Pac-10 title. Various preseason polls place them in the Top 10.
Gesser, a senior, recalled that preseason prognosticators picked the Cougars 10th last year.
"It's good to have the respect, but it doesn't do anything for us," Gesser said. "In the Pac-10 you are never able to just show up to a game on Saturday and win. You've got to be ready to play each weekend."
Gesser and the other scholarship players stayed in Pullman most of the summer, preparing for the season. Washington State opens Aug. 31 against Nevada at Seattle's new Seahawks Stadium.
Coach Mike Price presided over the annual media day gathering yesterday and seemed at ease with the high expectations for a team that is heavy with returning starters.
"Things have fallen into place this year," Price, in his 14th season and the dean of Pac-10 coaches, told reporters.
"You guys are a hell of a lot smarter than you were a year ago," he noted with a grin.
Only one freshman, defensive end Adam Braidwood, is likely to see any playing time this season, Price said. That's a departure from the past, when four or five freshmen might be pressed into action.
Even the schedule has been relatively kind. Once faced with 13 games, including a late season trip to Hawaii, the Cougars were able to buy their way out of that contract. That left them a two-week bye before finishing on Dec. 7 on national television at UCLA.
Price called Gesser into his office to break the news that the quarterback would not be playing a game in his hometown this year.
"It meant a lot to him," Price said. "But he saw it would be harder to beat UCLA if we played in Hawaii."
The Cougars have to travel to Ohio State, but they get Idaho and Montana State at home, and the annual showdown with Washington is in Pullman this year.