Washington State: 3 players who helped their chances

No. 1 -- QB Jeff Tuel. He was expected to compete with Connor Halliday and split reps with the No. 1 offense this spring, but those plans were scrapped when Halliday took a helmet to his side during the first practice of the spring. He didn't participate in team session the rest of the spring. So Tuel took command of the offense, capping a productive spring by completing 19 of 21 passes in WSU's sping game. Coach Mike Leach said the two will battle for the starting job in the fall, but Tuel appears to have an advantage. No. 2 -- LB Eric Oertel . He was listed as an RB when last season concluded, but coaches moved Oertel to LB at the beginning of the spring and he's thrived there. DC Mike Breske has said Oertel was one of the more pleasant surprises of the spring, taking hold of the starting sam LB position from the get-go and consistently turning in quality plays there. No. 3 -- WR Drew Loftus. A walk-on transfer from Hawaii, Loftus was an unknown commodity when spring began. But at 6-2 with good hands, he immediately caught on in Leach's offense, and was part of the rotation at outside receiver with the first-team offense during the spring game. He needs to work on his conditioning, but Leach said Loftus' best days are ahead of him.