PULLMAN – Alex Teems will tell you that he talks a lot and jumps around when you get him going.
Then he stops talking.
Teems, a junior cornerback, is a quiet man on the Washington State football team – at least in terms of the spoken word. In his first game starting for the Cougars, against New Mexico one week ago, he intercepted two passes, broke up three others and forced a fumble. All night long, the Lobos threw at the first-time starter, more willing to test his abilities than those of fellow corner Karl Paymah, a returning starter.
“It’s really stressful in your first start, all the people, all the expectations,” Paymah said. “It was just ridiculous. Even in perfect coverage, they were going to throw the ball (at him). No kind of respect.”
Just don’t ask Teems to say a lot about it.
“Real shy, doesn’t really talk too much,” said safety Hamza Abdullah, one of Teems’ most chatty teammates. “I’ll go ahead and say what he wants to say. He’s a good corner. He’s going to step up to the challenge. A lot of teams are going to go at him because Karl is the proven one.”
Teems did say he knew he’d be in the crosshairs for that first game, and fully expects to be so once again when the Cougars play Colorado on Saturday in Seattle.
“I’m going to think that every game for the rest of my life,” Teems said. “All I did was try to envision myself having a great game.”
Seeing the San Pedro, Calif., native with so much time on the field would have been significantly more difficult to imagine not that long ago. Last season, with Paymah and then-senior Jason David nailing down the cornerback spots, the best Teems could do was to compete for time in passing situations. There, however, he got beat out by Don Turner, who earned the job as the Cougars’ third corner for 2003.
Entering spring practices in the offseason, Teems was still behind Turner, and had plenty of work to do if he was going to stake a claim on a starting role.
“This year, after we had graduation, then it was up for grabs,” secondary coach Ken Greene said. “Donny got hurt right away and Alex moved up ahead of him and he never relented.
“I wasn’t sold 100 percent yet, but he came back this fall and looked to be quicker and faster. A much more solid cover guy.”
Teems played through training camp this fall with a swagger and confidence, hanging onto his spot at right corner through four scrimmages and almost two dozen practice sessions.
But with so few words coming out of him along the way, Teems went largely unnoticed – until breaking out against New Mexico.
“I can’t sit here and get caught on my heels or get caught relaxing, anything like that,” Teems said. “I’ve been quiet my whole life, ever since I was a little kid. The confidence, I’ve had people just trying to tell me to keep my confidence up. They realize I play better when I’m more confident and having fun rather than when I’m sitting around, just thinking too much. They can tell by the way I walk whether I’m having a good day or not.”
It’s no surprise, then, that Teems walked around with his head held high after beating New Mexico. The corner even let on that he was trash talking (only a little) by game’s end.
Still, don’t expect Teems to take center stage by thumping his own chest. If you want to hear from Teems, you’ll just have to wait until the Buffaloes start throwing his way once again.
“He made the ones that counted. His interceptions turned the whole game around. Without those interceptions, we might have not have had a W,” Abdullah said. “He had a great spring and he’s having a great fall and it’s showing up in the game. He had two interceptions, and he could have had four or five. Hopefully he’ll get some more. Colorado’s going to test him early to see if it was a fluke. But he’ll show up for the challenge and be great again.”
Cougar notes: Looking for a good omen if you’re a Cougar fan? In the middle of practice, head coach Bill Doba was standing nine yards deep in a Martin Stadium end zone looking over his offense. Suddenly, he stooped over and exclaimed joyously to no one in particular, “Oh, I found a penny heads-up!” No word on whether the coin will still be in pocket come game time. … Linebacker Pat Bennett missed another practice with a pulled hamstring, but according to Doba, he will play. Cornerback Tyron Brackenridge also has a hamstring strain, and is questionable. If he can’t play, either Allen Thompson or Chris Bruhn will replace him as a kickoff returner. … WSU has a Qwest Field walkthrough scheduled for this afternoon, not long after arriving in Seattle.
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