From Big Country to the Big City

Some people think Pullman, Wash., is at the end of the earth.

Washington State linebacker Will Derting can only laugh.

He and his family live on a remote ranch 30 miles from Okanogan, Wash., with 2,000 head of cattle, a couple hundred horses and no telephone service.

Pullman is downright metropolitan to him.

Los Angeles?

“You can just drive and drive and there’s cement forever,” Derting said. “It’s nice to see a different place. I don’t think I could live here, though.”

Derting is from a place where you can still see the stars in the night sky.

At the team’s hotel in Beverly Hills, the stars the players have seen include Chris Webber of the Sacramento Kings, model Tyra Banks and talk-show host Larry King.

Derting hasn’t caught a glimpse of any of them, but he has seen some nice cars.

“There are some Lamborghinis near there. We went and took pictures of them the other day,” he said, laughing.

His heart is on the ranch.

“The Columbia River is 200 feet from my house. I love it out there. We’ve got TV, running water, the dish,” Derting said. “But still no phones. My aunt lives like two miles from me, and she has a phone.”

The Cougars are just glad they convinced him to leave for a while -- though Derting did once take a weekend off to help with the branding at home.

He made his mark quickly this season at Washington State.

A redshirt freshman, Derting intercepted three passes in the season opener against Nevada, returning one 98 yards for a touchdown. He missed five games because of an ankle sprain in the second game, but returned and later started the final four.

By the way, he says it’s probably easier to lasso a running back than it is to take down a calf.

“Depends on how big the calf is,” Derting said.

*

Defensive tackle Rien Long fielded an assortment of “How slow is Pullman?” questions, and responded with his wry wit.

“It’s not that small,” Long said. “And there is Moscow, which is a whole other 10,000 people.”

Moscow, just across the state line, is the home of the University of Idaho.

*

Backup quarterback Matt Kegel didn’t practice Saturday after twisting his back Friday, but Coach Mike Price said he expects Kegel to be fine for the Rose Bowl.

*

Price, generally glad to throw his practice open to the media, fans and recruits, will close all but 15 minutes of practice today.

“I’ve just got to put some new trick plays in,” he said.

He also canceled Tuesday’s final practice, and will simply hold a walk-through in the hotel ballroom.

“We’ll just cool it,” he said. “Besides, the traffic. Have you noticed?”