Cougars lineman Roof expelled from school

By Howie Stalwick | For The Olympian • Published August 27, 2008

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PULLMAN -- The well-documented legal problems of the Washington State football team off the field are beginning to have a direct impact on the Cougars on the field.

The Cougars announced Tuesday that senior Andy Roof, a key reserve at defensive tackle, has been expelled from school by the Student Conduct Board. The Cougars open the season Saturday against Oklahoma State at Seattle’s Qwest Field (12:30 p.m., FSN).

Roof, who sat out last season after being suspended from school for repeated incidents involving alcohol, was arrested in April after a campus brawl in which he claims he acted in self-defense. He had worked out and practiced with the football team since January.

“I was very disappointed when I heard the decision,” said coach Paul Wulff, reading from a press release issued by the WSU Sports Information Department. “Since I arrived on campus, Andy has been a great leader for this program on the field, in the locker room, in the classroom and done everything we ask of all student-athletes.

“From where he was a year ago, he has changed his life around 180 degrees, and as a coaching staff we have seen the positive impact he made on this program.”

The Cougars have already recommended Roof to NCAA Division II schools Western Washington and Central Washington, Wulff said. Eastern Washington, a strong Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) program where Wulff was head coach from 2000-07, is not a possibility because the NCAA now requires players dropping down to the FCS to have at least two years of remaining eligibility in virtually all cases.

The Whitman County prosecutor’s office has yet to decide whether to prosecute Roof on six assault charges requested by Pullman police in early May. Roof is accused of punching or shoving six people. Police are seeking one count of second-degree felony assault and five counts of fourth-degree gross misdemeanor assault.

Wulff has repeatedly steered clear of comments about the lengthy period of time that has lapsed since Roof’s arrest. Wulff said Roof and witnesses convinced him that Roof acted in self-defense, and that the player smelled of alcohol because alcohol had been spilled on him and not because he had been drinking, as police maintained. Roof was not given a blood-alcohol test.

Roof, a fifth-year senior out of East Valley High School near Spokane, was listed as WSU’s top reserve behind senior Matt Lichtenberger (a first-year starter) at defensive right tackle.

Roof made five starts as an offensive lineman in 2006, then was moved to defense last spring. Wulff said senior Adam Hineline or sophomore Toby Turpin, two inexperienced players, will take Roof’s place.

“It’s going to be an impact, there’s no question,“ Wulff said. “A team that’s already thin in a lot of areas just takes another hit.”