Canadian WR Forzani bolts from plains

Cougars: Johnny Forzani tried his hand at hockey and hoops before trying football

HOWIE STALWICK; For The Olympian | • Published November 04, 2009

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PULLMAN - Johnny Forzani, like any red-blooded Canadian, was hooked on hockey when he was growing up in Calgary, Alberta.

It seems Forzani, the fleet-footed deep threat on the Washington State Cougars, was just as fast on the ice as he is on the football field.

“They called me ‘Johnny Rocket,’” the colorful Forzani recalled.

Forzani played on a top youth hockey team in Calgary, but he quit the sport at 13 (“My parents were devastated.”) and switched to basketball. He averaged 42 points as a high school senior and was a starting guard on Canada’s small-college national champions as a freshman at Douglas in Vancouver in 2006-07, then gave up hoops to play football for the first time in his life.

“I’m going to play tennis next year,” he joked, “and baseball the next.”

Forzani, who says he’s been clocked in 4.33 seconds in the 40-yard dash, grew up in a football family. Father Tom and two uncles played at Utah State and in the Canadian Football League; Tom is in the CFL Hall of Fame; and godfather John Hufnagel coaches the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders.

“It’s always been my favorite sport,” he said.

Still, Forzani focused on basketball before deciding he could not play at the NCAA Division I level. He never played organized football until last year, when he starred on an 18-22 age-group team sponsored by the Stampeders.

Forzani, a junior in eligibility, is the first to admit he is extremely raw as a wide receiver. He has only seven receptions for WSU, but he averages a whopping 38 yards per catch, including a 99-yarder against Arizona State.

Jokingly, Forzani said “as much as I hate to admit that,” he is grateful for the tough-love guidance of famously demanding WSU receivers coach Mike Levenseller.

“Yelling at me, ripping me every five seconds,” Forzani said with a smile.

Forzani’s father roomed with Levenseller when the two were receivers with the Stampeders.

Grisby ailing

The Cougars might get a break at Arizona’s homecoming game Saturday (12:30 p.m., Fox College Sports).

Mike Stoops, coach of the 21st-ranked Wildcats, said leading rusher Nic Grisby is “very questionable” because of a lingering shoulder injury.

Grigsby, a junior, established career rushing highs the past two years against WSU. He ran for 186 yards in 2007, then went for 189 last year.

Youth served

Terrance Hayward, a 17-year-old cornerback, is set to make his third straight start for the Cougars. Arizona is favored by 31.

The 6-foot-1, 186-pound Hayward, who will turn 18 on Nov. 26, was 16 when he redshirted last fall. Hayward skipped a grade in middle school, but even before that, he was accustomed to being the young one in the crowd.

“All my life, it’s been like that in athletics,” Hayward said. “I’ve always played with older kids. My mom wanted to push me to get better.”

Hayward is one of 10 freshmen who have started for WSU this season. That hasn’t happened in Pullman since 2000. The Cougars went 4-7 that year – their third straight losing season – then ran off a school-record string of three straight 10-win seasons and bowl appearances.

Turpin shines

Toby Turpin’s intensity level hasn’t always satisfied Cougars coaches, but Turpin was one of the few bright spots in Saturday’s 40-14 loss to Notre Dame.

“Toby Turpin had a very good game, played maybe his best football game,” coach Paul Wulff said. “He was very active and made plays.”

Turpin, a junior defensive tackle, blocked a kick for the second straight week and recorded a career-high five tackles, including his first sack of the season.

Wulff pleased

Despite the lopsided defeat, Wulff said playing Notre Dame in San Antonio “was a really, really great experience because San Antonio made it really good … this was a phenomenal experience for our players. We were able to put ourselves into somewhat of a bowl atmosphere.”