Former Wilson High and Seahawks CB Marcus Trufant to be inducted into WSU Hall of Fame

Former Washington State cornerback Marcus Trufant will be recognized this weekend as among the best to compete for the Cougars.

Trufant, a Wilson High graduate, will be among 25 inductees into WSU’s athletic Hall of Fame this weekend, bringing the membership to 199.

Trufant was the No. 11 overall pick by the Seattle Seahawks in 2003 and played for Seattle until 2012.

Other former Seahawks from WSU to be inducted are running back Steve Broussard, defensive tackle Keith Millard and center Geoff Reece.

Other former football players inducted this weekend are Allan Kennedy, Jerome Harrison, Lamont Thompson, Wayne Foster and Pat Beach.

Falk honored

WSU quarterback Luke Falk has started only five games in his burgeoning career, but he has already picked up two Pac-12 offensive player of the week awards.

Falk won the honor after he led a game-winning drive in the last minute Saturday to beat Rutgers, 37-34, on the road.

Falk was also Pac-12 offensive player of the week last season when he led the Cougars to victory at Oregon State in his first start.

Against a depleted Scarlet Knights secondary, Falk passed for 478 yards and four touchdowns.

While he started the season slow, struggling to maintain coach Mike Leach’s preferred tempo on offense, he was much improved against Rutgers, completing his first 13 passes and showing less reluctance to throw intermediate and deep passes.

And he led a 10-play, 90-yard drive to retake the lead after Janarion Grant’s punt return for a touchdown put Rutgers in front.

“I thought the biggest thing is he was calm and composed and held the huddle together with his presence and expected to move the ball and win,” Leach said during WSU’s weekly Monday press conference. “I thought his demeanor was probably the strongest thing that he brought, which is impressive because that’s the most difficult thing for most people in those situations.”

Falk benefitted from a solid performance by WSU’s offensive line.

While Leach said that he would have liked the offensive linemen to do a better job run blocking beyond the point of attack, he said he was pleased with the pass protection.

Leach’s quarterback agreed.

“I thought the offensive line played absolutely phenomenal,” Falk said. “I need to go buy those guys a steak dinner or something right now.

“They don’t get nearly the credit they deserve. On that last drive, there was only one play where I got touched and another sack was on me; I had a lot of time and they made it possible.”

But the offensive line couldn’t protect Falk when he left the pocket, as he did during a 13-yard scramble to pick up a first down.

On that play, Falk did not slide. Instead, he took a shot similar to the one that knocked him out of the game during a similar situation against Portland State, when he scrambled on fourth down and moved the sticks, but took a hit doing so.

Falk said after Saturday’s win that he doesn’t avoid contact in those situations in part to show his teammates that he, too, is willing to put his body on the line for a win.

Leach said Falk doesn’t need to do so in order to prove himself a leader for the Cougars.

“I think that’s all pretty well established because they know he works harder than they do,” Leach said.

Jacob Thorpe of The Spokesman-Review contributed to this report.

This story was originally published September 14, 2015 at 9:05 PM with the headline "Former Wilson High and Seahawks CB Marcus Trufant to be inducted into WSU Hall of Fame."