Clover Park Graduate Pritchard Making Early Impression With Cougars

Washington State's football team opened spring practice Thursday with Clover Park High School graduate lining up with the first team at weakside linebacker, according to Cougfan.com.

Pritchard, a four-year starter at quarterback for the Warriors who graduated last year, could be suiting up in the fall as a redshirt freshman under new coach Mike Leach.

The Cougars are switching to a 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Mike Breske and must replace their entire starting linebacker corps from last season. Alex Hoffman-Ellis graduated, while fellow starters Sekope Kaufusi and C.J. Mizell were dismissed from the program for rules violations during the offseason.

That could leave an opening for the 6-foot-3, 201-pound Pritchard, who shined for the Warriors on the other side of the ball under center.

In his senior season with Clover Park, Pritchard led the South Puget Sound League 2A in total offense. He completed 123 of 233 passes for 1,620 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Aside from his play, here's another reason he could be a hit among Cougar fans: his uncle is legendary WSU quarterback Jack Thompson.