By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Cole Madison has stepped right into the fray as a freshman at Washington State University.

The Burien resident and Kennedy Catholic High School graduate is the starting right tackle for the Cougars in his first season with the team, including in their opening game against Rutgers in Seattle this past Thursday.

The 41-38 loss at CenturyLink Field did not sit well with the 6-foot, 5-inch tall and 350-pound Madison.

"We were not playing to our full potential the entire game," he said. "We keep talking about it, but we need to play the fourth quarter and finish the game."

The Cougars from Pullman did fall behind by 14-3 and 21-10 scores in the second quarter, then came back to take as much as a 31-24 lead in the third quarter.

But the lead slipped away at the end of the fourth quarter, and a last minute drive by the Cougars was stopped short.

"The first part of the game we came out a little slow," said Madison. "The last drive we've got to go out and know we're going to win the game. Some people don't believe in themselves to do the job."

Madison played tight end at Kennedy Catholic and also loomed large on the Lancers' basketball team.

He has been switched to the right tackle position for college football.
He doubles as a lineman on the field goal unit at WSU.

Next up for the Cougars is a 7:30 p.m. visit to Nevada this coming Friday, when they will try to rectify their problems.

"You just got to see that the whole point of this is to win a game," Madison said. "We just need to finish."