A second course: Cougar profile on Kevin Sperry

PULLMAN — Here's the early read on Washington State's Kevin Sperry, whom the Cougars thought enough of to target as their top linebacker recruit last winter:

Sperry sacks the quarterback for a loss of 10 yards, nullified by a defensive-holding penalty. He worms his way around a receiver in the end zone and bats down a pass with his right hand.

He chases down a running back after a 6-yard gain. In the open field, he drops another back for a 3-yard loss.

That was against Idaho. Can he do that against Ohio State?

Nothing would please him more than to pull a vague approximation of a former Buckeyes linebacker he used to idolize.

"I've had (Andy) Katzenmoyer's jersey forever," Sperry said. "It's going to be a tremendous experience, a tremendous college-football experience."

It might even be as exhilarating as busing tables or supervising servers in a restaurant.

Not so long ago, that was Sperry's calling. He was going to be a part of the volatile restaurant world, weighing product and presentation and personalities of the hired help against the bottom-line reality that it's an unforgiving business.

"I like the team environment and the fast pace," Sperry said. "I don't see myself in an office."

Before that, though, he was a football player. He graduated from North Torrance (Calif.) High in 1997, and went trolling for something to do. At the time, he was convinced it wouldn't be football.

"After high school, I didn't feel I needed sports in my life," Sperry said. "I felt content to work and make money."

Cougars Q&A Q. Why does Coach Price give backup quarterback Matt Kegel playing time in every game? A. Kegel is slated to be the starter next year when Jason Gesser departs. Price wants Kegel ready and says Kegel is much improved in practices this year and can contribute. "Matt Kegel will help us win a game before this year is over," Price declared. Another factor is the high percentage of quarterback injuries in the Pac-10 every season. Price isn't the only coach who has vowed he won't be caught with an unprepared backup. Q. What are considered the most memorable road victories against a nonconference opponent in modern Cougars history? A. In 1977, the unheralded Cougars, who were 17-point underdogs, shocked Nebraska 19-10 in Lincoln. In 1988, the Cougars were slight underdogs at Tennessee under Dennis Erickson and hammered the Volunteers 52-24.

He says the game had ceased being fun, partly because of pressure he was feeling from outside. Well, make it inside.

"My family went to every game, they were my biggest fans," Sperry says. "(But) sometimes I felt I didn't have a family coming home. I'm talking about coming home and my father basically being another coach to me.

"It was just the pressures. I wanted to come home to a father, and I didn't get that."

Believing he was done with football, he got a job as a host at a Red Robin. Then he bused tables at a place in Redondo Beach. Soon he was a server at a P.F. Chang's, and he became a supervisor of servers and bus people. P.F. Chang's wanted him to help open new ventures in Atlanta and Los Angeles.

For a while it was great. Then a sports-minded restaurant manager encouraged him to return to school and think about giving football another chance.

"I don't know what it was," said the 6-foot-2, 230-pounder. "I felt at ease with myself. I felt the pressures were off to satisfy other people around me. I was doing it for myself."

Tomorrow's game Who: No. 10 Washington State at No. 6 Ohio State. Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. at Ohio Stadium. The line: Ohio St. by 8. TV: Ch. 4. Radio: KYCW (1090 AM) and KRKO (1380 AM). Records: Washington State 2-0, Ohio State 2-0.

He entered El Camino Junior College in 2000 but sat out the season with a knee-ligament tear. Most of the staff moved to L.A. Harbor College by last season and Sperry went with it.

Sperry had an excellent year, unencumbered by the oppression he felt in high school. No wonder. It had been five years since he played at North Torrance.

"We have a great relationship now," Sperry says of himself and his father. "I guess with me growing up thinking I knew everything, we weren't clicking."

A big-city guy, he was looking for a small-town way of life out of junior college. He opted for the smallest one available, in Pullman.

The season he sat out at El Camino could be a hidden bonus. He had his JC degree by midwinter and is thus a sophomore with three years to play three seasons at WSU. This despite the fact that in three months he'll be 24.

Against Idaho he was in on a lot of plays. "I just know how to get to the football," Sperry says.

He knew how to get back to it, too.

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com.