Sports News Segment with Michael Bumpus of Washington State University.

If it's happened to Michael Bumpus, it's been chronicled, by the main subject himself. His football life, and you know, homework, girls and cameras, anything, you know anything that I experience in my life, you know, I write down on paper. Which is what big-time college football programs wanted: for Bumpus to express his thoughts. And to do it on a letter of intent, starting with his name. One of the West Coast's biggest recruits landed in Pullman. Bumpus credits the Cougars for being real with him through the process; his peers back home felt he had lost touch with reality. But I thought I was crazy for turning down SC, you know, but uh. That's when you find out who your real friends are, you know, the ones who really cared about, you know, about me as a person, supported me through this decision, and uh you know even though they're a little bitter, they're still there, they still call me every day, after every game, after every practice. Bumpus' popularity as a Cougar has never been in question. Only five games into his college career, he's already getting his interviews interrupted by fans. Yeah, you know

[inaudible] make a play. [cheering] The coaches believe... It makes sense, though, when you choose WSU over everywhere else, you're going to get treated like a rock star around here, or a hip hop one. I've been writing lyrics since I was probably in fifth grade, just you know, listening to rap and all that and uh, you know just writing out life experience is really this, like outlet, you know. You have a bad day - just write down some lyrics about what happened, whatever, and uh, it's like a release other than football. And by the time he's done at Washington State, Michael Bumpus may have had a thing or two written about him. I'm Pat Domer for WSUCougars.com.