First, really quick on Brink – What would the conversation have been like had they 1) scored the TD when Bienemenn got them first-and-goal at the 1? 2) What if Bumpus had scored? 3) What if Derting sacked Moore on 3rd-and-forever, instead the bomb TD to Hass to give them the lead? 4) What if Hill didn’t get hurt in the 3rd quarter, well on his way to the most unstoppable performance at WR in the history of the school???
It would have been a completely different story, because WE WOULD HAVE WON the game going away. Instead, we blew it. The frustrating thing? We are close, VERY close, to being scary. When you rack up over 600 yards of total O, on the road, in a conference game, well, I don’t care who it’s against, that’s not easy to do with a sophomore QB! I know, the Beavs have given up huge amounts of yards and points this year, but it’s still very impressive.
I’ll say this too – sometimes we are too close to this team to evaluate things fairly, especially on the heels of an epic collapse. The emotion is too great, leading to emotional thoughts too extreme (“we’ll lose out!” for example). A few days go by, you think ahead, and suddenly it’s not so bad. I love Doba’s quote on Monday – “The sun came up. For a time Saturday night, I didn’t think it would.”
I also agree to an extent on playing someone else in the middle. Let’s see if Greg Trent is all he’s cracked up to be. Let’s see if any of the other young LB’s have a feel for the middle for next year and beyond. Trent was a superstar as a lightning-fast MLB in Texas, so he’s seen some serious talent. He’s a tackling machine and might be the perfect MLB in the Pass-10. I read a pretty harsh review of Derting a few weeks ago, from ESPN insider, saying among other things he has a ton to learn about coverage and is constantly out of position. This was after the Nevada game, and Derting fell from Mel Kiper’s “big board” of seniors. They also said his body type isn’t NFL-quality, and he lacks upper body strength. When you look at his upper body, you can see he’s not as big as you’d like for a MLB. He’s a load in the lower body, but he’s maybe 225 and that is just too under-sized to take on NFL guards and fullbacks!
Anyway, just hope they use OSU as a rallying cry instead of feeling sorry for themselves and springboard to 4-1 this week. To think they will collectively lay down for the season because they blew a game they know to a man they should have won going away, they’ll hopefully channel that anger towards next week….and learn you have to play 4 quarters, not 3 or 2, to beat a Pac-10 team.
UCLA is now on TV by the way. National TV, Fox has picked up the game, 3:30 start for what will be the biggest game since Oregon last year. As big as we thought OSU was, UCLA is just huge.
Good recruiting stuff. First, CF.com has a little “blog” of their own in the premium board. Here is their latest update on the regional recruiting strategy (yes, I’m posting premium stuff. I’ll take the chance every now and then that they won’t see it. Besides, I’m paying the money myself to read it, why can’t I regurgitate it on a personal blog? I could just e-mail it, and it would be the same thing:
Last year, Washington State made a significant foray into the Texas prep recruiting scene on the strength of linebackers coach Leon Burtnett’s connections to the Lone Star state. It’s hard to argue with the results, as three Texans are already having a significant impact as true freshmen — DeMaundray Woolridge, Greg Trent, Jason Stripling. It likely would have been four had James Bradley qualified.This year, WSU has made a concerted prep recruiting effort in Colorado. And another state, Arizona, is one where they’ve gotten better results so far.
In Arizona, the Cougs have the verbal from Marcus Richmond** and have a couple other known offers out there — to Kenton Thomas and Xavier Lucas. In Colorado, there are known offers out to Chris Carney, Ian Wolfe, Jamathan Ingram-Lyle. **By the way, Ohio State was down looking at Marcus Richmond the other day. They can’t talk to him, and he wasn’t even aware they were at Dobson when I spoke to him, but I talked to one of the coaches at Dobson. He said it was difficult to tell how serious Ohio State was right now. The Buckeyes have one verbal from a running back, rated the top RB in the nation by Scout. Richmond is absolutely tearing it up this year and its a certainty other schools will be taking a run at him before its all said and done. When I talked to Richmond a few days ago, he told me he’s solid on WSU.
Why: Coaches Robin Pflugrad and Robb Akey both have significant ties there, and Akey logged quite a few miles this spring to Colorado based on what a couple high school coaches have told meCalifornia and the Northwest will always be WSU’s bread and butter, and it will be a balancing act to spend the right amount of time and effort on locales outside the West Coast. But I’d say this is without question a positive move by the staff. If the Cougs can sign a few guys from states like Texas, Arizona, Colorado, so much the better, especially since California is as competitive as it has ever been, with Cal having lately become a substantial player in the recruiting wars and other factors. And the rewards are already being realized at WSU in the play of the Texas trio listed above, and figure to be even more substantial after the light bulb turns on down the road and the three’s on-field development in the WSU systems begins to match their physical abilities.
Speaking of Marcus Richmond – this guy is a STUD running back. We got an absolute gem, but let’s hope he sticks to his word. He was the 2nd verbal back in June, but things can change once the sharks start circling (Ohio State). Check out the vitals: 6-1, 205, 4.6 40. The speed isn’t all that impressive, but I’ve read some cats have seen him in Mesa have been blown away by how much a dominating presence he is. on 9/17 ran for 278 yards, school record, then this last Saturday went for 354 and 5 TD’s! He went over 1,000 yards in only 5 games. All accounts are he is the real deal. He picked the Cougs over UW and Oregon, with ASU coming on late.
Cougs have also offered a big-play, physical WR from Tempe, Xavier Lucas. 6-4, 195, loves the Cougs as his leader, but ASU is coming hard and he’s already said he favors them based on the local angle. He says also that WSU and UTEP are recruiting the hardest, and he had fond things to say about Price. He’s averaging 24.6 yards per catch despite being double-teamed all the time. He also plays safety with 13 tackles this year.
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