Good morning Coug Nation. Hope you all enjoyed one of the last weekends of the summer. Less than two weeks until kickoff, so you can tell that fall is closing in fast. And a great time of year, fall. Maybe it’s football, or the excitement that comes with another school year about to start. Or maybe it’s because up here in the northwest, we usually have some nice fall weather. Whatever the reason(s), it’s exciting as we roll towards September.
The news is a little light today, as the team had an afternoon practice with just helmets, t-shirts and shorts, working through some more game-type situations. Probably a good time to change it up a little bit, now that camp is winding down and school is about to begin. Two-a-days are done, and while they’ll be in full pads the majority of the time from here on out, it’s just one more week, then it’s game week. Then the usual routine will settle in for the players and coaches alike. Per Grippi, the offense had a good day, completing 62 straight passes at one point(!?!) in drills. Of course, that was just against “air”, as no defense was on the field. Still, sounds pretty good.
There was a news blurb about Alex Hoffman-Ellis from Cougfan. Hoffman-Ellis was manning the number-one spot at middle linebacker for most of fall camp, but was recently slowed down by an unknown foot issue. Turns out the results are in, per Cougfan, and it doesn’t sound like it’s anything serious, simply a combination of arthritis and irritation. He was spied jogging around Martin Stadium with no hesitation, and should be ready to go. Read on for more….
The news with Hoffman-Ellis brings us to middle linebacker. The thing is, maybe it’s been kind of lost or glossed over a bit, based on how poorly the defense played last year. But we are replacing a guy at MLB in Greg Trent, one of the all-time tacklers in school history, and the team leader in tackles (88) and tackles for loss (10.5) last year.
I know Trent wasn’t the fastest guy around, and his pass-coverage skills weren’t exactly top-notch. But the guy was always around the ball, never afraid to put his face up into someone’s chest or get in there and mix it up. And he was the clear emotional leader of the defense the last few seasons. Even when things went south in a hurry, he was still in there slugging away. And last year, boy, with such a thin, inexperienced set of defensive tackles in front of him, Trent was pretty much fighting for survival in his senior year. I’m sure ’08 was his worst nightmare in how he wanted to close out his career. So we salute Trent, and wish him all the best as he moves on down the road.
The buzz has been pretty good with Hoffman-Ellis. A JC transfer who was a redshirt last year, he has been atop the depth chart thus far. It sounds as though if he is healthy, it’s his job to lead the defense in the middle. But keep in mind that this will be his first BCS action after sitting out last year. And overall, he’s VERY green, to the extent that he only played one year of high school football, and one year of JC ball. You can bet that it will be some trial by fire out of the chute, as if we know anything about what Stanford’s going to try to do, it’s establish that run with Toby Gerhart and company, again and again and again. Obviously the success Hoffman-Ellis has will be determined in a large way by what happens in front of him, namely the defensive tackles. If they can do their job, which is to occupy space and hang in there against Stanford’s physical offensive line, then Hoffman-Ellis has a shot to show what he’s capable of. But if it’s pushover-city up front, ala 2008, then it could be a long, tough day on the Palouse.
What I wonder about are the backups behind Hoffman-Ellis, especially if that foot starts to act up. Mike Ledgerwood has moved around a little bit during camp at linebacker with Andy Mattingly missing some time, floating between strong-side linebacker and middle linebacker. Ledgerwood did play in 10 games last year as a true frosh, logging 14 tackles.
He’s also bulked up to 224 lbs, up from the 215 or so he played at in ’08. I think we could all feel relatively comfortable if Ledgerwood is in there in the middle. At least he’s played on this level.
But there’s also the insanely-strong Darren Markle, the true frosh from Meridian, Idaho. Markle’s a weight room legend already, with a 400+ pound bench, and a 605-lb squat! That’s MAN STRENGTH right there. Running into him in the middle would be no picnic whatsoever. And per some recent practice recaps, it sounds as though Markle has been playing extremely well with Hoffman-Ellis on the sidelines, to the point that it’s possible he could be the primary backup. But again, strong or not, he’s a true frosh. It doesn’t sound like there’s any way he’s going to redshirt, and that’s fine. But I’m not sure we want to see a true frosh as a starting middle linebacker unless there is no other choice?
So there we go. The middle linebacker spot, and some pretty big shoes to fill for ’09. What do you think?
Anyway, that’s about it for now. Hopefully we get a practice recap up soon for you. Enjoy your morning, and as always, GO COUGS!
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