Greeting Coug Nation. Normally this would be the too-long & drawn out Paul Wulff radio show recap, where coach Wulff addresses all things Coug in an informal, non-press-conference type setting. But this week was a little different. Instead of your usual coaches show, they kept coach Wulff for a couple of segments, then, well, they basically turned it into an info-mercial telethon type deal for the Martin Stadium renovation project. Assistant AD Johnson sat in with Bud Nameck, and they discussed the importance of getting Phase III done. Former players like Jack Thompson, Drew Bledsoe and Marcus Trufant called in to lend their support to the project, talk about how nice it would be to have the next phase done, etc. But that’s pretty much it.
Here’s a little of what Wulff did say…..
1) INJURIES – Probably most of this is already out there, but there is some potential for healing during this bye week. Wulff mentioned Kenny Alfred as being back from his leg laceration he suffered vs. ASU. He mentioned Tyson Pencer as questionable with an ankle injury, but they are hopeful on him as well. Finally, he rattled off Steven Ayers, BJ Guerra, Zack Williams and Bernard Wolfgramm as all guys with a real shot to be back vs. Cal in the next week-plus.
2) ASU’s DEFENSE – Wulff said it again, that this was “the toughest situation he’s been around” in terms of a defense dominating an offensive line. Wulff said part of it was the inexperience on WSU’s part, with three new offensive linemen who were trying to figure it out. But he also said that ASU was a huge reason why they struggled so much, and that their front seven is “physical, and probably the most physical front seven in the PAC-10, with the nation’s third-best rushing defense.” And if you were at the game and saw it with your own two eyes, you know that Wulff isn’t exaggerating!
But another problem that Wulff said played a part in the struggle was the combination of a young QB with young wide receivers. These guys are still very inexperienced, and they are going to have some moments where they just aren’t “crisp” in their execution, both in the young QB making his reads, as well as the young wide receivers running proper routes. So overall it was a combination of all those things that led to the problems on Saturday.
3) THE 3-3-5 DEFENSE? A caller mentioned that it seemed in the 2nd half, the team almost exclusively went with a 3-3-5 look, or at least just three down linemen the whole second half. The caller also mentioned that Travis Long wasn’t in there at all in the second half, after he had played OK in the first half. What was going on there? Wulff said that first of all, yes, we have done more 3-man fronts this year and dropped up to eight (or more?) into coverage at times this year. Wulff said that sometimes it’s based on tendencies that they saw on film of their opponent, and they try to predict what the other team is going to do based on down and distance. But he also said that we have gone more to the 3-man fronts basically so they can drop more guys into coverage and make it more difficult for the opposing QB’s to make plays in the passing game. Wulff brought up the fact that WSU leads the conference with 11 interceptions, so they feel like it is working out right now.
On Travis Long, Wulff said that Long actually has a tight back right now, and it acted up on him a bit in the second half. He also suffered a slight pull of an oblique muscle, so they wanted to be careful there. They are holding Long out of practices this week, as they don’t see the need to risk further aggrevation to the injury with the bye week.
4) A caller asked about the special teams last week, and how we had the fake punt go for a first down, but also had an illegal kick from Reid Forrest, and what the heck that was all about?? Wulff said that the first punt attempt in the first half, Forrest had it wide open in front of him, and made the right decision to keep the ball and run for the first down (if you saw the play, it really was WIDE OPEN!). But in the 2nd half, Forrest started to try to do the same thing. He had a lot of space in front of him, and thought he could make it. But then, he suddenly realized it was FOURTH AND TWENTY SIX, so, he just kicked it, but he was past the line of scrimmage when he did! Oh well. Reid Forrest is one of the best punters in the country, he’s the least of our problems right now!
5) Finally, a caller asked about playing players out of position this year, and if Wulff is forced to do that as much this year in order to plug holes. But Wulff said “not nearly as much this year as we did last year” in terms of moving bodies around, just to “put 11 guys on the field with an idea” like last year. But Wulff also restated that again, “we are making progress as a program, but the last thing you’ll see is wins” and that there are “a lot of good things happening behind the scenes”, stuff like that. But it’s tough “to win right now when you are playing a lot of first and second-year players, going up against third, fourth and even fifth-year players on the PAC-10 level.” Basically, the younger players “don’t quite yet have the strength and the knowledge”, so they are at a big disadvantage right now.
That was really it for Wulff’s part of the show. The rest was dedicated to Phase III, telethon-style. Among the facts they talked about:
Phase III would be great for two big reasons: 1) New fan amenities, premium seating and additional revenue opportunies, where the 2200 new seats would match the entire revenue generated from the rest of the stadium sales. These new revenue opportunities would generate revenue not just for the football program, but for the ENTIRE athletic department. And 2) recruiting football players and student athletes, where top-notch facilities are a must in competing against the rest of the PAC-10 schools.
80% of the luxury seats must be committed by the end of the year. If that happens, they can start construction in March, with completion by the 2011 season.
Right now, reduced construction costs plus the federal “Back America” building bonds that are available in 2010 make this the “chance of a lifetime” to get this done.
Among the celebrity callers:
Jack Thompson called in and talked about how great it would be to play in a facility like Martin Stadium would be after Phase III is done, calling it a “Nirvana” for a player. Phase III would be a major addition to the program in many ways.
Bill Moos, former Oregon AD and former Coug player, talked about the financial issues and the needs of the university, as well as the recruiting advantages Phase III would provide. Moos was in Eugene when Oregon did a lot of their renovations, and he saw first-hand how important that sort of thing is to recruiting and how the success off the field can trickle down to success on the field. His best quote was that “You will be left in the dust in recruiting if you don’t provide the facilities to the student athletes and allow them to fulfill their potential.”
Drew Bledsoe called in to say how nice a homefield advantage Martin Stadium really is, and that Phase III would simply “add to what is already a great homefield advantage.”
Marcus Trufant added that the best thing about WSU fans is that they might be small in numbers, but they can get “rowdy, crazy and loud, and it’s intimidating for other teams.” He talked about what a boost all that noise is at Qwest Field, and a crowd that is excited for you and pulling for you “makes you feel the love of the home fans, and you want to play even harder and better for them.”
That’s pretty much it. A different coaches show, but good to hear from the “celebrity” callers to talk a little bit about how Phase III would be a good thing. For more, go to martinstadium.org, or call 877-IMA-COUG. There is also an e-mail address, [email protected], where they will answer any questions you might have.
That’s it. GO COUGS!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
