Dennis Patchin in the host chair this week, as Buddy Nameck is up in the great state of Alaska for the basketball tournament. While I like Buddy, it’s nice to have DP as the host for a change-up. He’s more than capable, and if you’ve ever heard any of the post-game WSU radio coverage you know what I mean. Lots of questions, right to the point, and good questions at that. So, here’s the recap. I hope you enjoy the last one of the year, almost as MUCH as I did!
One quick thing, before we get to it. What do you all think of these radio show recaps? We’ve done them for a few years now, back when Doba was around. I know many of you have given up on the team as it is, and clearly from comments, some aren’t exactly going to be running back to the team when things resume next year. So maybe some of you simply don’t care. But do you want to see this kind of post from us next year, that is, if we’re still here doing this? With the coverage of Wulff’s press conferences and the updated stories from Cougfan or writers like Howie Stalwick that are constantly flowing through the news feed, well, do you find this type of post informative in any way? And who knows, maybe next year they’ll actually stream the show, and there won’t be any reason for this type of post. But feel free to let us know, in comments or otherwise. I can take the criticism, and I/we are always open to suggestions. Anyway, here we go:
1) DP asked right away about Wulff’s thoughts on the Apple Cup in general. Wulff said “I love it, just as a fan I love it. I’m still the biggest WSU Cougar football fan out there, so I know what this game means to so many people.” Further, Wulff said that “we talk to the players, about how this game is an opportunity. It’s a game you will think about and talk about for the rest of your lives. People who played 50+ years ago still have memories of this game, and they will take them with them until the end of their lives. And it’s a special week that is obviously important to a lot of people. We still get messages from former players and coaches and we share them with the team. It’s great.”
2) DP asked about the motivation, and how do you get them pumped up yet keep their focus? Wulff said “We really try to simplify things for this game. Remind them of their keys, keep them focused on the game plan. Don’t spent too much time anyway in talking about everything else. They will get that from their friends and family as it is. Just continue to stay on track, stay the course, focus on the task at hand.” DP asked about what they allow the players to say to the media before the game, and if they discourage that type of thing? The Kavario Middleton quote about scoring at least 50 points was brought up for example. Wulff said “we tell them don’t say ANYTHING that they can put up on the wall. But, they are young men, and the media will talk to them more this week than any other time in the year. Young kids like that, they can slip up easily and something may come out of their mouths that they didn’t intend. But all you can do is remind them not to say anything.”
Moving on….
4) DP reminded Wulff that no Cougar team – ever – has won three straight Apple Cup games. Does he let that factor in at all with team? Does he talk about it? Wulff said “we definitely make them aware of it, but we don’t make it the key focus of the game. Every year is a new opportunity to leave your mark in the Apple Cup. But we really want them to understand the tradition and history of the rivalry, and of the program. Last year we had them watch the DVD of the history of the program, and had them watch some old Apple Cup highlights so they could be reminded of the history. I think about when I played in the late 80’s, and some of these kids weren’t even born. So a lot of them have very little knowledge of the history of the rivarly or the program in general.”
5) DP went back to the differences for Wulff, and asked what is it like as a player and a coach to be part of this game? How does it feel to win? How does it feel to lose? Wulff said it’s just “lots of fun to win, player or coach! A lot of people made fun of me after the dance last year, but that was just great joy. It was so much fun, with the way we won the game, that was just pure joy. And that moment you win, and the fans rushed the field, you realize you just made thousands of people very happy.” And the losing? “It STINKS, it’s not fun. But that’s what the rivalry is all about. You get the highest of high’s, the lowest of low’s in this series.” Wulff then went on to recount this experience as a redshirt frosh in 1986. “We had a down season, and UW came to Pullman and beat us, really badly. After the game, I was walking home, and a car of guys came really close to me and started yelling derogatory things at me, taunting me. They were husky fans, of course. But I will never forget that. That incident alone fueled my fire with this rivalry, and I understood the magnitude of this game. I swore that day that no matter what, I would never, ever take UW lightly, no matter the situation. And I STILL carry that incident with me, to this day.” How did it feel to win as a head coach? Wulff said “it’s great. But it felt the same as when you won it as a player, really. But again, the way we won it last year made it special. The kids never gave up, even when things went against us early.
They kept fighting and competing when it wasn’t going well. And as coaches, I felt we did a good job at the end by managing the clock, we utilized the time well late, and we had momentum going into overtime. I knew we could find a way to win it in OT if we could get it to that point, and we did.”
6) A caller asked an outstanding, open-ended question: “Coach, what areas would you say that you are ahead in terms of rebuilding the program? And what areas are you behind?” Wulff took a deep breath, and said “number one, I believe we are way ahead in recruiting. No doubt in my mind. We are doing a great job. Recruiting is far and away the NUMBER ONE most important thing to do as a college coach. You have to get the guys who you think can be special players in your system, in your program. Plays we fit what we are trying to do, and some who resemble some former WSU greats who once played here. Number two is our development. It is critical to what we are trying to do. But it is very difficult to develop young players early, in their first or second years. You can go back and look at how a player looks in their first or second year, and then how they look in years three, four and five, and often times there is no comparison. We need them to develop mentally, physically, even socially, and develop the work ethic and understand what it takes to be successful.” Where are you behind? “In the same sense, while we are developing, we also need to find a way to speed up that development. Some veterans in the program, guys who are upperclassmen next year, they are just getting to know and understand it. But I wish our strength and conditioning coach, who is one of the best in the country, could find a way to get kids from year’s 1-2 to year 4-5! But it takes knowledge of the system as well, and the growth and development that comes in time, not just physically but having those years of experience under your belt in the system is really important. Then, in years 3-4-5, with that experience they take another step forward.”
Further, “the day I accepted this job and they announced me as the next head coach, at the podium I said two things: 1) We need to change the culture at Washington State. And 2) we need to have patience. But all that said, the WORST IS NOW OVER. The hardest part of this process is now behind us. We really believe that. Next year we are going to have more depth, more speed, and we will be much more physical on both the offensive and defensive lines.”
7) A caller asked about Jeff Tuel’s injury vs. Arizona, and how that actually happened. Was it a matter of a young player trying to do too much? Wulff said “yes, that was part of it. We coach the quarterback that if there isn’t anything there, more times than not they need to throw it away. You can’t always create plays with your feet. And right now, Jeff isn’t developed enough yet, physically, to handle the physical pounding that you take from Pac-10 defensive linemen and linebackers. He tried to make a play, got caught from behind and hurt his knee.”
8) Other injuries, most of this you can probably read about elsewhere, like Grippi’s latest, but…..in the secondary, Chima Nwachukwu has practiced and should be back this week. Brandon Jones, even with his bad back, has an outside shot at playing this week. Wulff said initially they thought he might have broken his back vs. Oregon State (ouch!), but it turns out it could be part of a pre-existing injury, but it’s not broken. Moving on, Bernard Wolfgramm will be back, maybe not at full strength but he will be back. “We are hoping we can get about 20 snaps from Wolfgramm” this week. On the bad news front, Dan Spitz will miss the game due to a concussion. And on offense, both Johnny Forzani and BJ Guerra are “highly questionable” due to concussions they both suffered last week. “We are in wait-and-see mode there but they are both questionable.”
9) DP asked when, exactly, do players have to practice before the coaches would allow them to play? Wulff said “other than a very rare circumstance, we always want our players to practice on Wednesday, and no later than Thursday. You have to get out there and get the speed down again after you’ve been out a few days or weeks. The speed of the game is just so fast, that if you don’t practice and then try to play, it is easy to get rusty and out of position too often during a game. Then you become more of a liability than an asset to the team.”
10) Finally, DP asked about the rash of injuries that have hit the 2009 team. What exactly is the deal? Does he keep track of how many starts missed, things like that? Wulff said “I actually try to avoid all that stuff, that’s for Bill Stevens (the SID) to keep track of!” But then Wulff sighed and said “I’ve never, ever seen anything like it. Some people have asked me is it bad luck, or players trying to play too early, or just not being strong enough? My answer is YES, to all of the above. Some of it has been players being too young, unable to handle the physical play of the Pac-10. Some of it has been players not being strong enough or big enough to take the pounding. And honestly, some of it has just been plain bad luck. You think about what happened to Cory Mackay before the season started. Or what happened with James Montgomery, a true Pac-10 talent, lost for the season after just three games. Then you look at THREE broken legs in the secondary alone. The doctor told me that he’s never seen such a thing, and the most he’s ever seen is one broken leg for an entire season. We had three of them just in the secondary alone.”
So that’s it then. The last of the radio shows for this year. Truth be told, Wulff was talking a mile a minute tonight. I don’t know if he’s over-caffeinated or just hyped up beyond belief, or maybe Dennis Patchin brought it out in him, but he was rarin’ to go. Maybe most of all, as a former Coug player and now the head coach, he’s JACKED UP for this week. It’s the Apple Cup, after all, and he’s a Coug. Should we expect anything less from him?
All for now. Enjoy your humpday, maybe the last day of the week for many of you this holiday week, and of course, GO COUGS!
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