Tough night for future Coug QB Connor Halliday. His numbers were pretty good, matching Jake Heaps yard-for-yard (254 from each QB). But Heaps would throw four TD’s, all without an interception. While Halliday threw three TD’s of his own, he did have two INT’s. Skyline simply had too much for the Saxons, and pulled away for a 45-21 win. But you can’t help but be impressed with Halliday based on what we saw last night. Strong arm, and as Jason Gesser pointed out in the pregame broadcast, outstanding footwork for a kid his size (6-5). I know Halliday isn’t rated nearly as high as Heaps, heck, Heaps is the #1 rated QB on Scout.com, certainly one of the most coveted recruits in the history of Washington. But Halliday was impressive. We’ll have some video of Halliday posted later today or tomorrow for your viewing pleasure (and no, it won’t be a homebrew music video). I think you might like what you see.
As Cougfan points out, Halliday had an amazing senior year. Over 4,000 yards passing (4177) with 43 TD’s and 13 INT’s? Good stuff.
That said, on Heaps, NOW I get it. He does sort of look like Drew Brees in terms of stature, and he’s pretty accurate. But that deep ball, WOW, it’s a pretty thing. He threw a few of those lobs to Kasen Williams, the all-universe junior WR, and it was something else. He’s got to be one of the greatest to ever play in the state, now three straight titles and a 40-2 record as a QB. That kid is going to be amazing in a west coast/BYU passing offense!
Combined with the way they played in the 2nd half vs. Gonzaga, even my untrained basketball eye can see that this young team is going to struggle with serious pressure. Klay looked flummoxed, to say the least, early on, with seven first-half turnovers and overall a 15-point performance that wasn’t nearly enough. Maybe this is a good experience for him, in the end?
That said, Chad Ford of ESPN Insider really likes Klay, labeling him “Stephen Curry, version 2.” But maybe we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves here. Maybe these last two games will quiet some of the worries about him jumping at the NBA after THIS season? Not that I know anything, but, Sutra has been telling me how much he needs to work on his handle, but he also seems to lack a little explosiveness in his first step or two. You can get away with that against the Onalaska Seawolves of the world, but it’s a much different deal when facing your standard BCS-level competition!
Moving on…..
So, why is it these guys keep getting injured? It’s a brutal sport, with huge, strong, fast guys crushing each other at full speed. Injuries happen, pretty much everywhere. And I know WSU has traditionally been thin, to say the least. Depth has never been our friend. But it’s now two years running where injuries haven’t just weakened this team, it’s absolutely DESTORYED any hope they had to compete at a level that I cannot recall at WSU. Why is this? I guess the prevailing theory is that it has been a lethal combination of young bodies that are forced onto center stage, without the proper time spent in building up their frames with the right kind of weight. And, it’s been upperclassmen who didn’t prepare or work as hard as they should under the prior staff. So while they are older and bigger than their younger counterparts, they still weren’t exactly prepared to take on some of the monsters of the Pac-10.
One thing that Wulff pointed out in his radio show a few weeks ago, in talking about Oregon State with their slow starts and strong finishes, is that the Beavs take it somewhat light in the contact/hitting department during August. The idea is that the players only have so much in them on a yearly basis, so why kill ’em – and each other – in the August heat? Why not throttle back a bit and save something for the season? Sure, they seem to struggle in the first month of what seems like a tradition now in Corvallis, but, how can anyone argue with the way they finish? Oregon State went from conference doormat to the third-winningest program in the Pac-10 in the 2K decade. The last two seasons have seen them playing for the conference title in the Civil War. This isn’t a one, two, or three-year fluke. That’s year in and year out being an upper-echelon program in the conference, so, I don’t know, maybe they are on to something?
Albert Einstein had the famous quote when in comes to insanity – “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Two years into the Wulff era, and this program has been decimated by injuries. Maybe that is about to change, since so many key players are growing up and in this strength program, they should be able to handle the Pac-10 poundings they take every Saturday. That said, not that it’s time to break out flag football in place of full contact, but maybe it’s time to really look at easing up a bit in fall camp?
One other important item from Grippi’s piece is the ongoing speculation that there will be some staff changes:
Improving the staff is also on Wulff’s mind.
“Right now we’re just still evaluating everything over the next few weeks,” he said of any possible changes. “If there is ever a change (to the staff), it will be made for the betterment of Cougar football. Whether its players or coaches, we will do what’s best for the program.”
Read what you will into that, but it sure sounds like something is going to happen. Maybe it will be a reshuffling, with some duties passed to different coaches. Maybe a coach or two will be shown the door, and some new blood brought in to revitalize the program. But one thing seems clear, in this article and elsewhere – something is going to change, and we’ll find out soon enough.
Finally, Jake Locker…..enough already. A strong showing in a 42-10 crushing of Cal, ending the year on a seriously high note. You have taken a gigantic step forward this year, you are no worse than the #7 pick in roughly EIGHT mock drafts on the internet right now. You have nothing left to prove. With the NFL labor agreement battle brewing with a possible strike OR a massive overhaul in the NFL’s rookie pay scale, this is your last chance to go pro and get the mega-millions, guaranteed. Who cares if you just carry a clipboard for a year or two, or if you aren’t 100% ready to start an NFL game next fall? TAKE THE GUARANTEED MONEY while you still can! Ask Mark Sanchez and how his bank account looks today vs. if he had come back to USC this season. Or ask Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford how that shoulder feels right now, all the while without the $30 million in guaranteed money that he left on the table last year by staying in. GO PRO. Please??
That’s it for now. Enjoy your Sunday, and as always, GO COUGS!
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