WSU Spring Recaps, Day Five

• Cougfan has a full breakdown of practice yesterday (premium article here).  Among the things to take are Wulff’s enthusiasm for how well week one of spring ball has gone with an uptick in intensity, and some good showings from Brandon Rankin and Jeff Tuel.
• Grippi has a great write-up on yesterday’s action, but leads off with the progress shown thus far by none other than Travis Long.  Long was honorable mention all-conference last year, the only frosh d-lineman in the Pac-10 to get such recognition, and as you probably know, he’s put on 10 pounds of muscle since the end of last season.  Wulff is sure high on him, and for good reason:
  

  “He got stronger in the offseason, obviously, so that’s helped him,” WSU coach Paul Wulff said. “He’s a smart player. He figures things out quick.

  “He used his experience from last year and taken the gains he’s made physically the last four months and the combination has helped him take a little bit of a step.”

  Wulff tempers the praise by citing Long’s youth and his need to mature physically, but he’s also quick to point out the ceiling for the 6-foot-4, 256-pound Long is pretty high.

  “He’s nowhere near where he can be,” Wulff said. “And he’s still got a lot of work in front of him. The sky’s the limit for his potential.”
  

• They’re putting us on the TV!  Well, it’s CBS College Sports (do you even have that on your cable system?), but WSU announced yesterday that the SMU game on 9/18 will be on TV, 12:30 sharp.  We get to see that nice playing field down in Texas, Gerald J. Ford Field, live and in color:

  

  Great looking facility, really.  Some facts on Gerald J. Ford Field:
  Capacity:  32,000, with expansion to 45,000 possible with development in the south end zone.
  Opened:  September 2nd, 2000.
  Did you know:  Gerald J. Ford is NOT the ex-President of the United States!  That would be Gerald R. Ford.  Gerald with a “J” is actually a Texas billionaire who made his fortune buying and selling thrift banks.  He bankrolled much of the money for the stadium. 

  We will be looking hard at SMU in the next month or so, how they look post-spring ball, but at least a game the Cougs COULD steal on the road will be on TV….unlike last year’s SMU game, which was one they DID steal…..which is good.

• Wondering where the Cougs are rated for the upcoming draft?  It’s not a great outlook, but, Kenny Alfred is at least on the radar per Teddy Miller.  WSU did have their own version of “Pro Day” last month, but it doesn’t sound like anyone blew away the NFL scouts.  Among the measurables per NFL.com:

  Andy Mattingly (6-3 3/8, 253) ran 4.72 and 4.74 in the 40, had a 32-inch vertical leap, 9-7 broad jump, 4.36 short shuttle, 7.05 three-cone drill and 25 bench press reps (with 225 lbs).
  Kenny Alfred (6-2, 290) ran 5.06 and 5.08 in the 40, had a 31-inch vertical leap, 8-1 broad jump, 4.50 short shuttle, 7.80 three-cone drill and completed 21 bench press reps (with 225 lbs).

  Not terrible numbers, but certainly not great for either of the NFL hopefuls.  Mattingly at nearly 6-4 and now at 253 is nice, but the 40-time just isn’t there.  Now if he was around 4.6 in the 40, with his weight and height and strength, who knows.  But that 4.7+ time is going to hurt his chances in what is regarded as an extremely deep NFL draft class.  Meanwhile, Alfred has shown up in a few mock drafts here and there, and this one has him going to Houston in the 7th round.  But he’s mainly looking at 7th round or undrafted free agent-type grade.  We’ll see in a few weeks!

That’s about it for now.  Look for our own Longball’s take on spring ball soon, as he’ll be wandering by a few practices in the coming days.  Enjoy your Friday, and as always, GO COUGS!