First off, Howie Stalwick put together an article over at Cougfan regarding some of the redshirts from last year we heard so much about. You know, the Andre Barrington’s, Sekope Kaufusi’s, Nolan Washington’s and Anthony Carpenter’s of the WSU world? So far, so good with the kids. Yes, it’s a premium article, but rest assured, the buzz on these youngsters is very real. And to be honest, the emergence of the youngsters is a big reason so many are expecting the gap to at least start to close between WSU and the rest of the college football world. They are going to finally help provide game-ready depth that is so desperately needed on the roster, and this year will be that first year we really see a change in terms of strength and speed with decent reinforcements coming off the bench.
Another story from Stalwick, this one touching on where things are right now after a couple of scrimmages. While some things are trending towards the positive side, well, the news isn’t all good. One issue that is starting to pop up a bit are the struggles of the WR corps and the dreaded “dropsies”…..
As Wulff said himself:
“Good thing we’ve got seven new receivers coming in the fall,” coach Paul Wulff said. “They’re going to up the competition to a much higher level.”
Anyway, who knows why these guys are struggling with catching the ball. Maybe it’s the windy spring conditions that makes it difficult to be consistent? To be fair, it’s been a rough spring weather-wise in Eastern WA. Maybe the intensity level isn’t there since it’s “only” spring ball? Not that anyone would ever admit it, but, you know, after all we’re talking about PRACTICE man:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exOxUAntx8I&w=425&h=344]Hey now, ANY excuse to play the Iverson practice rap, hell YES, we’re all over it!
But seriously, maybe this is just a drop in concentration as a product of football in April? Who knows, but they have a lot of time to figure it out. We saw these guys play last year, we know that drops weren’t a huge issue with these guys, for the most part anyway. But with a group that lacks big-time burners, the last thing they need to have happen right now at the WR position is to have a bunch of balls hitting the turf.
Stalwick also hits on another concern, which is Nico Grasu’s consistently, uh, inconsistent performances this spring? Grasu was a whopping TWO FOR SEVEN in field goal tries during Saturday’s scrimmage. Two for seven, really?? EEEESSSHH. Some new kickers are hitting campus this fall, so, Nico, better up your game between now and August if you want to keep that job!
Finally, Butch didn’t win ESPN Radio’s Mascot contest (boo). Who did he lose out to? None other than Oklahoma State’s Pistol Pete, WSU’s first opponent in September.
Oh, man, it’s SO ON now (if it wasn’t already)!
All for now. Enjoy your Tuesday, and as always, GO COUGS!
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