- Grippi blows it up with a big read on the Coug D, as well as a practice recap from yesterday. And boy, what a sledgehammer reminder of how poor the defense was last year. 120th in total defense, 118th in scoring defense. Eeesh. Coach Ball emphasizes the idea of a stronger pass rush by cutting them loose on the defensive line. Add in more aggression from the secondary, and the belief is that it will equal pressure, sacks, and ultimately, takeaways. Just like the good old days from back around the turn of the century when, you know, the defense was pretty good (that would be 2001-2003?).
There is a LOT of optimism right now with what the young, aggressive defense has flashed this spring, and it’s not hard to see that there hope is on the horizon, and that the D will keep the team in a lot of games next year. Obviously if the offense can’t get the job done then it could be another frustrating year, as any defense will eventually wear out if they are on the field for 40 minutes of game time per week. But still, if the defense isn’t giving up long drive after long drive, well, who knows. Maybe things will get interesting into oh, I don’t know, the third quarter of a game next year? Hope springs eternal in April!
- The Evergreen continues their good coverage of spring ball, with this recap of Monday morning. The defense made more big plays, knocking down passes and getting after QB’s Jeff Tuel and Marshall Lobbestael. Some big names were missing from Monday’s practice, including Brandon Rankin and Travis Long, but coach Wulff is hoping for an even better practice today:
“We got some guys coming back tomorrow, and we’ve got to have a good full-contact day tomorrow,” Wulff said. “We’ve got to tackle and get back to playing football at full speed. We need to have a really good practice tomorrow, and these last two getting better at the end and finish strong. Today was a good step for this last week.”
- Cougfan has a recap from yesterday (premium article here), and again the theme was defense. But they also had a good read about some recruiting progress on some big-framed linemen from California in defensive tackle Nathan Falo, defensive end Stephan Nembot, and defensive tackle Cody Temple. The Cougs have offered all three of these guys, and but they are just a few of the many that already have WSU offers. Check out Nembot’s profile and look at the height – 6-8?? Sounds like a power forward more than a defensive end/offensive tackle.
The recruiting story is just beginning on Nembot though, and there sounds like there will be a lot of suitors coming around for his senior year. He may have his sights set on something else. Anyway, coach Wulff and the rest of the staff are absolutely getting after it in recruiting, and if you’ve been following things since their arrival in ’08, this is really no surprise. No matter what ever happens here with this coaching staff, I think we can all sleep easy knowing that they are out there pitching to recruits with everything they have, and that can only lead to good things down the line!
That’s it for now. Enjoy your Tuesday, and as always, GO COUGS!
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