Well Coug fans, signing day is a wrap, and what better way to finish it off then to join Coach Wulff, Bill Moos, Jeff Tuel, and a few hundred Coug fans to celebrate the new class of recruits and look to the future. Amieable and I made our way to Northern Quest Casino on Wednesday night for the Night With Cougar Football. Coach Wulff showed off the newest Cougs and Amie and I stuffed ourselves at the buffet. What did Wulff say about the new recruits? How about Bill Moos, what did he have to say? Read on for some notes and a few pictures as well…..
Bill Moos kicked things off by selling the crowd on his vision of a revamped Martin Stadium with Phase III renovations on the South side and a football facility in the West end zone. Right now he said Paul Wulff and his staff are able to recruit good players with the promise of immediate playing time, but as the program stockpiles upperclassmen we will need something else to sell these kids on becoming Cougs. First rate facilities are a major priority for Moos, who referred to himself as “Bill the Builder”. He said that the planning for the next phase of Martin Stadium renovations began within an hour of getting the Board of Regents approval and he anticipates having it all finished in time for the 2012 season. It’s an aggressive timeline, but hard to believe that he won’t do whatever it takes to get it done.
In addition to facilities, Moos said that soon they would be rolling out new looks for the Cougar sports teams that would be classic and consistent, utilizing the cougar head logo and REAL crimson. He also said that they would be marketing WSU like never before and to, well, get this… tune in to the Super Bowl to see what he means by it. Interesting!
After Moos whipped the crowd into a frenzy over his plans for building the facilities of the future, Paul Wulff took the stage to talk about the kids who will be using those facilities. He started off by offering his perspective on the star rating system and Internet recruiting services, basically saying they aren’t worth a whole lot and he and his staff really don’t pay attention to them at all. For example, did you know that 7 of the Pac-10’s 22 first-team all league performers from 2010 were not rated?? That means ZERO stars! And a majority of the first teamers had only 2 stars or less.
But then, as Coug fans, I would hope we all understood that. We pay homage to greats like Jason Gesser, Will Derting, Eric Coleman and countless other superstars who never made much of an impression on recruiting services!
After that Wulff got down to business with his thoughts and some highlights of the 2011 class. Some of the more interesting notes:
LB Daryl Paulo, one of the coveted Grant 4, is now weighing in at over 270 lbs and will find a home on the defensive line. He has linebacker mobility, with a huge body and it is clear the coaches are really high on him. I was told by one coach that despite the rankings he is the best of the Grant 4 and seems to be the one they really wanted all along.
Ian Knight and Lenard Williams are both very athletic defensive ends and Wulff expects that they will be able to enhance our pass rush immediately.
Henry Eaddy is a diminutive WR from Florida with blazing speed, and one of the few newcomers that Wulff singled out as likely to play right away. He is already enrolled and will participate in Spring practices. Wulff seems to expect him to step into a role as a return specialist right away.
Chester Sua is the most heralded member of this class and Wulff said he ended up with offers from every Pac-10 school. He is another player Wulff expects to play right away and as of now, they plan to use him at linebacker.
Wendell Taiese is a mammoth OT from Oakland who was one of the late surprises in this class. He has truly freakish size and strength and it is hard to understand how only WSU and ASU seemed to be in on his recruitment. In talking to one of the coaches it seems that they have been working on recruiting big Wendell for over a year and when they first approached him he was considered too much of an academic risk. As it turns out the young man has worked hard to turn his academics around and is expected to qualify. As a reward for sticking with him all the way, he has signed on to be a Coug and I, for one, cannot WAIT to see this guy in crimson.
Max Hersey, the LB from Tacoma may be destined for the defensive line as he continues to grow and add bulk.
Max Gama appears to be headed for a greyshirt, delaying enrollment until next January. It should be noted this does not seem related to grades, but rather just a way to stay within the scholarship limit for this class.
Brock Lutes, the DE from Newberg, OR is an outstanding athlete who could end up at TE.
Taylor Meighen, the C from Texas is one of a handful of players already enrolled and has had a bit of a run in with the police… the FASHION police, that is. He has frequently been spotted on his way to class in sweats and a cowboy hat! As Wulff said he thinks a lot of kids aren’t really sure with to make of it, but he’s pretty sure that Taylor doesn’t care. That is exactly the type of kid that the Cougs should be recruiting.
Wulff had comments on all the signees so far, but those are the ones that stood out to me.
After presenting the new players Wulff praised the current players, how hard they are working and stated emphatically that this team is going to return to a bowl this year, with even better things to come. And how hard are they working? Check out a typical workout these days in Pullman, at 5:45….in the morning:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yLtAgzWQnM&w=425&h=344]
Wulff also said that Conference Championships and a National Championship are what this program is going to strive for. For those of you who have been tired of excuses and impatient with low expectations… well those days are over. This team definitely expects to go bowling.
Afterwards Amieable and I made our way over to where some of the Cougar players were sitting for some photo opps:
Amieable and Logwone Mitz
Amieable with Nolan Washington and Jeff Tuel
Longball with Wade Jacobson
Don’t forget to look back at video on all the recruits, courtesy of Tommy’s post last night. And on Friday night, our Tommy and LucasCoug will be at the Seattle football dinner. Look for their recap this weekend!
All for now, and GO COUGS!
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