The All-Tim Team – Offense

Since the offseason has a tendency to only bring bad news (Louis Bland’s knee…ugh) and I don’t want my optimism for next year to peak too soon, I’m going to take some time to look back on the happier days of Cougar football. I’m working on compiling my All-Tim Team, a collection of great athletes who left an impression on me either by simply being great on the field or by making their mark on me personally for whatever reason. In many cases, it was both. You’ll notice that my list won’t often stretch deep into the annals of Cougar history. As I’ve mentioned before, I never lived in the great state of Washington until setting foot in Pullman. The Cougar coverage from the Armed Forces Network in Germany and in the DC area was extremely limited. Perhaps it’ll generate some cross-generational discussion. I’ll be listing multiple players at each position as we all know that a team is nothing without depth. Also, making decisions is really difficult. Without further ado, it’s time to unveil the All-Tim Team offense…

Tackles – Sam Lightbody, Rob Rainville, Ryan McShane, John Fullington, Calvin Armstrong

Lightbody was the obvious choice here because he’s huge and because his name is Lightbody. Get it? That’s funny. Also, he was a pretty good player, but let’s be honest, it’s the name thing. The bookends from the Fat Five had to make my team so Rainville and McShane are in. I chose Armstrong because he was perhaps the most gifted tackle that I remember watching. I also appreciated the dichotomy of his big toothy grin and his totall badassness on the field. Opposing ends probably didn’t figure they were in for a long day when they got a look at Calvin, but oh boy they were. I still believe Fullington to be the left tackle of the future so maybe optimism to impact my roster a little bit here. Also, if you’ve ever seen his hometown of Belfair, you’ll be amazed to find out that a potential big time performer is from the tiny little place. There’s also a personal touch for me here since I have to go through Belfair to get to my parents’ house. That’s right, my parents live in a suburb of Belfair.

Guards – Jason McEndoo, Mike Utley, Derek Roche, Bobby Byrd

Admittedly, Mike Utley’s Cougar years were before my time so I can’t say that I saw him play in a Cougar uniform, but I remember watching when I suffered his career-ending injury and have continued watching as he has made Cougs everywhere proud with how he’s handled it. He’s on my team. McEndoo is again representing the Fat Five contingent. Roche makes the squad by virtue of being a two time All-Conference selection while playing for the best Cougar teams of all time. Byrd is an interesting choice for me. I don’t remember him being thought of as particularly great, but I have distinct visions of him pulling from his guard spot on seek and destroy missions. This always looked cool to me. I must say I’m easily swayed.

Center – Tyler Hunt, Paul Wulff

Hunt was the lock of the century for this team. Not only was he really good at center, but he consistently cracked me up with the ridiculous giant towel that he wore when he played. Jason Gesser never had to worry about his hands being wet out there. Similar to Utley, I never saw Coach Wulff play in a Cougar uniform, but he is my coach. He makes my team. (That is of course until such time that he is no longer my coach. Hopefully that time can be pushed back for a while).

Running Backs – Jerome Harrison, Michael Black, Steve Broussard, Reuben Mayes

Harrison is quite simply the most electrifying player I’ve ever seen suit up for the Cougs. His 2005 season was nothing short of incredible. He finished his career on a streak of 16 consecutive 100 yard games, piled up over 1900 yards and did so in style with a personal highlight reel each and every week. Black makes the team for generating one of my favorite Keith Jackson quotes of all time. Talking to Bob Griese about the Rose Bowl, Jackson told his partner that had Black not been injured early in the game, “We woulda whooped ya”. (On a side note, I hope Keith, Bob-Rob and Jim Walden can work a three-man booth to call the All-Tim Team’s games). Broussard holds a special place in my heart as he’s on the first football card I ever owned that features a player in a WSU jersey on it. If that doesn’t get you on this team, nothing will. I never saw him play live, but I’ve seen enough Mayes highlights and heard enough Mayes stories to know that he’s on my team. 357 yards. Period.

Wide Receivers – Mike Bush, Brandon Gibson, Jerome Riley, Jason Hill, Scott Lunde, Chris Jackson, Flamingo Malone

I’ve had a strange fanatical obsession with Mike Bush for a decade now. As such, he has a lifetime pass on to my team. Fortunately, it’s justifiable from a football standpoint as well. If for whatever reason, this incredible team were to get stopped inside the 10 yard line, there is no better weapon than the fade to Bush. Gibson could make the team based on the 2007 Apple Cup alone, but his overall body of work makes him a lock. It’s a shame that a player of his ability just missed out on the 10 win seasons, but I enjoyed watching him nonetheless. He was my favorite player to watch in the open field. Clyde Drexler may have the nickname covered, but Brandon Gibson? That dude could glide. Riley always seems underrated to me, but nobody could catch the deep ball like him. He made Gesser look real good on a lot of days. Hill is on the team not only for his work catching passes, but remember what a demon he was on special teams as a freshman? This team would kick off a lot and somebody’s gonna have to tackle. Lunde’s performance against Oregon State in 2003 was as awesome as it was bizarre to watch. Kegel to Lunde over the middle, Kegel to Lunde over the middle, yet it just couldn’t be stopped. I’ll always remember it and always appreciate it. 1997 Apple Cup, Chris Jackson. Sweet. Regarding, Flamingo Malone, just kidding.

Quarterbacks – Jack Thompson, Timm Rosenbach, Mark Rypien, Drew Bledsoe, Ryan Leaf, Jason Gesser, Matt Kegel, Alex Brink, Jeff Tuel

OK now I’m just showing off. Nobody on this list requires any explanation with the exception of Kegel I suppose. He makes my team because he almost got me punched in the face once. In advance of the 2003 season, so confident was I that Kegel would keep things rolling that I was adamantly explaining to a Husky fan that the notion that Cougar football was done was stupid. Said Husky fan told a buddy of mine to get me in check and thankfully cooler heads prevailed. As we all know now, I was right.

So there you have it. I’m sure I’ll hear plenty about those that I left off the list, but this is the team I’d select as my personal all-Cougar football team offense. I’ll come back next week with a look at the D. Until then…

Go Cougs.