Next Man Up

Happy Saturday, Coug fans and an early Happy Fathers Day to all you Coug Dads out there! We’re winding down on graduation season and it’s a time for celebrating seniors everywhere. In the world of college football, outgoing Seniors leave a whole bunch of Nikes that need to be filled bythe underclassmen of last year. At Washington State the collection of outgoing seniors is relatively small, but there will be a need for some players to step up to fill the void left by the class of 2011. Today, I want to take a look at who Paul Wulff and his staff will be looking at to step up and into big time roles for the Cougs next season…

Outgoing: Myron Beck, Linebacker

Filling his shoes: Sekope Kaufusi

Keep an eye our for: Darryl Monroe

The Cougs are in pretty good shape here since, as we all know, Kaufusi stepped into primetime against Oregon last season and never looked back. It’ll be a little bit of a different look this year if he does come in as the starter at the SAM position. At times last year, he would line up as the MIK alongside Beck depending on the variable status of CJ Mizell. With either Mizell or Mike Ledgerwood figuring to be entrenched in the middle, Kaufusi looks to be the full-time replacement at Beck’s old position. What’s even more promising is that there appears to already be depth at the position with the early returns on Monroe being pretty positive. The fact that he has a full spring session (and full summer working out with the team) under his belt should prove invaluable to his assimilating very quickly. There is an intangible loss with Beck’s departure, but it appears that leadership has simply flipped over to the weak-side under the direction of Alex Hoffman-Ellis.

Outgoing: Daniel Blackledge, Wide Receiver

Filling his shoes: Isiah Barton

Keep an eye out for: Gino Simone

While a high level look at his career may not give fans the idea that Blackledge is a huge loss, his Apple Cup performance proved the type of talent he was and how dynamic the Cougar offense could be with a capable performer manning the “F” receiver spot. Marquess Wilson and Jared Karstetter command a fair amount of well deserved attention outside that will create opportunities for whoever else is out there with them. The post spring depth chart lists Barton as the starter at the position, but I’m of the belief that a healthy Gino Simone would be the ideal candidate to give opposing defenses headaches working into the gaps in the middle. Unfortunately “healthy Gino Simone” is a version of the player that was rarely seen last year, but another offseason of lifting will hopefully render him better prepared for the wear and tear.

Outgoing: Zack Williams, Center

Filling his shoes: Andrew Roxas

Keep an eye out for: Taylor Meighen

Williams drove the Cougar faithful insane with his rolling version of the shotgun snap, but he was a good enough athlete to be deemed an NFL athlete so his loss shouldn’t be taken lightly. Quick tangent: Not that Williams figures to start in Carolina, but if he does, he’ll be snapping to Cam Newton who may or may not have any ability to play quarterback any other way than in the shotgun. That’s kinda funny, right? Anyway, back to the matter at hand. This is another position where the loss doesn’t strike me as overly concerning because of the player stepping in. Roxas comes in with ample starting experience dating back to his Freshman season and seems to have fully recovered from a bout with viral hepatitis. There is some depth here as well but it is – stop me if you’ve heard this one – inexperienced. Taylor Meighen comes in from Junior College, but did participate in spring practice which as we learned with Wade Jacobsen and David Gonzales last season is huge. 

Kevin Kooyman/Casey Hamlett, Defensive Ends

Filling their shoes: Ian Knight

Keep an eye out for: Jordan Pu’u Robinson, Xavier Cooper and Justin Mann

By all acounts, Knight had a terrific spring, but we’ve heard this story before with JC transfers (see: Rankin, Brandon). There is a huge difference in playing JC ball orlooking good in practice and playing under the bright lights in the Pac 12. Behind Knight who is penciled in as the starter, it’s a bit of a crapshoot and the position figures to be a rotational situation for a while. Pu’u Robinson missed spring ball with injury which allowed the greyshirt Cooper the chance to impress. Mann, a UCLA transfer, seems to have the size and intensity to keep himself in the mix. 

Outgoing: Reid Forrest, Punter

Filling his shoes: Dan Wagner

Keep an eye out for: Alex Gauper

The outlook is a little less rosy so far when it comes to replacing Forrest at punter. All in all, the coaching staff seems reasonably confident that Wagner will be a competent replacement. The only basis I have for opinion is first-hand from the Spring Game and it’s not a good one. Maybe it was the nerves of playing at the hallowed ground that is Joe Albi Stadium in front of a huge crowd, but Wagner was spraying the ball everywhere (with the exception of long). Hopefully he can get it dialed in to at least not allow the punting game to be a liability. If not, Gauper figures to get a nice long look during fall camp.

Outgoing: Zach Enyeart, Long Snapper

Filling his shoes: Zach Koepp

Keep an eye out for: Travis Long? Alex Reitnouer?

Long snapper is a position that you hope you never have to hear about. Really, you hope you never have to think about it. With Enyeart holding down that position, Coug fans had that luxury. Koepp steps into the position and was touted high school snapper (to the extent that a high school snapper with one year of experience can be touted). Let’s just hope that he’s really good at the job and is a future star of his own long snapping viral video.  

Note: There are a handful of seniors I did not include because they had either already been replaced as a starter last season (Chima Nwachukwu) or were in a rotation with returning players (Bernard Wolfgramm, James Montgomery Chantz Staden).

With 80-something days left until the start of college football season, I’m already starting to get fired out. The preview magazines are out, NCAA 12 is looming. I cannot wait for the first Cougar Football Saturday of 2012. Writing a piece like today’s gets me even more fired up! I’d better relax and take a nap. Until next week…

Go Cougs.