Debate Time!

Huskies and Cougs can’t seem to agree about anything, with the lone exception of a unified hatred of Oregon. In the modern world of social media and message boards, any Coug who makes a point will quickly receive a (less accurate, more pompous) counterpoint from a Husky fan. Just joking, Husky fans. Your point might be accurate, but I stand by the other. A common debate I’ve seen play out online lately has concerned which program currently has the better corps of wide receivers. Let’s face it, this is the first time in a little while that we Cougs have had the opportunity to tout our talent, but those pesky Dogs won’t let us have our moment. I’m hear to settle the debate so let’s break this thing down scientifically…

Let’s start with WSU’s corps of pass-catchers. The main reason this argument even exists is because of the uber-talented Marquess Wilson who exploded on to the scene with a huge freshman season in which he caught 55 balls for 1006 yards (an eye-popping 18.3 YPC) and 6 touchdowns. It wasn’t just the numbers that has Coug fans excited, though. Wilson’s freakish ability to contort himself to have a chance at virtually every deep ball has built up expectations for full highlight reels for the next few years.

As Teller is to Penn, Jared Karstetter is the much quieter counterpart to Wilson. He may not make as many eye-popping plays, but he’s there when you need him. If Jeff Tuel is dropping back on third down and needs someone to make a play, you can bet his first option will be Karstetter. At 6’4″ and with Wesley-Snipes-defying-White-Men-Actually-can-jump-hops, the big man from Spokane has taken much of the uncertainty out of the corner fade in the end zone. Tuel throws it up, Karstetter pulls it down, strike up the band. Let’s hope that more time will be spent near the end zone this season. Karstetter finished 2010 with 62 catches for 658 yards and 7 touchdowns, so in the Karstetter-Wilson duo, there is bona fide returning production.

Beyond the two headliners, the argument becomes more about question marks then exclamation points, but there is reason for optimism. There are a couple returning contributors in Isiah Barton and Gino Simone who figure to ply their trade over the middle. Neither comes with huge career numbers (19 catches, 165 yards and 49 catches, 462 yards respectively), but both have shown flashes of being able to play a quiality role at this level. Simone in particular had a very productive freshman year when healthy as something of a security blanket for Jeff Tuel when he was just making a name for himself.

Where things really get intriguing with the Cougar receiving corps is with the unknowns. Mostly notably, Kristoff Williams was receiving Marquess Wilson-like, and sometimes higher, praise from the WSU coaches since his arrival on the Palouse. His would-be freshman year was derailed by turf toe, but he figures to be healthy in the fall. Throw in fellow newcomers Bobby Ratliff, Isiah Myers and Henry Eaddy and you’re looking at a corps that receivers coach Mike Levenseller has openly referred to as the deepest in his tenure.That’s not small thing from a coach who has been around for the best of times in Cougar football lore. Is it reasonable to assume that ll of the newcomers will plan out and be terrific players? No, it’s not, but at the very least there will be plenty of options. 

The Husky argument, from what I can tell, basically goes like this: “We’ve got Jermaine Kearse and a bunch of other guys who have never really done anything and some other guys that were super good in high school!” Now, that’s a little broad so let me look into it a little deeper.

The conversation obviously starts with Jermaine Kearse and it’s a good place to start because he’s legit. 63 catches, 1005 yards, 16.0 YPC, 12 TD’s. So yeah, this guys is good. Like, really good. Sadly, Nolan Washington can surely tell you how dangerous a deep threat Kearse is.

After him, though, the argument gets a little bit iffy. I’ve seen some references out there to Devin Aguilar as the 1B to Kearse’s 1A, but I don’t see it. Aguilar caught 28 balls for 352 yards and 2 TD’s last season, while missing a handful of games. He did catch 42 balls in 2009, but if you’re comparing straight across, let’s assume Wilson-Kearse is a push. There aren’t many metrics by which you can say that Aguilar is a better option than Karstetter.

After the top two, there is very little, if any, previous production that could be pointed to. The only other players who return that had more than 15 catches last season are running backs. James Johnson showed a lot of promise as a freshman, but has seemingly regressed (and dealt with injuries) and is no longer listed as a starter. The next name you’ll typically hear in this debate is Kevin Smith. He of the 1 career catch. The unproven Cody Bruns and Diandre Campbell round out the group. Then of course, you get to high school All-Americans Kasen Williams and tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins. Both of these young men figure to have great careers. I am in no way questioning their talent or saying they can’t end up better than anyone on the Cougs’ roster. What I am saying is that they have done literally nothing so far. When debating which receiving corps is better, it becomes a complete wash when you are discussing new guys who have yet to step on the field.

So there you have it. You all surely could have guessed where I was going with this, but when it comes to pass catchers, as long as the look is unbiased, the edge clearly goes to Wazzu. While we’re at it, I’ll take the quarterback throwing to them too.

Go Cougs.