Good morning and Happy Friday Cougs! In case you missed it, the Cougs’ 2012 verbal commitment list has had some healthy growth in the last week, starting with a big time – albeit potentially soft – commitment from defensive lineman Maurice Bennett out of Mississippi (yes, Mississippi!), on to Cali wide receiver Travis Gardner, the culminating with…with twins!! Welcome aboard, Rashad and Vershad Jackson. Quick aside for an extremely obscure movie reference, but for some reason I’m reminded of the twins from the sneaky hilarious Richard Pryor flick “Moving“. May the Jacksons’ athletic feats match those of those fictional characters’. Aaaaaanyhew, the sudden influx of commitments got me thinking about a few things specific to the state of Cougar recruiting, so click on that “Read More” button and let’s go!
The first thing that I noticed is that the addition of Todd Howard to the staff is seemingly paying immediate dividends. According to the always excellent Cougfan commitment stories, Howard played a significant role in the commitments of Bennett and the Jacksons. Could this mean another pipeline to Texas and other areas of the South with Howard networking there? That remains to be seen, but it’s clear that the WSU recruiting trails is bigger than ever. This staff is tireless and is casting a pretty huge net. Coach Howard is already fitting right in. If he can coach ’em up the way he can recruit, the D-Line is in good hands.
Secondly, it appears that the ability (or lack thereof) of a possible lame duck staff to get kids to verbal may have been overstated slightly. At this time last season, WSU had 11 verbal commitments. As of now the number stands at 11. Last year’s figure also included the huge 4-in-one-week Florida commitments so that may have even skewed a little high. Whatever Wulff and the boys are selling about their future is being bought by recruits. I hope that this continues right to the point where Coach Wulff receives an extension after this season. I know there is frustration out there about the consistent mentioning of the hot seat, but it’s a significant issue and it’s not going anywhere. I’m always a fan of addressing the elephant in the room and the future of our coaching staff is our elephant. It shouldn’t cloud every recruiting discussion, but in my defense, I did say the recent commitments got me thinking. So there.
Last but not least, the 10 commitments so far, while each exciting to varying degrees, have been met with skepticism by Cougar Nation and the rallying cry of message board types seems to be, “Where’s the beef?”. Yes, there are no offensive linemen in the class and yes, as Lucas pointed out in terrific detail, things get a little iffy on the Cougar O-Line at this season, but to those who want to knock the class so far because it lacks offensive lineman I have some counters. For one, there are no offensive linemen….yet. There are likely somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 to 10 spots left in this class. Surely some of those will be going to big boys on the line. Furthermore, it’s been frequently stated that the 2012 class is incredibly deep with o-line talent, especially out west. There are still plenty of prospects on the radar and it would be naive to think that Wulff and the boys aren’t trying like hell to get them. Further furthermore, let’s not forget where we’re coming from. While it seems we can all agree that our beloved Cougs are in for brighter days, the corner hasn’t been completely turned. We’re still working our way around the bend and still in a position of needing loads of athletes at every position. Just because the offensive line seems to be the most glaring need does not diminish the needs at other positions and it certainly doesn’t diminish the quality of the kids who commit. Let’s be happy for those who have committed already and be eager for more. Trust the process, folks.
Everyone have a great weekend and as always, Go Cougs.
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