Paul Wulff Radio Show Recap – Week Eight

Some good stuff as usual for this week, so we’ll jump right in:

• Wulff said they have practiced well so far this week. Still working very hard, even with everything going on.
• Bob-Rob asked him immediately about what he’s seen from the USC – Oregon State tape and anything they can glean from that one. Wulff thought Oregon State did a great job at the line of scrimmage, and they ran the ball just so well and could control the clock. He also said Oregon State really ups their game at home, and they have one of the best home field advantages around. But Wulff also said that was obviously just one game, and USC has regrouped quite well with blowout wins over Oregon and ASU, two of the better teams in the conference. Bottom line is USC is a great challenge for anyone they play! Bob-Rob did throw in “yeah, but they hate coming to Pullman” and Wulff said that’s true, so hopefully we can make them even more uncomfortable.
• They touched more on USC. Wulff said that they have an amazing touch throughout the country in terms of recruiting. Bob-Rob said back in the old days, kids all over grew up wanting to play for Notre Dame on a national level, and now USC has become that glamour school. Wulff agreed and mentioned players like Cushing, the linebacker from New Jersey. There are other examples like Mike Williams from Florida and Dwayne Jarrett from New Jersey.
• One interesting thing Wulff threw in there about USC, however, is that he said they are doing quite well recruiting some kids, right now, who are also interested in USC. He said that they are getting a very good reception from families in the LA area who are interested in having their sons get out of LA instead of stay home. Not that there is a flood-gate situation where athletes headed for USC will suddenly reverse course and head to Pullman(!), but, he said their message in recruiting has been very well received thus far. There will be some recruits in for a visit this coming weekend who we are recruiting who also happen to have USC on their list, but so far so good.
• A caller asked Wulff who his biggest influences are from his background, in regards to offense, defense and overall philosophy for his program (this was one of the best questions I’ve heard asked, and Wulff gave a very detailed answer). The first name Wulff mentioned was Dennis Erickson. He said he learned so much from Erickson in regards to offensive x’s and o’s, about the one back/spread the field concept. Also how aggressive Erickson is on offense, to go along with the scheme, and how unpredictable that type of offense can be. He also said that their biggest goal, however, is to be balanced offensively, even in a spread scheme. They want one of the mainstays of the program to be the ability to run the football, week in and week out. It’s the same thing defensively, in that they want to be aggressive and physical on defense and commit to stopping the run. Again, another mainstay, stopping the run on defense and being as aggressive as they can.
• Wulff brought up Dick Zornes, from EWU. Not so much his schemes, but his entire philosophy. He said Zornes was the most organized coach he has ever seen in 15 years of coaching. And Zornes always preached fundamentals and taught them constantly to his players. Wulff also mentioned learning a little from Mike Price and even Joe Tiller when he was at WSU, but didn’t get real specific with them.

  

• One interesting name he brought up? Pete Carroll. He said when he played with the Jets for a short time, Carroll was the defensive coordinator I believe? Anyway, he said he learned some good things from Carroll, just being around him.
• Bob-Rob asked him is there one that you emulate more than the others, and Wulff said no, not really. He said that it’s a process where you are around different coaches and styles, and you learn what you can. But you still have your own beliefs and ideals, and you take things with you that will work. But Wulff did go on to say this program will be all about fundamentals, and no matter what, going forward we will be sound in all phases of the game. That is his ultimate goal.
• Finally, Wulff touched on why he is a coach. He said he never thought he would ever be a coach, but once he was around Dennis Erickson, he say how hard that staff worked but they also had fun with it. That Erickson experience really rubbed off on Wulff. But he loves the interaction with the kids more than anything else! Teaching them, talking to them, and the excitement one gets when all their practice and hard work pays off. He said it’s the best feeling to see a kid just light up and excel when they execute what you have taught them. He also likes being involved in their personal lives, helping them out wherever he can to help guide them through some tough times. The best thing is, that like a lot of coaches, he still gets a lot of calls all the time from his former players. Players who have now grown up to become doctors or whatever, yet still give him a call to talk. And also jokingly said that they all tell him how much they appreciate him NOW, but back in the day? That was another story. But the bottom line is the impact he can have with young kids, it’s the number one reason he stuck with coaching for all those lean years at EWU. One can think back to the stories of when he first started at EWU, so anxious to be a coach that he worked for free his first year, living in a trailer, well, you can tell that passion is the real thing.
• Moving on, they touched on the QB situation. Lopina will start, and has healed quite well from his injury. Wulff then went into the injuries to the QB’s, and how unfortunate it has been for them, but also many teams around the country have suffered the same type of deal (Look at UCLA’s QB situation, or Oregon, or UW with Locker). But closer to home, Wulff made it clear that the injuries to the QB’s have been extremely difficult for the offense to deal with. They are big on rhythm and timing with this offense, and it takes all the reps you can get to improve, not only as the QB itself but also the rest of the offense. They just haven’t had that chance. Wulff went on to say that the injury situation, from top to bottom, is the absolute worst he has ever seen in his 15 years of coaching. Nothing else has come close to what has happened this year. Wulff also touched on the entire QB situation this year, even without injuries. People have to remember that they are replacing basically a four-year starter in Brink, and that’s a big issue. Brink took almost all those reps with the one’s for all those years, obviously in games but also all those practices, and that held back the growth for someone like Gary Rogers. So everything has just kind of combined for the “perfect storm” of QB issues this year.
• Bob-Rob asked him about the offense in general, in that with so many injuries, have they considered scaling things back even more? Wulff said that in hindsight, they wish they would have done a little more to protect the QB’s early on, and he especially said Marshall. But he said that they are trying to implement this new offense, and they only way it will click is if the offense is run in game situations. You can’t practice one thing, then do another in a game as it wouldn’t work. But even in these tough times, Wulff believes they will gain from the experience in the big picture. He said they COULD change the offense, reel everything in and just run the ball and eat clock, but they wouldn’t learn enough and it would stunt their growth overall.

  

• Another week, another Louis Bland comment (shown above getting mobbed after scoring a TD last weekend). A caller said Jim Walden has really been praising Bland during broadcasts, saying how impressed he is with what he has seen from Bland thus far. Wulff said that he’s just a fantastic kid, a leader and a winner with great intangibles and maturity well beyond his years. Wulff said he is already saying he wants to be a captain and has talked to the coaches about it (wow). That’s impressive for a true frosh. Bob-Rob asked how did we get Bland? Wulff said that Cal was recruiting him, but had him on the back-burner due to his size (he’s barely 6 feet and 200 lbs). So by the time signing day came, Cal didn’t offer a full ride, and a scholarship came available for WSU. Wulff offered and Bland signed on signing day, and Wulff called it “a moment where we KNEW we had to have this kid in our program. Luckily it all worked out.” Wulff also mentioned some of the other leadership from this recruiting class, like Tyree Toomer, Jared Karstetter, Mike Ledgerwood. All kids that are playing, all are tough, hard-nosed kids who are competitive, passionate and will have a positive influence on others.
• A caller asked what the heck is going on with the left tackle situation?? Wulff said it’s been tough, no question. First it was going to be Vaughn Lesuma, but he was hurt to start the year. They moved Steven Ayers out there from guard, but then he got hurt. They tried to put Joe Eppele out there, but he is still too fresh off of knee surgery and wasn’t really ready to come back. It was too much, too soon for him. But now, Lesuma has been moved inside, to guard, so Will Hunter, the walk-on frosh, has been moved to left tackle. In that same part of the answer, Wulff went into the play where Marshall got hurt. He said that there were a few factors, one of which is that Marshall was probably holding the ball a little too long the whole game, and did so on that play. But also the crowd noise was a factor, and Hunter simply didn’t get off the line quick enough at the snap, while the OSU d-end timed it perfectly.
• Bob-Rob did ask about the general strategy for USC this week. While Wulff wouldn’t fully divulge the game plan, he did say that they will adjust some things this week. Part of their strategy could in fact be to try and shorten the game, take care of the ball, use the clock and play sound defense (sort of like the Dick Bennett approach?). Wulff said that when they do the right things and execute, they CAN play well. He pointed out they won the second quarter vs. OSU, 14-3, and did so by playing sound defense, getting takeaways, etc.
• The defense was brought up. Wulff said that yes, the final scores have been disturbing to say the least, but he thought the defense has been OK in some stretches. The UCLA game they hung in there, but the offense didn’t give them any help, and all the 3-and-outs and turnovers really wear out the defense. But that UCLA game, at least in stretches, showed that if you can do well in the field position battle and not give the ball away on offense, they can hang in there. He said overall, however, he’s never seen his defense put in such bad situations. The deck has been stacked against them, time and again. And, Wulff said TURNOVERS MEAN EVERYTHING to coaching staffs. Turnovers change the complexion of a game, completely. If you turn the ball over the way we have this year, you really have no chance to win.
• A caller asked about next year and what fans can expect. Wulff didn’t hesitate to say that, without question, they WILL be considerably better next year. He quickly listed some reasons as to why: 1) With another year in the program, eating right and lifting weights, the team as a whole will be bigger and stronger, more equipped to compete in the Pac-10. 2) With another year in the system, players will have more experience in the offensive and defensive schemes. You have to remember that still, everything is brand new to these guys, and they are still learning every week. All these injuries have really stunted their growth as a football team. But a whole year in the systems, and they expect real progress. 3) There are several players they are redshirting, right now, that Wulff fully believes will help immediately next year. 4) Finally, they expect to be healthier next year! After this year, that goes without saying, but Wulff mentioned that they are doing things now as a team that will help players deal with injuries better than in the past, and they don’t expect to go through something like this again. But bottom line, Wulff was very encouraged when talking and thinking about next year, and while they will still be young, they will be better. IT WILL COME!
• To wrap it up, a caller asked about recruiting bigger WR’s. Wulff said sure, they’d like the players to have a big presence, but they are just looking for playmakers at the skill positions, period. Size isn’t as big of an issue compared to pure ability. On that theme, Wulff was asked about the current recruiting priorities. Once again, for like the fourth time this year, Wulff said defensive line is by far the top priority. He said ideally they would like to bring in up to six defensive linemen in this class, but it probably won’t be that many (there are three right now who have committed, although Geoff Meinken is officially a “soft verbal” right now – and no, Wulff didn’t mention any recruits by name). Bob-Rob asked about hitting the JC ranks for immediate help, and Wulff said they might take a few more than they normally would, but maybe just between two to four, tops.

That’s a wrap on the radio show. Lots of stuff to digest. Interestingly enough, JT Levenseller’s name never came up. The only QB talk was on Kevin Lopina. However, a check of this week’s release shows JT as the number one backup to Lopina. Not a surprise given the media speculation we’ve seen so far, but if Lopina goes down, it sure looks like JT will get the call.

Enjoy your Wednesday, and as always, GO COUGS!