Recruits for the weekend – BIG time

First, Rooster, you are right. Your reasonings make perfect sense as to why we’ll lose. If I could change picks right now, I would, but I don’t know, something tells me that even if we DO lose, it will be a close one. I’m still going to stand by my gut though, hey, you gotta believe, right?

Let me say this, if we lose by 1 point and we show improvement in all areas, including QB, are you more encouraged by that? Or are you more discouraged by letting another chance slip away and falling to 3-3? I know I’ll be sick if they let another one get away, yet I’ll be encouraged that they stood toe-to-toe with a team some of the national guys are starting to slurp.

HUGE HUGE HUGE recruiting weekend coming up! Just huge.

1) Marcus Richmond, big-time RB from Dobson High in Arizona. He’s the kid who verballed to WSU last spring, but he’s never been to Pullman before….a lot of insiders point that Pflugrad has been on this one since he was a frosh in high school. Anyway, he’s had a GIGANTIC year so far. His last five games, Richmond has rushed for 278, 230, 384, 240 and 215 yards. In seven games this season, he has carried the ball 193 times for 1593 yards, averaging 8.25 ypc and 227.5 ypg. He’s big (6-1, 205), fast, and physical and could be the ideal weapon in the one-back. The bad news is that the big boys are hard-charging at him right now, UW and Oregon specifically, and the Ducks even wanted him to visit this weekend but he said “Hey, sorry, I’m going to Pullman. You know, WSU, the place I verbally committed already!??” Still, it’s going to be a long haul and some nervous moments until signing day with this one, because he’s now saying that even though he’s verballed, he’s going to take more trips. Yikes.

2) Xavier Lucas – tall drink of water at WR (6-4) from Tempe, he’s big-play all the way. He averages over 25 yards a catch (WOW) on a running team. He leads his team in catches, yards, and is only behind the kicker in scoring. Not much else is known about him, but he’s another late bloomer that is starting to really get noticed.

3) Cody Habban – we’ve written about him before, but he’s the big o-lineman from Skyline that the Cougs have been after for some time. He’s got a big list of schools that are coming hard – The Cougs, OSU, Iowa State, ASU and UW are among the most interested, but more offers keep coming from places like Colorado and Utah. He’s been credited with 29 pancakes in 6 games this year, and he’s already big (6-5, 280) and real athletic. He fits that WSU mold of tall, quick lineman really well. The good news on Habban? He’s very interested in the Cougs, and he’s been to Pullman twice already, as well as attending the Grambling game on the sidelines, so he knows what he’s in for.

4) Jeffrey Solomon – Big (6-1, 185), fast, athletic safety/QB hybrid from Ingraham. He was one of the MVP’s at the Cougs summer camp this year at safety. He’s having a good year this year, too, 1001 yards and 10 TD’s passing in 6 games, plus 200 yards rushing and 2 TD’s. He even caught an 84-yard TD. He flies to the ball and loves to hit, though, and is always around the ball. Cougs, Beavs and UW are all working on him.

5) Vincent Joseph – Maybe the biggest “name” recruit of them all this weekend, this kid is a starting CB at Long Beach Poly. He’s been talking a LOT to the Cougs of late, and says he’s very excited to set foot on campus. Cougs, USC, Oregon, Cal and Colorado are his top five, in no particular order. He hasn’t yet received an offer from USC, but everyone else has. UW also just offered a few days ago. He’s not real big, 5-9 1/2, 185, but he’s VERY fast (4.39 40 at the USC camp last year). He had a gigantic season in ’04, notching 27 pass break-ups, 3 fumble recoveries, and (get this) 5 BLOCKED field goals! He also runs track, the 100, 200, 4X100, 4X400 and even long jumps. Also has a 37″ vert, 2.8 GPA but more importantly, a passing SAT of 920 already. He’s got visits to Colorado and Oregon in the next month, so this one has a long way to go.

Obviously, on the field this game is big, but off it, it could be even bigger. Get an emotional win in front of a revved-up crowd, it could be one of those games that pushes a kid over the edge. Then again, we had a lot of games like that in 2001, 2002 and 2003, and I must have missed all the high-school all-americans that verbally committed?? Believe it when Pflugrad says that what actually happens on the field is just a small piece of the puzzle in regards to getting recuits!