Happy Tuesday Cougs, and welcome to part two of OldSavage's WSU preview for 2013. Yesterday he took us back to the 2012 season, plus hit on the offensive skill-position guys looking towards the new season, but today he takes a look at the meat-and-potatoes of any football team – the offensive and defensive lines! So without delay, I'll just get out of the way and let OldSavage take it from here…
PART TWO: LINEMEN PREVIEW
BY OldSavage
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
My biggest disappointment with Paul Wulff was his failure to stock the team with offensive linemen (I had expected him, because of his background, to be able to identify the potential in undeveloped lineman who would blossom in later years, as was the path followed by former Cougar head men.) Sadly that did not seem to be the case. But he did leave a sizeable class of incoming linemen, most of which Mike Leach retained and red-shirted, so that this year we may see a real rotation of big men providing relief before fatigue starts to set in. I suspect that part of the problem with the offensive line last season was that they felt that, because of the limited bodies available, they needed to pace themselves to last through the entire sixty minutes. That should not be the case this year.
Events this spring have had a serious effect on the depth that I expected to be able to display in these three deep previews. The exit of both Nui Sale and Jake Rodgers has a ripple effect throughout the positions. Even the normal amount of injuries this year could now severely impact the rotation at all positions. However, unless there is an epidemic of injuries this fall, there should be at least two quality players available at every position on the line for every game. While it is yet to be proved that this group can compete at the level needed in the PAC-12, both depth and versatility will be there. Many of the returning players filled in at multiple positions last year, or in the past, and five freshmen, two JC transfers and upper class red-shits will swell the ranks. But something more than just “improvement“ of the line play will be required if the Cougars are going meet their goals. When a team is first in the country in sacks allowed and last in rushing, just getting better is not good enough. A great leap forward is needed and expected from these guys.
Note: For the most part, my guesses as to who will be at what position and where on the depth chart, once live ammo is issued, are just that – guesses. There is just too much versatility and potential for any accuracy in predictions. Given their past proclivity to bounce players around on the line, I doubt if the staff has settled on much of anything either and it will take most of fall camp to sort things out. I feel fairly comfortable with my top 10 or so being in the mix, if everyone remains healthy, and I have little doubt the needed leap forward is in the offing this season for the Cougar grunts.
Center
Eliot Bosch, 6-4, 274, Senior (RS)
Matt Goetz, 6-4, 259, Senior (RS)
Carlos Freeman, 6-3, 290, Freshman
If there is one sure starter on the line it is Bosch. He was honorable mention all PAC-12 and the Mike Utley Award winner last year – pretty good for a walk-on from Ferris. Matt Goetz was listed as the starter at right guard going into the spring but I am betting he will lose out at that position this fall to bigger and younger players and be returned to his natural position at center, however, his versatility makes him a viable option elsewhere. He is one of the few players who weighed less this spring than he did last year. I have true freshman Freeman listed both because of his credentials (academic and on the field) and because his high-school experience is at center. But, if injury requires additional back-up I would expect that it would more likely come from Zach Brevick or Sam Flor.
Offensive Left Guard
John Fullington, 6-5, 297, Senior
Joe Dahl, 6-4, 289, Sophomore (RS)
Brent Anderson, 6-1, 275, Junior (RS)
Fullington has been a starter since his freshman year and, while Leach moved him to the second team this spring, I expect to see him starting again come fall – whether it is at left guard or elsewhere. He can play just about anywhere on the line. I think the move from starter was just Leach’s way of telling Fullington he was expected to take a leadership role. Dahl may have been the story of the spring when he came off a red-shirt year and jumped right into the number one spot on the depth chart. He was listed as a tackle coming into practice and is trying to earn a scholarship so he will play where he’s needed. I expect to see him on the field for the next three years. I had Nui Sale here until I got the news he was cut. I really doubt Anderson will see playing time but he has stuck around for quite a while and he must be doing something right .
Offensive Right Guard
Zack Brevick, 6-5, 275, Senior (RS)
Edwardo Middleton, 6-5, 318, Freshman (RS)
Pierson Vallarrubia, 6-4, 285, Freshman (RS)
Here is where I had Jake Rodgers as the #1, until he left the team. After that it was pretty much a toss-up between Brevick and Goetz. They both could be moving back and forth between guard and center and I picked Brevick (another walk-on) based on his work this spring and because of his weight. I have two RS freshmen as back-ups here because they showed well during the spring and looked ready to play. However, I would be surprised if the fall depth chart actually looks like this. If Joe Dahl isn’t one of the two deep at other positions he will be here as a two, or maybe a one.
Offensive Left Tackle
Gunnar Eklund, 6-7, 305, Sophomore (RS)
Denzell Dotson, 6-2, 321, Freshman (RS)
Sam Flor, 6-4, 274, 306, Freshman (RS)
Eklund was a walk-on in 2011, won his scholarship last year and looked like the heir apparent during the spring. After adding a couple of pound he has the size that fits the Leach mold. He should be challenged by Denzell Dotson, who was on the sidelines this spring with one of those mysterious injuries, but he comes with a great high-school pedigree and the bulk that may eventually put him in a guard spot. I have Flor as the number three based on very little, other than his size and the attention that was given him by the staff this spring.
Offensive Right Tackle
Rico Forbes, 6-6, 304, Senior (RS)
Jacob Seydel, 6-6, 283, Junior
BJ Salmonson, 6-4, 279, Freshman
Probably the best I competition on the line this spring came at this position, with Forbes and Seydel sharing time with the ones, and it is a good bet that one of them will be starting come fall. This will really be Forbes’ first year, after a red-shirt, then an injury and he surely wants to make the most of it. Seydel is a JC transfer with a RS year to burn, so it is possible that Leach will want to keep him out for next year, but that does not seem likely to me. Salmonson may need a year in the conditioning program and also has a RS year, since he enrolled in January, as a grey-shirt. If injuries create a need it is likely that you will see Dahl or one of the back-ups, at other line positions, fill that need.
Others
The most likely candidate to break the depth chart is Devonte McClain, the JC transfer who committed this June. He is 6’5” but his weight depends on who you listen to (275-Rivals or 295-Scout). There is freshman Andy Agen, 6-2, 260, who enrolled this January. But the most likely recourse, in the event of disaster, is to one of a couple of scholarship behemoths that will be coming this summer. Cody O’Connell, from Wenatchee is 6-8, 350 and will the biggest player ever to don the Crimson and Gray. Riley Sorenson is not much smaller, at 6-5, 320. Matt Meyer, 6-6, 290 and former tight end, Cole Madison, 6-6, 270, complete the incoming class but are most likely red-shirts, who are the future.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
I am surprised that Joe Salave'a didn't’t see tempting offers from other programs this off season, as a result of the job he did in 2012. With a defensive line that was switching to a 3-4, without a true nose guard (or nose tackle if you prefer) coming into the fall, losing both the starting tackles from the prior year (Laurenzi and Rankin), along with a couple of the huskier ends (Stormo and Robinson) and having the only incoming freshman big men knocked out for the year before the first game, he still put together a surprising defensive front that gave as good as it got against some of the best running attacks in the conference.
And he did it again this spring. Missing four key players from last year, as well as a couple of potential new contributors this season, he slapped together two defensive lines in the Crimson and Gray game that did more than hold it's own in the scrimmage. I tell you, I can’t wait to see what he does when he has a three deep like I outline below.
My problem is that, with the number of players on the sidelines this spring and with the success of those that did play, I cannot be sure whether or not some moved up the depth chart, displacing the veterans from last year, or where they will play when everyone is healthy. (As I indicated earlier I am assuming that none of the injuries will prevent participation this fall.) Also, there is enough depth now so that there can be different combinations as the circumstances change: e.g. two tackles and a nose in running situations or two pass rushing ends and nose on passing downs. Consequently, I will go with experience from last year, when there is a question, and ignore the format in the official depth chart (Tackle/Nose/End) at least for my number ones – going with my gut as to the best players available.
Defensive Nose Tackle
Iaone Gauta, 6-3, 286, Senior
Moritz Christ, 6-5, 314, Sophomore (RS)
Robert Baker, 6-3, 300, Freshman (RS)
Gauta is one that requires no hesitation. He came in last year, took over the position and was probably the most significant factor in what success the defense had in 2012. Not only did he fulfill the role of point tackle (tying up two or more offensive linemen) but he ended the season with 34 tackles and 8.5 of them were for loss. With a good senior year he could become the first high draft choice for the Cougars in some time. While I have Christ as back-up, I really would expect that relief will come first from Toni Pole. However, Moritz seems to have finally mastered some of the play at this level (a German native) and did have a good spring – manning the position in Gauta’s absence. Robert Baker is a question mark because he was injured last season and was still recovering this spring, but he has the size and was sort of penciled in as a player at the spot last year – probably the only cricket player on the team.
Defensive Tackle
Xavier Cooper, 6-4, 298, Sophomore (RS)
Darryl Paulo, 6-2, 270, Sophomore (RS)
Destiny Vaeao, 6-4, 293, Sophomore
Cooper had an outstanding freshman year and looks to be the heart of the defensive line for some time to come. Starting nine games, he ended up as the leading tackler on the line – with 8.5 of them for loss and three being sacks. He was the only one of my front three that came through the spring without injury. Paulo was moved from Buck to end to nose tackle this spring and played very well at the nose. I have him at tackle because it seems his natural position but I can see him regularly at any one of the three line spots. Vaeao played at end last year, as a true freshman, and that could be his spot this year, however, tackle would seem to be his position for the future.
Defensive End
Kalafitoni Pole, 6-1, 300, Junior (RS)
Matthew Bock, 6-2, 266, Senior (RS)
Austin Brown, 6-2, 267, Freshman (RS)
I have Pole as the #1 end because I believe that he, Cooper and Gauta will be the heart of the defensive line next year and it will not be unusual to see all three in the game at the same time (all you have to do is call Gauta a nose “guard”) but I expect to see him more often at tackle and nose. Bock started five games last year at the end position and is the logical choice to fill the role this year, however, his real completion will likely come from Vaeao, Paulo, JC transfer Lyman Faoliu (who played at LB this spring) or Logan Mayes, rotating from the Buck. While I have Brown as #3 that is because it is likely all the incoming freshmen will be red-shirted and the more likely options are already on the chart at other line positions or Buck.
Others
The most intriguing player to appear in the spring game was Sherman Hutcherson from Snoqualmie. He is listed as a defensive lineman and ended the game with two sacks. What is intriguing is that his weight is given as 232 and he is 5’9’ tall. Also in the spring game was red-shirt junior Jeff Waldner, 6-3, 258, who also recorded a sack. In addition to the aforementioned Lyman Faoliu, 6-3, 266, Junior (TR), the 2012 class includes three other defensive linemen: Gerald Sterling, 6-4, 275, from Alabama; Daniel Ekuale, 6-4, 290 and Emmitt Su’a-Kalio, 6-4, 250, both from American Samoa. Finally, do not be too surprised if you see one or more of the Buck linebackers lining up at end on occasion. I have already mentioned Mayes but Ivan McLennan seems to be a logical choice as well.
So there it is, a complete look at both lines. Thanks again to OldSavage, and he'll be back tomorrow with a glance at linebackers and the secondary for good 'ol WAZZU. RISE & GRIND, AND GO COUGS!
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