Happy Friday Cougs!!!
What a gutsy win last night for the Cougs! Nice to see some life in this team after they seemed left for dead following the massacre in Arizona. Wouldn’t it be nice just to be on the bubble again? Well, with a good week it’s definitely possible…but it has to start Saturday. Beat those Bruins boys!
Can you believe that spring ball is only just a few days away? I can practically hear the sound of helmets cracking! As we wind down our pre-spring position breakdowns, I’m going to give you a look into our last line of defense…
It’s never a good thing, when you’re safeties lead your team in tackles. It’s even worse when you’re safeties MISS tackles, as was often the case in 2010. Maybe it was a lack of strength. Perhaps poor position or bad technique were to blame. Whatever you chalk it up to, the safeties were a huge part of the equation that was WSU’s awful defense.
But it wasn’t all bad. If you look past the woeful tackling, and the 25 passing touchdowns allowed, oh, and losing perhaps our best defensive player to a career-ending injury, 2010 wasn’t a complete bust at the safety position.
Why? Because a star emerged, in the form of a skinny true freshman by the name of Deone Bucannon. It didn’t take long for him to jump to the top of the depth chart and when he did he never looked back, leading our team with 84 tackles.
Now, heading into this spring, Deone looks to be a key ingredient in the bowl hopes of this young Cougar team.
Statistics (Returning Players)
Deone Bucannon: 84 Tackles (67 solo), 4 TFL, 2 Int, 1 FR, 2 FF
Tyree Toomer: 68 Tackles (54 solo), 6 TFL, 2 Sacks,
Casey Locker: 20 Tackles (16 solo), 1 Int
Anthony Carpenter: 13 Tackles (11 solo), 1 FF
Terrance Hayward: 2 Tackles (1 solo)
Jack Wilson: 2 Tackles (1 solo)
Starters
Deone Bucannon: Bucannon burst on the scene last year in fall camp and played in all 12 games last year, finishing the season as a starter. By seasons end, he was the teams leading tackler and was named the teams defensive MVP. He played a little light last year, at about 185, so he will have to put on some weight this offseason if he wants to improve upon his impressive freshman campaign but If there is a lock at starter, it’s Bucannon.
Tyree Toomer: Tyree started 4 games as a true freshman in 2008 and showed glimpses of playmaking ability. A torn pectoral cost him his 2009 season but he returned strong in 2010. Although he had his fair share of missed tackles, he re-affirmed himself as a starter and will bring some experience to this young secondary come 2011. While his status on the top of the depth chart may not be as solid as Bucannon’s, the starting job is his to lose.
Second String
Casey Locker: Locker played a reserve role last year as a redshirt freshman but found the field enough to make an impact. He will have to have a good spring and a good offseason in the weight room to hold off the redshirts from last year, but Casey will be a strong backup at safety and will also play a key role in special teams.
Anthony Carpenter: Carpenter gained notoriety last year when he send Kenjon Barner out of Martin Stadium in an ambulance on a crushing hit on kickoff coverage. He brings a lot of speed and versatility to the secondary with his ability to play safety or corner. With a good spring, I would not be the least bit surprised to see Carpenter earn more and more reps with the first team.
Third String
Terrance Heyward: Played sparingly last year and I expect about the same this year. Like Carpenter, he can play either safety or a little corner. How much he sees the field depends on if he can hold off the redshirts from last year on the depth chart.
Redshirts
Tyrone Duckett: Duckett played safety and quarterback in high school and he has a chance to earn some playing time this season with a good offseason. He’ll need to jump a couple people on the depth chart but the coaches seemed very high on his potential.
Matt Simmons: Simmons will be an intriguing prospect to watch this spring. He will likely play a strong role on special teams at first, but he is definitely a quality athlete and he is versatile enough to play anywhere in the secondary.
Conclusion
The Cougs must drastically improve their tackling if they want to compete in the Pac-12 and even breathe the word “bowl.” The safeties will be a huge part of this. For the first time in the Paul Wulff era, there is some depth and competition at the safety spot so if somebody isn’t getting the job done then they will be easily replaced. Much like Jeff Tuel being counted on to be the offensive leader as a true sophomore in 2010, Deone Bucannon will be needed to anchor this defense in 2011. While he still has much improving to do, he has all the makings of being the next in the long line of WSU safeties playing on Sundays.
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