Grippi’s latest recap on the action yesterday first touches on three players who have now left the Cougar football program – safety Eric Block, and backup o-linemen Brian Danaher and Kevin Freitag. All three guys would have been nice to have for the upcoming season in terms of depth, but, it’s cool to see they are still hanging around and doing whatever they can to help. If you recall, Block has the ulcerative colitis condition, where it has been difficult to keep up his weight while playing football, while Danaher had repeated concussions and Freitag battled a series of injuries that finally forced him to call it a college career.
On the good news front, Grippi also added something to take from yesterday on Chantz Staden (pictured above):
During the offense’s end-of-practice scoring drive, running back Chantz Staden gathered in a short pass, made a move the caused three defenders to collide without touching him. The move was reminiscent of Staden from two years ago, before a major knee injury caused him to miss all of last year. “He’s had a good year-and-a-half now, post surgery, so he should be 100 percent,” Wulff said. “He’ll give us toughness and a great spark in a lot of different areas.”
You know, you really have to like the positives with Staden. The running back position is very much up in the air with Dwight Tardy no longer around to get the bulk of the carries, even with a possible healthy return of James Montgomery in the fall. The opportunity is certainly there for a guy like Staden to be in the mix. I mean really, you think about it, they are probably going to have multiple bodies in and out of the running back spot next year. I think the days of the “feature back” might be gone, not that it is an issue at WSU but in general, you see more of a committee approach at that spot. Outside of a situation like Jacquizz Rodgers at Oregon State or Toby Gerhart at Stanford last season, and maybe even Polk at UW, you do see multiple guys getting their turn. You think about what Monty could bring at running back, but then you bring in a Staden to spell him, or Logwone Mitz for more of the short-yardage type situations, and you might be OK…..provided the O-line gives them a chance, of course!
Moving on….
- Cougfan has their latest here (note that it’s premium). Among the free stuff you can take from it: Highlights included a big hit by Andre Barrington, steady pressure from Kevin Kooyman, and a sweet pass connection from Marshall Lobbestael to Gino Simone. Head coach Paul Wulff was pleased with the proceedings on both sides of the ball.
- Lew Wright at the Examiner has five changes to consider with WSU’s spring practice session. It’s a good read, so check it out.
- Hey, WE’RE RANKED, according to this! OK, it’s the “Hottest Student Bodies for 2010”, and we come in at #44 for this year….not that there’s anything WRONG with that??
- For those of you who like to get your video-game GEEK on, NCAA Football ’11 is coming in July, and they are already releasing some screens and details. Looks pretty cool to me:
- Finally, WSU has approved the construction of a new hotel and convention area in Pullman. It is targeted to open in late 2011. Per President Floyd, via Cougfan:
“It brings to us a world-class facility that will provide guests to our campus an additional place to stay for everything from sporting events, to Mom’s weekend,” said WSU President Elson Floyd, in a statement.
Wow, talk about something that has been needed in Pullman for some time? Providing some newer, more attractive alternatives for accommodations could really help the fence-sitters decide whether or not to make that drive to Pullman for the weekend. Get that stadium renovation done in a couple of years, and things will really take a positive step forward for the entire gameday experience!
That’s it for now. Enjoy your Tuesday, and GO COUGS!
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