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Counting down to WSU’s first game

Posted by Vince Grippi

Aug. 14, 2010 8:22 a.m. • 6 comments

COUGARS

Three weeks from today, the Washington State Cougars will take the field against Oklahoma State to start the 2010 season. After a week of practice, the Cougars will see where they’re at today when they take the Martin Stadium field for a 2 p.m. scrimmage. We’ll be there. We’ll be here afterward. Between then and now, we have links and notes. Read on.

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• Washington State: We had our report from yesterday’s second practice up last night. That included a version of story that ran in today’s S-R. … Jon Wilner in San Jose has this to say about WSU. … Otherwise, I couldn’t find any other free WSU-centric information. … So what will WSU try to accomplish today? Simply put, it’s a midterm. Where does everyone stand, what have they learned, what needs work. After today’s test, the coaching staff and players should have a better idea what to work on. … If you come, you should watch the battle at middle linebacker, the play of the offensive line, the new receivers, the different abilities of the running backs, the way Jeff Tuel runs the offense. … I’m not sure the two starting defensive tackles, Brandon Rankin and Bernard Wolfgramm, will participate as they’ve missed most of the week. Others, like Jared Karstetter and Gino Simone, may be limited. But many of the players fighting for playing time, like the middle linebackers Mike Ledgerwood, Hallston Higgins, C.J. Mizell and Darren Markle, who has received more reps inside the past couple days, should be out there.

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• Around the Pac-10: ESPN.com’s Ted Miller rates the conference’s quarterbacks. … Though he is talking about Cal and Stanford, Wilner could be writing about almost any school right now (see this from Bob Condotta). … Washington: With some scholarships available, Steve Sarkisian hands out a handful. … These running backs have scholarships. … Oregon State: The up-and-down nature of practice is illustrated here. … Oregon: Intensity is the watchword in Eugene as well. … Quarterback is the watched position in Eugene as well. … Cal: The Bears may be solving their cornerback problem. … Stanford: Yes, who will replace Toby Gerhart is still the big question. … USC: No, Reggie Bush didn’t apologize. … There’s a battle at cornerback. … UCLA: The Bruins haven’t been happy with the offensive line for a while. They are getting happier. … Arizona State: Vontaze Burfict is starting to assert himself. … Arizona: When the Wildcats got to camp, they really go to camp. … Nothing about being a center is a snap.

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• That’s it for this morning. We’ll be back after today’s scrimmage with more. Until then …

Six comments on this post so far. Add yours!

avboden on August 14 at 11:35 a.m.
Thanks for the heads up about the scrimmage…I think i’ll mosey on down to the stadium for it!
TommyCoug on August 14 at 12:41 p.m.
Vince…what has happened with or to the DT transfer from Snow College, Utah? He was a late addition/commit. I have forgotten his name. He has 4 years to play 3. I got the impression he might be thrown into the mix right away to add some depth to the DL. Did he show…is he on campus…is he practicing…or did he change his mind?

Thanks.
SaveFerris on August 14 at 1:48 p.m.
Vince, thanks for all the coverage.

Tommy, the player you are thinking about is Al Lapuaho. He still needs to get through the NCAA Clearninghouse with the class they found that they believe makes him eligible. Until then he cannot participate in fall camp.

Vince probably has a lot more info but knowing the NCAA I wouldn’t hold your breath.
avboden on August 14 at 6:27 p.m.
My quick notes from the scrimmage:

1. The defense is bigger, and a LOT faster. It would be pretty safe to say we’ve seen the end of 60 point losses. The secondary was solid, and the D line as well.

2. The offense is still a work in progress. No QB really stood out to me. The best play of the day was a lob pass to wide open walk on WR Austin Ehlo for the TD. Ehlo looked sharp and had good hands, he’s fast in a straight line but still needs work on his routes and cuts. He had a bit of trouble beating his man though he only got thrown the ball a few times.

3. Only one injury, Pu(forget the rest of his name), from hawaii. Seemed to be something with his knee, he couldn’t put any weight on it at all. Didn’t look good.

4. The running backs were, for the most part, very solid. Montgomery claiming 80% was an absolute stud. He wasn’t cutting hard but managed to find the holes. Mitz looked good as well, finding holes that seemed to appear out of no where.

5. The biggest weakness I saw was at center. The snaps were garbage. I counted well over 10 snaps in the ground during the scrimmage, and one poor one for a FG attempt.

6. Goes without saying, Forrest will be the best punter in the Pac this year. He had a 65 yard boot during the scrimmage and some with more hang time than you could ever imagine.
TommyCoug on August 14 at 6:41 p.m.
SaveFerris…”You’re ‘Da Man!!”…that’s right on name and NCAA…thought that might be over by now…however, is he on campus and in PullmanTown…or is that illegal via NCAA standards/requirements too?

Thanks for going to and the your analysis of the scrimmage, avboden! Let’s just remember that a great defensive team with an average offense will win more games than the reverse…DEFENSE…isn’t the prettiest part of any sport, especially football, but I “LOVE” it!! Scoring brings the crowds, yelling and screaming…but DEFENSE wins games in most team sports. I’ll take 10 or 14 to 7 anytime…or 20-10…that’s enough…1 point is fine…I don’t care how much we win by…

I await your analysis of the scrimmage with anticipation, Vince!?

GO COUGS!!…GO WULFF!!
SaveFerris on August 14 at 7:42 p.m.
Lapuaho is on campny awaiting the decision from what I have heard. I also hear he doesn’t appear to be 295 but if he is say, 285-ish I would expect him to work his way into the rotation if he is cleared. His video at 275 showed he can definitely move.

Thanks to avboden for the scrimmage notes.