COUGARS

While the Washington State players are enjoying their day off from football – and their day on with classes, though I'm not sure "enjoying" would be the correct word here – we will enjoy a restful day of yard work. Home is where the blisters are. Anyhow, before we go there, a few links and notes, so read on.
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• Washington State: Thanks to the early practice, which we covered here and Cougfan described in this post, we had some free time last evening. We used it go back over some old comments and compile your questions. Here are the answers. ... James Montgomery is the Cougars' starting running back. Period. Because he is coming off major leg injuries, he doesn't go 100 percent at every practice. It's a way to keep him fresh for what matters, games. He's a veteran, he knows the offense, he'll be fine. As for his recovery, there are times he looks as good as he ever looked the past two years. The burst is there, the elusiveness is there, the ability to deliver a hit as he's being tackled is coming around. He may not be as fast – that's hard to tell for sure without a baseline time from two years ago – but he still can motor. ... The Cougars' next scrimmage is Thursday at a little after 4 p.m. That will be the last one they have worth watching before the game. As I understand it, the one Saturday morning is more like a dress rehearsal for the game and won't feature a lot of hitting. ... As for Al Lapuaho, the defensive lineman from Snow Junior College, there is still a chance he could get in, but there will come a day where it becomes too late for football and/or for school. What that day is, who knows. ... Former Central Valley High player Jacob Miller still hasn't told anyone at WSU if he's coming back, though the door remains open. He's still eligible for school, so today seems to be the big day there. If the future Cougar punter returns and is at class, he's back. ... We had our receivers preview in this morning's paper. ... A look at five things Oklahoma State needs to accomplish before the opener. ... The defensive tackle position needs to be figured out.

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• Around the Pac-10: Five seems to be a popular number today. ESPN.com's Ted Miller has five things to watch from around the conference. ... Washington: An injured Husky is sure he'll be back in time for the start of the season. ... Oregon State and Oregon: Oregonian columnist John Canzano wants Duck and Beaver fans to put up now or forever hold their tongues. ... Cal and Stanford: Nothing this morning. ... USC: Marc Tyler was loyal to the Trojans, and it might just pay off this season. ... UCLA: The Bruin offense isn't usual for offensive coordinator Norm Chow. ... Arizona State: This defensive lineman is planning on having a breakout season. ... Arizona: The Wildcats will man the running back position with a trio of players.

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• That's all for this morning. Have a good day and check back later. We'll have our preview of the offensive line ready to go. Until then ...

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