More on WSU’s football signing class
COUGARS
OK, we've heard from Paul Wulff – and I'm not about to try to summarize his 40-minute conference call; I'm not that masochistic ... or sadistic – and I've chatted with a few assistant coaches. With that, we've put together a story and we have a few more notes. Read on.
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• We listed all the names on the post we updated during the day, so we're not going to do that again. You can also see them on our recruiting page as well, which includes the bios from WSU. ... Some of the highlights from Wulff's conference included the news that Max Gama, a safety/linebacker from La Mirada, Calif., will probably grayshirt and that Alex Mitchell and Wendell Taiese both have some academic work that needs to get done before they'll be available, which might have explained why they weren't recruited as heavily as one might expect. ... Wulff said he really likes Marcus Mason's burst and the freshman running back will be given an opportunity next year. After talking and watching some film with Todd Sturdy, my guess is he'll be expected to contribute right away. He does have a burst that was lacking in most of the running backs last season. Still, Wulff said they know they need to recruit a running back or two for 2012. ... Asked late about James Montgomery's chances of a sixth year, Wulff, who had basically downplayed it significantly much of the offseason, said he thinks its actually better than he expected earlier. That will be examined in depth now that LOI day is over with. ... As for the Florida kids, Wulff mentioned Mark Rypien was one of the first to help them in that regard. Then co-defensive coordinator Chris Ball, who coached for a few years at Alabama, got involved. ... With more depth, Wulff said this was the first year his staff could really recruit kids who they expect to redshirt. Some will play right away – he mentioned a few of the JC linemen, Chester Su'a, Mason, the receivers including late get Rahmel Dockery and Taiese if he's available, as possible contributors. But he believes next year the Cougars won't have to use any freshmen. ... Wulff had some more thoughts on the recruiting process, the lack of commitment from commits and the need for an early signing period. Of the late losses, only the change to UCLA by lineman Brandon Tuliaupupu really caught the staff by surprise (FYI, Wulff didn't use his name but it was easy to figure out who he was talking about). ... Finally, Wulff admitted his job security issues did cause some problems because it was a question he had to answer with a lot of the recruits. But as athletic director Bill Moos met with the players when they came through, it seemed to calm their fears.
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• That's it for today. We've got to get out of town for the basketball trip this weekend, but we'll have a morning post up for you tomorrow and our usual game coverage in the evening. Until then ...
