Dec 2 2015, 11:03 AM

srchat: Thanks for joining our WSU chat. Fire away.

Dec 2 2015, 11:03 AM

Guest6639 (guest): In your opinion what bull game are we going to?

Dec 2 2015, 11:03 AM

srchat: The winds seem to be blowing in the Holiday Bowl's direction. That's assuming Stanford beats USC in the championship game, however.

Dec 2 2015, 11:04 AM

Guest3330 (guest): Say Falk tore his ACL and was to miss all next year. Who starts Hillinski or Bender?

Dec 2 2015, 11:05 AM

srchat: That'd be a great battle. I would give the edge to Bender but it's a slight edge, and the Apple Cup might have given Hilinski an advantage.

Dec 2 2015, 11:06 AM

Guest4729 (guest): who fills the Lb spots for next year ?..whas impressed by Chandler L...like to see him play more

Dec 2 2015, 11:09 AM

srchat: Well Peyton Pelluer is coming back, and he had a pretty good season. I wouldn't be shocked to see Leniu and Frankie Luvu compete to replace Jeremiah Allison, though. Early on I would have given the advantage to Luvu, but I do think Leniu came on strong at the end of the year. Logan Tago and Dylan Hanser are some nice options at Rush linebacker.

Dec 2 2015, 11:11 AM

Guest4729 (guest): All time Pac 12 team pretty typical , loaded with USC guys...Dan Lynch , 3 time all Pac 10 no where to be seen?

Dec 2 2015, 11:11 AM

srchat: I thought the team was a little too heavily weighted toward the south, and toward recent players.

Dec 2 2015, 11:11 AM

Guest4729 (guest): White does not look like he hs the speed for the CB...safety next year ?

Dec 2 2015, 11:12 AM

srchat: They've got better depth at safety than CB, so I'd imagine they'll keep White where he is. He looked faster last year -- had a lot of pass breakups. Have to wonder if something was amiss.

Dec 2 2015, 11:12 AM

Guest4729 (guest): Does Harrington move to the slot with Williams coming in?

Dec 2 2015, 11:12 AM

srchat: It sounds like they'd rather keep him at running back. While he'd be the easiest to move to WR -- given that he started there -- he's also the most unique of the four running backs.

Dec 2 2015, 11:12 AM

Guest3330 (guest): Do you see the defense taking a step forward next year?

Dec 2 2015, 11:13 AM

srchat: The secondary definitely should, since it will return everyone but Taliulu and probably get back Hameed. The defensive line should still be strong, but losing two Pac-12 Second Teamers on the line could be a challenge.

Dec 2 2015, 11:14 AM

Guest4729 (guest): Agree with you on the all time team, they also seem to weigh on their pro career which should have noting to do with the selection

Dec 2 2015, 11:16 AM

ItsMe (guest): Has the team started their normal practice routine or does it seem they are getting a few days off?

Dec 2 2015, 11:17 AM

srchat: They're taking some time off, relative to their normal schedule. They'll probably resume practices once they find out their bowl destination, but right now the coaches are all off recruiting.

Dec 2 2015, 11:17 AM

Guest3330 (guest): Do you think the defensive scheme or philosophy changes at all next year? Or did this years version show Grinch's full playbook?

Dec 2 2015, 11:18 AM

srchat: I would not expect the defense to change much for another year or so. If they get really confident in their secondary I could see them moving away from the nickel base somewhat, but I think that also simply matches up well with the offenses they face in the Pac-12.

Dec 2 2015, 11:20 AM

Guest4729 (guest): odd with no center, just OL

Dec 2 2015, 11:21 AM

srchat: Not only that, I believe all five members of the All-Century offensive line were tackles.

Dec 2 2015, 11:21 AM

Guest3330 (guest): Any update on the indoor practice facility? Any boost in funding due to recent success?

Dec 2 2015, 11:21 AM

srchat: I'm going to write a story about the effect of this season's success on donations but not until we're closer to the bowl game.

Dec 2 2015, 11:21 AM

Guest4729 (guest): was surprised our DL did not dominate a young husky OL..I think their o scored 21 points...

Dec 2 2015, 11:22 AM

srchat: 24 points, but that speaks to the fact that the defensive wasn't terrible against UW, and was actually fine against Gaskin until about the middle of the third quarter. Take away a couple deep passes behind the safeties and the defense was mostly fine.

Dec 2 2015, 11:22 AM

Guest4729 (guest): husky db coach was on softie show..mocked the cougs, style of play...came across as very arrogant, cocky...

Dec 2 2015, 11:23 AM

srchat: Well, they've got bragging rights. I suppose they can exercise them however they see fit.

Dec 2 2015, 11:24 AM

Guest4729 (guest): Hercules, Barber and Daniel the 3 up frontnext year ?

Dec 2 2015, 11:25 AM

srchat: That's a good guess, although if that was the case I'd imagine Ekuale would have some competition at the defensive end spot.

Dec 2 2015, 11:25 AM

ItsMe (guest): Guest4729, The dogs are all upset that Leach said we had beaten "far better teams than Washington" so it goes both ways. Frankly, I think far too much is made about perceived slights by both sides.

Dec 2 2015, 11:25 AM

srchat: I'd agree with this. I was shocked at how much was made of Gunnar Eklund's comments before the game.

Dec 2 2015, 11:26 AM

Guest4729 (guest): I see Martin as having a big year next year, Preister was disappointing, Sweet a bright spot...so who fills out the OL ?

Dec 2 2015, 11:28 AM

srchat: Well, we've gotten a sneak peak at left tackle with Andre Dillard filling in. I think he looks pretty solid and if he can put on another 10 pounds he could be really good as early as next year. The center and right side of the line all return, so really the competition will be for left guard, and there's a lot that could happen. Maybe Middleton slides back over and Seydel becomes the RG, maybe Cody O'Connell wins it outright.

Dec 2 2015, 11:28 AM

Guest3330 (guest): I'm cautiously optimistic that we could win the Pac 12 next year but part of me wonders if we won a lot of close games and could take a step back next year. Whats your over under on wins next year?

Dec 2 2015, 11:30 AM

srchat: My way-too-early prediction for regular season wins next year is about 8. The close games every year are what really determine the season. But I think the Cougars enter the season as a legit contender to play for a conference championship. I also wouldn't be surprised if the Pac-12 North is decided in Pullman, with the Apple Cup. Both teams return a lot of good players and Oregon/Stanford and Cal all lose their QBs.

Dec 2 2015, 11:32 AM

Guest8331 (guest): please tell me we are NOT going to El Paso for the Sun Bowl.......El Paso.....who wants to spend Christmas......in EL PASO........and I live in Texas!

Dec 2 2015, 11:32 AM

srchat: It looks pretty likely that the Cougars will be in San Diego for the Holiday Bowl (Stanford win) or Santa Clara for the Foster Farms Bowl (USC win). But don't hold me to that.

Dec 2 2015, 11:34 AM

Guest4729 (guest): Do you see Leach bringing in any JC 's ?..oh and husky coach went deeper than just bragging rights !..lastly..Brougton and Mitchell dissapointments ?

Dec 2 2015, 11:35 AM

srchat: They haven't accepted any commitments from junior college players yet, so they must feel better about the depth. Mitchell maybe hasn't made the impact some expected, but he's regularly in the two deeps and has played behind some pretty good players -- both defensive ends were Second Team All-Conference. I definitely think it's too early to judge Broughton, who enrolled late and didn't get to participate in the preseason camp.

Dec 2 2015, 11:36 AM

Guest4729 (guest): What is Gonzaga and Few issue with playing the Cougs in Pullman..?...just down the road,

Dec 2 2015, 11:37 AM

srchat: Few may feel that the game benefits WSU's emerging program more than his established one, and that giving the Cougars a chance for a high profile win can only hurt him, while a win over WSU doesn't really benefit Gonzaga yet.

Dec 2 2015, 11:37 AM

89coug: What are the chances Leach can land the 5 star kid Eason from the westside?

Dec 2 2015, 11:38 AM

srchat: It's worth a shot, but it's pretty late in the recruiting process to be building those relationships. Honestly, it's probably better for WSU fans to hope he sticks with his Georgia commitment, because the reports are that he was at a lot of UW practices this year.

Dec 2 2015, 11:38 AM

Guest4581 (guest): When do the Leach leaving rumors start?

Dec 2 2015, 11:38 AM

srchat: Sounds like you just started one.

Dec 2 2015, 11:38 AM

Guest4729 (guest): Think Eason is a longshot to become a Coug ?

Dec 2 2015, 11:38 AM

srchat: Yes.

Dec 2 2015, 11:38 AM

Guest6968 (guest): Given Sonny Dyke's situation at Cal, what possible recruits are good to keep an eye on that might flip to WSU? I know they recruit very similar players.

Dec 2 2015, 11:40 AM

srchat: The one to watch is Evan Weaver, a really good defensive end out of Spokane. He's the most obvious one they could poach. Maybe they also take a look at Matt Laris, who plays wide receiver for Eastside Catholic over in Sammamish.

Dec 2 2015, 11:41 AM

89coug: Is the 4 star DT that they recruited last year, but was an academic casualty planning to enroll in January?

Dec 2 2015, 11:42 AM

srchat: That's the plan I've heard, and haven't heard anything differently. He seems pretty engaged in the team's exploits on Twitter.

Dec 2 2015, 11:42 AM

Guest5999 (guest): Air Raid seems like all or nothing and we got a lot of nothing on friday. Any chance Leach does some tweaking?

Dec 2 2015, 11:43 AM

srchat: Leach may do some offseason tweaking, like they did in the spring with the snaps under center. But it won't be as a reaction to one game. Leach has been doing this a long time and has had very good, and very bad, games before.

Dec 2 2015, 11:44 AM

Guest5999 (guest): When things go bad they seem to domino.

Dec 2 2015, 11:45 AM

srchat: The Apple Cup was definitely a floodgate game, where the mistakes just piled up. But the team has also had close losses, close wins and big wins.

Dec 2 2015, 11:47 AM

tymiles24: Any chance of losing our assistant coaches over the off season?

Dec 2 2015, 11:47 AM

89coug: Any rumors of assistant coaches leaving after the season?

Dec 2 2015, 11:48 AM

srchat: The only thing I've heard was someone connected to recruiting offhandedly mentioned that they thought Hawaii would give Joe Salave'a a call after the season about being their new head coach. But Hawaii has already hired a coach, so that's obviously not going to happen. I have to think Grinch will get some calls, but I imagine he'll also get a decent raise from WSU.

Dec 2 2015, 11:49 AM

Guest5999 (guest): I like Leach but I think he really needs to look at the mortality rate of our qbs. Did he have the same problem at TT?

Dec 2 2015, 11:49 AM

srchat: I'm certain that Leach would say the best way to keep quarterbacks heathy is to block better.

Dec 2 2015, 11:49 AM

Sid (guest): Grinch is on a one year contract wasn't he?

Dec 2 2015, 11:50 AM

srchat: Yes.

Dec 2 2015, 11:50 AM

89coug: Thanks. That was my next question. How much room does Moos have to give the coaches more money?

Dec 2 2015, 11:50 AM

srchat: Probably a decent amount of wiggle room, assuming the success this season leads to an increase in donations and ticket sales.

Dec 2 2015, 11:50 AM

Guest5999 (guest): Is Falk going to play in bowl or is this a 30 day concussion thing?

Dec 2 2015, 11:50 AM

srchat: No idea, sorry.

Dec 2 2015, 11:56 AM

srchat: Hey everybody, I'm going to have to duck out a few minutes early. Thanks for joining our live chat and enjoy the game tonight. The transcript will be online this afternoon.

 

 

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