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WSU chat

Dec 16 2015, 11:09 AM

srchat: Jacob here. Thanks for joining our live chat. Fire away with your WSU football, basketball or other questions.

Dec 16 2015, 11:10 AM

Bryan (guest): Is Tavares Martin going to start in place of Marks? Could you see him getting the majority of the reps in his place?

Dec 16 2015, 11:11 AM

srchat: If for any reason Marks was unable to play in a game, I would expect Martin to start in his place and assume the majority of his reps, yes.

Dec 16 2015, 11:12 AM

Bryan (guest): Do you think Cracraft will be able to play in the bowl game?

Dec 16 2015, 11:13 AM

srchat: Cracraft will have had a few months to recover by that point, and considering the way he left the game it seems reasonable to think that he would be able to play unless he had some major surgery.

Dec 16 2015, 11:14 AM

AaronP (guest): Very early assessment on schedule next year? How many wins could you see right now?

Dec 16 2015, 11:15 AM

srchat: The game at Boise State will be a big one (although you can't overlook EWU ... you can probably overlook Idaho). If the Cougars start off 3-0, I'd think that anything less than 9 wins would be a little disappointing.

Dec 16 2015, 11:15 AM

Guest520 (guest): Will Gabe Marks declare for the draft this year ?

Dec 16 2015, 11:16 AM

srchat: I don't expect him to. But he hasn't told me that he will or won't.

Dec 16 2015, 11:19 AM

AaronP (guest): How many years until Ernie Kent gets the Cougs into the ncaa tourney?

Dec 16 2015, 11:22 AM

srchat: Don't think it happens this year. Next year could be tough again, but it's also the last year with Josh Hawkinson. They'll have a pretty good core next year with Hawkinson, Que Johnson, Charles Callison, Ike Iroegbu, Renard Suggs, Clifford, Izundu, Derrien King... Yeah, I think they could make it next year. It certainly seems like it will be peak year in terms of personnel. Replacing Hawkinson the next year will be tough.

Dec 16 2015, 11:26 AM

Guest460 (guest): What route are you taking to El Paso?

Dec 16 2015, 11:27 AM

srchat: I'll be flying through beautiful Phoenix, Arizona both ways. Anybody have a crazy route? While ticket shopping I had a few multi-layover options.

Dec 16 2015, 11:28 AM

Guest6309 (guest): During Apple cup week. At what point was it apparent to yourself that Falk was not going to play?

Dec 16 2015, 11:28 AM

srchat: When Peyton Bender warmed up with the starters on the field, seriously. I think they held out hope that Falk would play right up until the end.

Dec 16 2015, 11:29 AM

Guest2719 (guest): I was curious be honest what is your take on ole Kim Grinolds? Does he take things too far at times?

Dec 16 2015, 11:31 AM

srchat: I've interacted with Kim before and always found him to be a nice, decent dude. I thought it was premature for him to put out that Falk retirement thing because nobody who covers the Cougars was reporting it, and I'm confident that those of us on the daily beat have better WSU sources than tapped-in reporters who do not. That said, it's not like he made it public. He put it in a private forum and others made it public -- which I think is morally pretty questionable -- and anyone who disseminates news

Dec 16 2015, 11:31 AM

srchat: is going to be wrong at some point.

Dec 16 2015, 11:34 AM

Guest2719 (guest): Thanks! You do a great job here covering WSU!

Dec 16 2015, 11:34 AM

srchat: Thanks guest, really appreciate that. Glad you like our coverage.

Dec 16 2015, 11:34 AM

Guest460 (guest): Cougs Pac-12 schedule looks front loaded to me. You see it the same way?

Dec 16 2015, 11:35 AM

srchat: With Oregon and Stanford the first two games, there's no other way to see it. If the Cougars get through that unscathed they'll be the undisputed frontrunner for the conference championship game. Oregon getting a QB yesterday makes them more dangerous, but I would not be surprised if next year's Apple Cup has a trip to the title game on the line, maybe for both teams.

Dec 16 2015, 11:41 AM

Guest6309 (guest): When does the team start putting in the gameplan for Miami?

Dec 16 2015, 11:42 AM

srchat: Tomorrow

Dec 16 2015, 11:42 AM

Guest1273 (guest): What are your opinions about this year's recruiting class?

Dec 16 2015, 11:42 AM

srchat: It seems like it's really picking up here at the end. I guess that's the danger when you follow a 3-9 season with an 8-4 one. The recruits who commit early off a 3-9 season take the spots of better kids you can get once you start winning. It sure seems to bode well for next year's class, though.

Dec 16 2015, 11:55 AM

Guest460 (guest): Who will be the Buck/Rush linebacker(s) next year?

Dec 16 2015, 11:55 AM

srchat: Logan Tago, Nnamdi Oguayo and Dylan Hanser are the three players I expect to get long looks at Rush linebacker.

Dec 16 2015, 11:55 AM

Rithy Meas: Next year, which Pac12 teams appear to be worse than this year? better than this year?

Dec 16 2015, 11:57 AM

srchat: Hmmm I would think that WSU and UW will get better. Oregon could go either way. Stanford could regress a bit. California could have a rough season. Colorado should get better. Utah could go either way. Arizona should probably be better. Arizona State is tough to read. UCLA could go either way because Rosen will be a sophomore but the team loses some talent. USC will be good if the QB play holds up.

Dec 16 2015, 11:57 AM

Butch (guest): Not a sports comment but the WSU student that was in critical condition due to a car accident around Palouse at Thanksgiving will be going home next week. Amazing recovery. Sidney seems to be back to "normal".

Dec 16 2015, 11:57 AM

srchat: Great to hear!

Dec 16 2015, 12:01 PM

Guest460 (guest): Am I the only one who thought Jerrard Randall should have been the full-time starter for Arizona this past season?

Dec 16 2015, 12:01 PM

srchat: He was definitely more effective against the Cougars. But I can see why they wanted to stick with Anu Solomon -- he proved himself last year.

Dec 16 2015, 12:08 PM

srchat: Thanks for joining today's WSU chat, everybody. The transcript will be up shortly.

 

 



Jacob Thorpe
Jacob Thorpe joined The Spokesman-Review in 2013. He currently is a reporter for the Sports Desk covering Washington State University athletics.

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