WSU football chat
Apr 13 2016, 10:55 AM
srchat: Welcome to our live WSU football chat. Feel free to submit your questions now, and I'll answer those first when I join the chat at 11 a.m.
Apr 13 2016, 12:02 PM
Guest8141 (guest): Name a player on offense and defense who is not in the current 2-deep that you think will have a good career?
Apr 13 2016, 12:07 PM
srchat: Not in the two-deep, eh? Because the freshmen haven't arrived yet, there aren't actually that many scholarship players outside the two deeps right now, particularly on offense. I'm going to say that Wilson Kainoa continues the WSU tradition of walk-on wide receivers who manage to meaningfully contribute by the end of their careers. On defense, I expect Kam Powell to be a good player for the Cougars, once he starts to put everything together.
Apr 13 2016, 12:07 PM
NLS Coug 07 (guest): You do a phenomenal job and your continued improvement since you started is great to see. Do you know how the satellite camp vote went for the Pac-12? How did the Pac-12 come up with their "ban satellite camp" vote? If it was school by school, I can't imagine any school outside of California voting to ban satellite camps? If any school outside of California thinks satellite camps don't help them, they are delirious as a majority(guessing 60-70%?) of P12 starters are from CA.
Apr 13 2016, 12:11 PM
srchat: Thanks a lot, NLS. That's nice of you to say. Regarding the satellite camps, I've read that the Big 12 was the only Power Five conference to vote in favor of the camps. While the California schools seem like the only ones that would be against the camps, remember that the LA schools have always exerted a lot of influence over their peers when it comes to conference alignment, rules decisions, etc.
Apr 13 2016, 12:11 PM
Guest3270 (guest): Where did you have Lynn Swann on your list of potential USC ADs?
Apr 13 2016, 12:11 PM
srchat: Somewhere between Reggie Bush and Will Ferrell.
Apr 13 2016, 12:11 PM
thepapercrain: How do you see the peaking order of the RB's panning out this year? will Williams get the same amount of touches as Harrington did last year?
Apr 13 2016, 12:13 PM
srchat: As far as a pecking order goes, I expect that'll change week-to-week, just like it did last year. I would not be shocked if Williams gets the plurality of touches, and maybe even a majority of the carries, but I think you'll have weeks where Wicks, Harrington and Morrow each get a lot of use, based on how practice went and who has the hot hand.
Apr 13 2016, 12:16 PM
Ray Lancaster: I recall you saying Hanser as the 2nd fastest Def
Apr 13 2016, 12:16 PM
srchat: Hanser is a great athlete. I believe he went to state in track in some huge number of events.
Apr 13 2016, 12:17 PM
NLS Coug 07 (guest): 4 outside receivers playing vs eastern and 4 inside receivers playing vs eastern? Inside I would guess Cracraft, Sweet, Lewis, Priester. Outside I would think Martin, Marks, Johnson and ???
Apr 13 2016, 12:17 PM
srchat: Right now that last receiver would be Kaleb Fossum.
Apr 13 2016, 12:20 PM
NLS Coug 07 (guest): How many players is Eastern returning this year? They had a "down" year for them last year but know the Cougs can't sleep on them.
Apr 13 2016, 12:22 PM
srchat: EWU has 56 letterwinners back, including five starters on offense and nine (!) on defense. Most importantly, Cooper Kupp is back, and he's guaranteed to give the Cougars secondary trouble.
Apr 13 2016, 12:24 PM
NLS Coug 07 (guest): If you were a betting man and had to bet today, who is the 2nd string qb going to be?
Apr 13 2016, 12:24 PM
srchat: Payton Bender
Apr 13 2016, 12:25 PM
srchat: Hilinksi still throws a lot of interceptions in practice and tends to compound his mistakes, which is a big no-no for Leach.
Apr 13 2016, 12:27 PM
NLS Coug 07 (guest): Will each specific schools vote that contributes to the P12 satellite vote ever become public?
Apr 13 2016, 12:28 PM
srchat: I'd be surprised. A few will probably leak out.
Apr 13 2016, 12:32 PM
Guest549 (guest): record prediction/explanation?
Apr 13 2016, 12:33 PM
srchat: 10-3. I believe this year's team will be better than last year's by a decent margin, but I also think last year's 9-win record would be hard to reproduce, considering WSU's success in close games.
Apr 13 2016, 12:36 PM
jonthecoug: Do you expect Ernie to sign any kids this week beside Flynn?
Apr 13 2016, 12:36 PM
srchat: I do expect them to sign a few more. I don't know if it will be this week.
Apr 13 2016, 12:36 PM
Guest3720 (guest): How has luvu looked this spring?
Apr 13 2016, 12:37 PM
srchat: Luvu is big and a good athlete and has played pretty well, one enough that he seems pretty set as the starting weakside linebacker. Luvu could probably stand to ease up on the killshots in practice, though, particularly when a play is clearly almost over.
Apr 13 2016, 12:38 PM
jonthecoug: How has Tago looked? Is he at LB or Rush?
Apr 13 2016, 12:39 PM
srchat: Tago's actually at defensive end these days. He's still learning how to play that position, especially given his size, but his athleticism is apparent.
Apr 13 2016, 12:41 PM
jonthecoug: What's your best guess as to who enters fall camp at starting safety, opposite Shalom?
Apr 13 2016, 12:42 PM
srchat: It's looking more and more like Jalen Thompson, although I think they'll give Robert Taylor a long look there as well.
Apr 13 2016, 12:43 PM
Guest3720 (guest): How has sakaria looked? We heard about him the first practice but not much since.
Apr 13 2016, 12:43 PM
srchat: You sure Sakaria is who you heard a lot about?
Apr 13 2016, 12:43 PM
Guest549 (guest): who wins the apple cup?
Apr 13 2016, 12:43 PM
srchat: WSU wins a back-and-forth Apple Cup at home, 24-21.
Apr 13 2016, 12:44 PM
Guest3270 (guest): How do you pronounce Bigge-Duren?
Apr 13 2016, 12:45 PM
srchat: Rhymes with Thiggy Curin'
Apr 13 2016, 12:48 PM
cubsfan7331: Has there been much kicking? Who's been better at punting, FG's and kick-offs?
Apr 13 2016, 12:49 PM
srchat: The special teams work has all been pretty light, with the exception of some short field goals during the scrimmage, all of which were good. I think the starters will be the same as last year. So, Powell kicking and Charme punting.
Apr 13 2016, 12:49 PM
Guest549 (guest): playoffs?
Apr 13 2016, 12:49 PM
srchat: Cougars probably aren't a playoff team yet.
Apr 13 2016, 12:52 PM
Guest549 (guest): agree to disagree
Apr 13 2016, 12:52 PM
jonthecoug: Is depth on the dline still a concern?
Apr 13 2016, 12:52 PM
srchat: Yes, although Garrett McBroom being able to contribute helps. What'd really help is if Nick Begg turned out to be capable of contributing this year.
Apr 13 2016, 12:53 PM
Guest549 (guest): have you noticed the d line having their way in practice a concerning amount?
Apr 13 2016, 12:53 PM
srchat: Honestly, I've noticed less of that than in previous years. Usually the defensive line seems to have an advantage in inter-team play, but the sack numbers haven't been outrageous like in past years.
Apr 13 2016, 12:54 PM
Guest987 (guest): More or less rushing yards this season?
Apr 13 2016, 12:54 PM
srchat: More.
Apr 13 2016, 12:55 PM
Guest549 (guest): is THAT concerning?
Apr 13 2016, 12:56 PM
srchat: I think it's more of a positive for the offensive line than it is a negative for the pass rush. That said, the Cougars did lose two All-Pac-12 defensive linemen, so it's reasonable to expect some dropoff, at least initially.
Apr 13 2016, 12:58 PM
Guest1152 (guest): Do you expect any of the limited players in spring camp to still be limited in the fall?
Apr 13 2016, 12:58 PM
Guest549 (guest): wouldnt that indicate worse play on both lines?
Apr 13 2016, 12:59 PM
srchat: I've heard that they're all expected to be ready by fall camp.
Apr 13 2016, 12:59 PM
srchat: I don't see why?
Apr 13 2016, 12:59 PM
Guest549 (guest): does james williams remind you any of jerome harrison?
Apr 13 2016, 12:59 PM
srchat: Not really. But I also never saw Jerome Harrison in person.
Apr 13 2016, 1:02 PM
Guest549 (guest): well if they get less sacks than usual and we lost our two best lineman, it would seem like the production isnt matching that of a d line going against a better o line
Apr 13 2016, 1:02 PM
srchat: The linemen they lost were on defense. Regardless, I wouldn't read too much into spring sack numbers. Usually they're abnormally high, even if the defensive line isn't very good. If they're not, I take that as a sign that the offensive line is cohesive and comfortable.
Apr 13 2016, 1:04 PM
srchat: Thanks for joining our live chat today, everybody. The transcript will be up shortly.
