Theo Lawson

When Washington State University selects its recipient for the Regents’ Distinguished Alumnus Award, the goal is to find someone “who has made significant contributions to society and, through his or her accomplishments, has brought attention to the quality of a WSU education.” It’s an award that has Steve Gleason’s name written all over it.

Washington State defensive line standouts Hercules Mata’afa and Daniel Ekuale were named Thursday morning to the 2017 Polynesian College Player of the Year Award watch list. The award is presented annually to “the most outstanding Polynesian college football player that epitomizes great ability and integrity.”

LEWISTON – The Washington State football schedule is frontloaded with home games this season – five of the seven are in the month of September – and Cougar coach Mike Leach wants to make sure his players get all the reps they can inside Martin Stadium before the Sept. 2 opener versus Montana State. So the Cougars are returning to their home fort earlier than planned and rather than practice Friday afternoon at Lewiston’s Sacajawea Junior High, they’ll bus to Pullman and scrimmage at Martin Stadium Friday evening. The mock game will start at 7:30 p.m. and be open to the public.

Jarrett Kingston received an offer from Washington State two days ago and the offensive/defensive lineman from Anderson High in California didn’t wait long to pull the trigger.

In his early years at Washington State, Erik Powell would often spend hours on end of his own time spraying kicks through the uprights, hoping constant repetition would generate the muscle memory needed to convert big-time field goals in big-time games.

Coaches and teammates all agree: The Isaiah Johnson-Mack that left Pullman in June isn’t the same Isaiah Johnson-Mack that returned to campus in August.

LEWISTON – There are few teams in the country who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to trade their own offensive line for that of Washington State. The Cougars have a consensus All-American at right guard. That’s Cody O’Connell. They have the nation’s highest-rated offensive tackle, per Pro Football Focus. That’s Cole Madison. And the tackle opposite Madison was also recognized by PFF, as a 2016 All-Pac-12 second teamer. That’s Andre Dillard.

Breakout performances are part of the formula that makes college football such an exciting attraction for its fans and followers. Every season, nearly every team has a player, or multiple players, who make their biggest strides a year or two earlier than expected and take on a starring role almost overnight. Those stories have come in bunches at Washington State.

LEWISTON – The temperatures cooked and so did the tempers Sunday afternoon as Washington State logged its fifth day of fall camp and third at Sacajawea Junior High in Lewiston. Through the first four days, Cougar players remained relatively even-keeled, engaging in good, hard-nosed competition without ever reaching a tipping point. But a few of the shoving matches that tend to happen after the play is blown dead lasted a little longer on Sunday.

LEWISTON – The duel between competing Washington State nickelbacks Kirkland Parker and Hunter Dale is much more civil than one might think. Just hear Parker out. “We just compete, compete, try to make each other better obviously,” he said. “It’s not like a hate thing. That’s my dude, so we just go, go, go. Keep each other going. I make a mistake, he makes a mistake, we try to lift each other up and just keep it going.”

Jeff Phelps has plenty of delectable memories from the last bowl game he coached in. The quarterback that Phelps’ D-line decimated? That would be Luke Falk.

A slight breeze whipped through the Lewiston Orchards Friday afternoon, making day one of Cougar camp at Sacajawea Junior High bearable and maybe even … pleasant? Here are five observations from Friday’s session:

This offseason, Mike Leach found a new platform to share his wild thoughts, cast his bold opinions and further cement his status as the most interesting man in college football.

There aren’t a ton of mysteries at WSU’s football training camp, but here’s a few positions to keep an eye on as the Cougars travel to Lewiston to continue fall camp.

Competition never ceases between college football players – on the field, and perhaps even more so, off of it.

The Vandals, especially those adorned in white defensive jerseys, did seem to hit a new gear during the first day of camp and the general consensus – from the head coach to the starting quarterback to the visiting TV reporters – was that Idaho looked a touch faster Tuesday evening.

Mike Leach might liken the 2017 Cougars to a sharp cheddar, rather than a fine Swiss. There just aren’t many holes. Like every team in the country, the Cougars will have their deficiencies – and a great deal of those will be exposed when WSU opens camp at 2 p.m. Wednesday in Pullman – but Leach came up blank when asked if his squad appears to be noticeably frail at any one position.

Mike Leach isn’t necessarily bothered by a recent NCAA ruling that disallows teams from holding multiple full-contact practices on the same day. His teams at Washington State, nor those at Texas Tech, ever employed two-a-days to begin with.

Washington State men’s hoops will open the 2017 Wooden Legacy tournament on Thanksgiving Day with a first-round contest against Atlantic 10 opponent Saint Joseph’s, ESPN Regional Television announced Tuesday.