Theo Lawson

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:

In an effort to ensure that no lesson goes untaught, WSU football coach Mike Leach is giving Dave Nichol the inside receivers this fall and Derek Sage will handle the outside receivers.

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.