Wulff Claims His First Class Is First-Rate
It’s probably safe to say that upward of a hundred college football coaches stepped in front of a microphone or tape recorder Wednesday afternoon and proclaimed his latest recruiting class his “best ever.”
Eastern Washington’s Paul Wulff was among them.
It’s also safe to say that Wulff’s assessment was as honest as any and more honest than most, considering he is less than two months into his first stint as a head coach.
“It’s the best, no question about it; the best I’ve ever had,” joked Wulff, who replaced Mike Kramer as the Eagles head coach in December after Kramer bolted to Montana State.
But if Wulff’s further evaluation of the 16 players that signed letters of intent proves accurate, he might be the only Big Sky Conference coach in a joking mood a couple of years from now.
By Wulff’s own admission, nearly every one of the 13 high school players recruited is coming to Eastern with the understanding that he will sit for a year or two, observe the veteran ahead of him at his position, learn from what he sees and get stronger - much stronger.
“High-school-wise, I don’t know if any of them can come in and play right away,” said Wulff, who was an assistant at Eastern for six years before taking over as head coach. “But we feel we got kids who can come into our program, work and develop - just like other kids we’ve had.
“We’ve got kids, that when they develop, they’re going to be darn good. But they have to be able, in our program, to accept that that’s part of the challenge, because we live and die with kids that want to work hard and develop.”
Among EWU’s top prep recruits - all of whom come from Washington - are Kyle Randall, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound defensive back from Ferndale; Matt Doyle, a 6-2, 245-pound offensive lineman from Shadle Park; and Kevin Schmidt, a 6-3, 235-pound tight end-type from Medical Lake.
Wulff said he is also very high on Javid Shoemaker, a 5-10, 185-pound wideout from Bethel High School in Graham.
Randall is considered an exceptional student, who turned down a scholarship offer from the Air Force Academy. He was honored by USA Today as an honorable mention All-America defensive back and was named to the Class 3A all-state team after making nine interceptions and breaking up 19 other passes last fall.
“He should be a great fit for us,” Wulff said, “and he has a chance to play as a true freshman.”
Doyle is the brother of former Shadle Park standout Shane Doyle, who went on to play on Washington State’s 1998 Rose Bowl team.
“Matt is a little bigger than his brother and we’re excited to have him,” Wulff said. “He brings some toughness to the position, but he has some room to develop, and that’s what he needs to do.
“Like most of our freshmen, he’s a couple of years of hard work in the weight room away.”
Expected to contribute immediately are Andre Cummings and Shaylon Reed, a couple of big wide receivers from California.
Cummings, a 6-0, 190-pounder from Pasadena Junior College, is considered the plum of this year’s recruiting class, which is expected to grow by at least five later this week. As a sophomore last fall, he caught 24 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns.
“The biggest issue for us was getting help at wide receiver, which we got with Andre Cummings,” Wulff said of the former high school quarterback, who has played wideout for only two years. “He was one of the top junior-college receivers we looked at and, to be honest, we felt he was overlooked by some bigger schools.
“He’s a big, physical kid with really good hands and he’s only going to get better.”
One of the biggest disappointments, Wulff admitted, was the inability to land an in-state high school quarterback.
“We had two in-state kids we felt could develop into good young quarterbacks down the road,” he explained. “We weren’t able to catch either of those two, but we had our eyes on a couple of out-of-state kids that we’re still pursuing.
“We’re going to get a high school quarterback for sure. But who it’s going to be, we’re still not sure.”