WSU gives Willingham high praise
PULLMAN – Eleven months remain until Apple Cup 2005, but Washington State just got its first important piece of information about the archrival Huskies for next year’s game.
Both coaches and administrators at WSU praised Washington’s hiring of head coach Tyrone Willingham, fired this off-season from Notre Dame but with a track record of success in the Pac-10 at Stanford.
“He’s a really good coach who didn’t get a fair opportunity at Notre Dame,” WSU head coach Bill Doba said. Willingham was let go after three seasons in South Bend, the first football coach in school history to be let go before the conclusion of his initial contract. “The proof he knows what he’s doing is what happened to Stanford since he left.”
Willingham’s teams did struggle at Notre Dame in the last two seasons, but the coach has gone 2 for 2 in his collegiate coaching career in producing significant improvements in the win column during his first year.
Perhaps more important to Washington is Willingham’s history of running a disciplined ship, something that has been in question for the Huskies recently.
“It sounds like a good hire to me,” said Marcia Saneholtz, WSU’s senior associate athletic director. “He comes with a great reputation for integrity and being a good coach.”
WSU down two
Two more players have decided to leave the WSU football program despite having eligibility left.
Running back Allen Thompson has decided to end his football career and wide receiver Tramaine Murray is looking at transfer options.
Thompson struggled with a chronic shoulder problem that required multiple surgeries over the course of his collegiate career. The junior was able to play more in 2004 than he had in any other season, including a promising year as a true freshman that was cut short by injury.
He turned into an able short-yardage back this season, running for 271 yards on 54 carries, including two touchdowns.
“He has had two shoulder surgeries and felt some slippage at the end of the season,” Doba said. “I thoroughly understand his decision and we will miss him. He is going to graduate in May and we are going to do everything we can to help him continue his education.”
Murray, also a junior, didn’t catch a pass in his junior season and it appeared unlikely he would see much playing time in 2005. With one year of eligibility remaining, Murray could transfer to a I-AA school and play next season.
The two departures give the Cougars 21 scholarships available, many more than originally estimated. Earlier in the off-season, offensive lineman Bryan Boyer and wideout Jevon Miller also decided to end their careers. Boyer is graduating and Miller has a wrist injury that could cause arthritis if he continued.
Notes
The Cougars could fill some of those available scholarships with players who failed to qualify. Four players who did not make the academic cut as part of the 2004 recruiting class are either in or could get in as grayshirts in January. Wide receiver Benny Ward of Van Nuys, Calif., has already qualified and will join the team after improving his test scores in the fall. Defensive back Michael Willis of Tacoma was accepted by an academic review committee but still must improve his test scores. His former coach at Lincoln High School, Dick Zatkovich, said Willis tested on Dec. 4 and should find out the results in about a week. Linebacker Tyson Kirksey of Lufkin, Texas, still has to face that review committee later this week. And junior college defensive end Letrell Myers is in finals this week at Riverside Community College. He must complete his A.A. degree before he can join the team. … NCAA rules prohibit contact with junior college players right now, and a dark period with limited contact for all recruits begins this weekend.