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As we move closer to Christmas, things on the WSU athletic front get quieter and quieter. However, there was a nice recap of Coach Kyle Smith's presser by Jamey Vinnick that's worthy of your time. Coach Smith offered some insight which led to Wazzu losing at the buzzer to South Dakota State. Okay, it might be rubbing salt in an open wound to revisit the third loss of this season. If you like to look forward, Smith's thoughts will give you something to consider as opponents start getting tougher in Pac-12 play. Here's your link:
https://247sports.com/college/washington-state/Article/Kyle-Smith-We-dont-know-how-to-handle-success-yet-after-loss-at-buzzer-to-SDSU-178060534/ -
It's official. Max Borghi is declaring entry into the NFL draft. Borghi still has one year of eligibility left, but what does he have to prove? The Utah native has placed his name prominently in the WSU record book. Were it not for a Covid shortened season, he helped the Cougs earn a trip to a post-season bowl all but one year he was on the roster. His work ethic and leadership blossomed while in Pullman. It's time for Cougar Nation to collectively tip their hat to a guy who made a positive impact in numerous ways.
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Colton Clark of S/R put together a terrific review of this past Cougar football season. His analysis offers an overall view of where the program is and what to watch for under the new leadership of Jake Dickert. Here's your link:
https://www.khq.com/sports/washington_state_university/season-rewind-a-postseason-review-of-washington-states-2021-opponents/article_41e359d0-8c60-561a-a3fe-c166a7af39dc.html -
Borislava "Bobbie Buckets" Hristova finished a stellar career at Wazzu and moved on to the WNBA. While in Pullman, it was a common occurrence for her to be tapped for Pac-12 Player of the Week. That appears to be a legacy carried forward by Charlisse Leger-Walker, who earned her first recognition from the Conference of Champions. Leger-Walker brought the Cougs from behind to defeat both Gonzaga and Boise State last week. She averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals, and 2.5 assists in the process.
Go Cougs!!!
- It seems fitting to put together a list of coaches who branch off of the Mike Leach coaching tree. Perspective on his football genius can easily be determined by a cursory glance:
Dave Aranda/Baylor head coach – Graduate assistant coach under Leach from 2000-02 at Texas Tech
Neal Brown/West Virginia head coach – Played under Leach in 1998 when Leach was offensive coordinator at Kentucky
Sonny Cumbie/Louisiana Tech head coach – Played under Leach at Texas Tech from 2000-03 and later served as a graduate assistant coach under Leach
Sonny Dykes/TCU head coach – Coached wide receivers and later was the co-offensive coordinator at Texas Tech under Leach from 2000-06
Josh Heupel/Tennessee head coach – Played under Leach at Oklahoma in 1999 when Leach was the offensive coordinator for the Sooners
Dana Holgorsen/Houston head coach – Coached alongside Leach as assistants at Valdosta State from 1993-95, then served as a wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator under Leach from ...
- The news of former WSU Coach Mike Leach passing at the young age of 61 is very, very sad. I had the pleasure of writing about the Cougs when Leach was at the helm. To say that he was a unique person doesn't begin to describe the multi-faceted dimension of the man.
In terms of coaching football, Leach led his teams in a way that had most other coaches scratching their heads. His offensive creativity gave a multitude of defensive coordinators ulcers. To say that his techniques for molding student-athletes into football players were unusual would be accurate. Making guys run sprints in a sand pit named "Leach Beach" is a prime example. Crazy as that sounds, his players had fewer ankle injuries over the course of the season than any team in football. Only Mike Leach could get players to hit the beach. And if you look at the coaching tree that branches out from Leach, you'd find a myriad of men who owe him for their start in the profession.
When you examine the way Leach represented the schools ...
- Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, so Wazzu's loss yesterday to UNLV by a score of 74-70 was just that, a loss. However, there were plenty of reasons to applaud both the performance and the progress the Cougs are making over the past few games. Let's get the bad observation out of the way. WSU turned the ball over a ridiculous 22 times. No one is going to beat many teams with such wreckless play, especially against a team that posted a 9-0 record going into the contest. Some of those errors might be attributed to Coach Kyle Smith going with a different lineup almost every game because of player injuries. Facts are facts and when there isn't a steady lineup, players struggle to play team ball. On the bright side, Wazzu shot a respectable 54.2% from the field, coupled with a very nice 56.5% from behind the arc. On defense, WSU held UNLV to just 30.4% from behind the arc and 50.9% overall. The Cougs outrebounded the Rebels by a margin of 33-20. Despite being down by ...
