- Coach Jake Dickert and his new staff continue working to fill out their roster for the coming season. Sure, they are with the team down in El Paso, but that isn't getting in the way of adding a player from the transfer portal. Here's some info on the latest student-athlete to go crimson:
VIRGINIA CAREER OF NUSI MALANI
SOPHOMORE (2022): Will enroll at WSU in January and participate in spring practice.
FRESHMAN (2021): Played in eight games and recorded three tackles…had two tackles in 42-14 win over Illinois and one solo tackle in 43-0 season-opening win against William & Mary.
FRESHMAN (2020): Appeared in seven games…one of 12 true freshmen to appear in a game…made collegiate debut at No. 1 Clemson…made one tackle against NC State…notched two stops in the win over Louisville…named to 2021 ACC Academic Honor Roll.
HIGH SCHOOL
Played defensive end at Junipero Serra High School for head coach Patrick Walsh…named West Catholic Athletic Defensive Lineman of the Year and named Bay Area Preps HQ’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2019…rated No. 15 player in the Bay Area by San Jose Mercury News in its preseason Fab 40 ranking … made 61 tackles, including 35 solo stops as a senior … added 4.0 sacks and caused one fumble as a senior … finished with 7.0 tackles for loss …. helped Serra to the 2019 CIF D1-A state final … played on Serra’s junior varsity team as a sophomore due to ACL knee injury, then joined varsity for postseason play that saw team win the 2017 CIF Division 2-AA state championship … three-star recruit by ESPN.com, Rivals.com and 247sports.com … competes in discus and shot put for track squad … finished third in shot put at 2019 WCAL finals with a personal best of 48-3 … played center on school’s basketball team.
PERSONAL
High school teammate of current Cougar defensive back Jackson Lataiumua.
Given the need, Malani should be able to earn playing time right away. That is, if Malani is ready for Pac-12 competition. He certainly has the size components required to play on the defensive line. At 6'6" and 275 pounds, he is bigger than any other DL player on the Wazzu roster. However, he wasn't able to crack the starting lineup in Virginia, listed second on the last depth chart behind a 6'1" 270 pound senior. The interest in coming to Pullman may have been stronger for Malani than for WSU. He's a west coast kid who grew up in the shadow of Pac-12 play. You have to respect his agility if the kid could play HS basketball. Time will tell if he is a good fit for Cougar football. Here's a few more details laid out in a story by Colton Clark of the S/R:
https://www.nbcrightnow.com/sports/washington_state_university/washington-state-signs-virginia-transfer-defensive-lineman-nusi-malani/article_d3a45ef8-df75-5327-acf9-321ea2721083.html
Jeff Nusser of Coug Center had this to say about Malani: "WSU recruited Malani heavily out of Junipero Serra High School in San Bruno, California, where he was a mid-three star recruit. He took an official visit to Pullman but eventually signed with the Hoos over the Cougs, Arizona State, Nebraska, and Arizona. "
- Jamey Vinnick over at CFC.com had a good idea for Sun Bowl coverage. The combination of opt-outs and health issues will force the Cougs into a new and different look on offense. You will see the Wisconsin transfer Nakia Watson will start at running back since neither Max Borghi nor Deon McIntosh will be in El Paso. In limited playing time this season, Watson showed flashes of the success he enjoyed in Wisconsin. He's not a prototype Big Ten back, which is likely a significant reason he moved to Pulllman. The young man has the speed and moves to break defenders ankles. He may very well be the featured back in 2022. Opening holes for Watson will be a completely revamped offensive line. Notice the adjective "inexperienced" wasn't used to describe the OL players. There will be plenty of game snaps under the belts of the guys lining up prior to the center hiking the ball. You might even recognize the names, but they will all be in unfamiliar places. Once again, this OL unit might be the one you see in the spring game prior to next season's fall camp. One player to watch is Christian Hilborn, a 6'5", 319-pound true freshman from Salt Lake City, who made his 2021 debut with a handful of snaps in the Apple Cup. This young man has been the talk of recent practices.
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 ...
