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Well, not only has some of the luster of hearing the news of Cameron Ward was coming to Pullman worn off, it's worn off of college football in general. As an old-school guy, the recruitment of Ward seemed a story we've all heard again and again related to Cougar football. A talented student-athlete is identified, a member of the coaching staff is assigned the prospect and the development of a relationship with Wazzu begins. Turns out that's only part of the story. College football recruitment in 2022 includes the aforementioned but add to that the impact of NIL dollars. Name, Image and License property can be very, very lucrative for young student-athletes. In Ward's case, there was enough money put on the table for him attending WSU to help seal the deal. Seems it's no longer just about playing the game of football, it's endorsements and other approved sources of income that will temp a young person to choose one university over another. Barry Bolton put together a detailed piece that shines a light on the process of recruiting Ward along with college athletes in general. Here's your link:
https://247sports.com/college/washington-state/Article/How-WSU-football-luminaries-came-together-for-Cameron-Ward-NIL-deal-180401349/ -
Staying somewhat on topic, Coach Jake Dickert made it clear that the departure of Jayden de Laura was not related to his sitting out the second half of the Sun Bowl. Wazzu medical staff informed Dickert after halftime that de Laura would not be available to play in the second half. Perhaps, that will squash contrary rumors. Dickert said that de Laura "...felt like a new situation was best for him and I wish him the best of luck as he moves on to the next phase.”
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There are still a couple of openings on Coach Dickert's staff. It was thought that safeties and nickels coach Mark Banker would stay on after being offered a contract, but that isn't going to be the case. Speculation is that Banker will retire after 40-years of coaching to work on his golf game. That leaves one position coach opening and Dickert has yet to announce a new special teams coordinator. Apparently, both jobs have someone selected to fill the spots, but there is a process of clearance performed by WSU to assure new hires don't bring problems or baggage to Pullman. Look for announcements to be made before the end of the week.
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 ...
