Wazzu World
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October 11, 2022
Wazzu News and Notes - October 11, 2022
- Well, Wazzu World is back in business after a significant layoff due to illness. Thanks for all the good wishes and support! Let's start with a look at the next opponent for Cougar football, Oregon State.
- Reports have Chance Nolan, the QB starter beginning this season, out for a second consecutive week because of concussion protocol. In the first start of his career, Ben Gulbranson was tapped to lead the offense for the Beavs on the road at Stanford last week and threw a game-winning TD pass with just seconds left on the clock. He finished the game completing 20 of 28 passes for 250 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. Pretty impressive stuff for the third-year freshman.
- Wazzu will be without the services of starting right guard Grant Stephens who was flagged for targeting in the second half of the USC game. “We (appealed to the Pac-12) and got the ruling back and it says the targeting stands,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said Monday during his weekly news conference. “I think it’s a rule that needs to be looked at. … I see it as a guy that is almost sacking the quarterback. But that’s the ruling.” Tough loss for the Cougs to start the game Saturday. Their offensive line has been a work in progress this season. Stephens was just getting into the flow of that process and now has a hiccup to contend with.
- As reported by Colton Clark of the Spokesman, Washington State receiver Renard Bell and running back Nakia Watson will be sidelined indefinitely due to injuries sustained last weekend, Cougars coach Jake Dickert told local media members Monday. Dickert expects Bell and Watson to return to WSU’s lineup “at some point, but it won’t be until a little bit later” in the season. “We’re going to be without Renard and Nakia for some time,” he said. “But their leadership is going to be much-needed and much-appreciated.”
- Washington State running back Jaylen Jenkins was named the Pac-12 Conference Freshman Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday. Jenkins had a breakout game this past Saturday at No. 6 USC, setting season-highs with 13 carries for 130 yards and caught two passes for 54 yards including a 45-yard grab. The freshman from Allen, Texas recorded a season-high 184 all-purpose yards, averaged 10.0 yards-per-carry, and had four runs of 10+ yards against the Trojans. Jenkins' first career 100-yard rushing game was the first by a WSU redshirt freshman since 2016 (126, James Williams, Idaho) and first by a WSU true freshman since 2005 (105, DeMaundray Woolridge, vs. Grambling State in Seattle).
https://wsucougars.com/news/2022/10/10/football-jaylen-jenkins-named-pac-12-freshman-of-the-week.aspx
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Wazzu News and Notes - December 14, 2022
- 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 ...
Wazzu News and Notes - December 13, 2022
- 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 ...
Wazzu News and Notes - December 11, 2022
- 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 ...
