Romeo Pellum Rips WSU

Looks like Romeo Pellum is feeling like he got the shaft from Paul Wulff and company. Pellum, as you probably know, was suspended from the team for stealing electronics in February, and then was arrested in April for driving with a suspended license. Pellum has decided instead of sticking around and dealing with it, he's going to leave. Or was he kicked off the team? It's all a little foggy. I guess it doesn't matter, whether he was booted or chose to leave, because either way he's gone.

Anyway, he had some choice words for the coaches as he moves on down the road...

“I felt like I was treated unfairly with that whole situation,” Pellum said. “I was suspended for the whole spring. If you read those charges that happened back in February, it’s pretty self-explanatory what we were suspended for.” Pellum said because he was treated unfairly and not given a second chance, he elected to depart both the team and the university to pursue other football opportunities.

“(The coaches) are untrustworthy and I don’t want to be a part of the Wulff era,” he said. “I wouldn’t say all of the coaches, but a handful.” Pellum also said the team’s strict and unfair nature became evident after he witnessed the suspension of five players, four being reinstated, and three charged legally.

Is he really being treated unfairly here? He was arrested twice in three months this spring. Wulff has a system in place where the player incidents are dealt with in a particular way, with discipline handed down from the players and staff. Either you play by the rules that everyone else has to follow, or you don't, and you move on. Case closed. At least Jim Sterk, who happens to be Wulff's boss, thinks that Wulff is doing just fine in the discipline department.

But what's odd is that Pellum calls the coaches untrustworthy. Yet, as the Evergreen story reports, Pellum claims he is leaving on good terms, and Wulff and Jody Sears both wrote letters of recommendation for Pellum....? Oh well. Good luck to Romeo, wherever he ends up.

Pellum's loss does hurt though. 65 tackles and a couple of picks last year, and a likely starter in the depleted secondary, he does leave some shoes to fill. We like the Cal transfer, Brandon Jones, and Tyrone Justin at corner (as long as Justin stays out of trouble as well?). We'll look at the secondary in the next week or so.

Speaking of moving on, in completely unrelated, non-Cougness, Jessica Simpson was released by Tony "Dimples" Romo. And it sounds as though she is devastated. What's cold is that Romo cut her loose the night before her 29th birthday! Even I can say that's cold man, cold.

Seriously though, Jess has literally ONE JOB to do, and that is stay a hot chick if she wants to hang on the arm of Mr. Wonderful.....did she succeed, or fail? Check it out:





What happened??

Gisele figured it out and is doing what it takes to hang with Tom Brady. It's a tough, competitive market for being with an NFL superstar QB. Maybe age 29 is the "cutoff" for Romo, and it was time to trade into something newer and sleeker? Meanwhile there's probably 3 million females in the state of Texas who are still up popping champagne over Romo's new-found free agency. Let the bidding begin!

Finally, one last thing on Michael Jackson.



The Sunday after he died, Fox ran the famous Simpson's episode, where Homer is admitted to an insane asylum and meets a guy who claims to be Michael Jackson (and he clearly is not the King of Pop). It's a really good episode, if you are a fan of the show or not.


If you recall the episode, the voice of the Jackson impostor sounded amazingly like Michael. Yet, when the credits rolled, there was no mention of him as the voice. There were rumors it was him, but it was never really confirmed.



But now, the truth can be told. Jackson WAS the voice after all. Per wiki:

Michael Jackson guest stars as Leon Kompowsky's speaking voice, while his singing is provided by Kipp Lennon. For contractual reasons, Jackson was credited as John Jay Smith, and his role in the episode was not officially confirmed until later. Kompowsky was originally set to return in a second episode, except voiced by Prince, but the episode was never produced.

Cool.

That's about it for a slow Friday (obviously). ENJOY your weekend, and as always, GO COUGS!



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So Who's Going to Pick it?

So we've taken a peek at who we think is going to chuck it, and who we think is going to carry it. Now let's look at who, exactly, will be picking balls out of the air for the WSU offense in '09.

Right away, it must be acknowledged who WON'T be picking it in '09, and that is of course, our lead photo guy of the day, Brandon Gibson. For the first time since 2004, the WSU receiving corps will be sans #4 (2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 all saw Gibson in the WR rotation). One of the all-time greats in WSU history, Gibson finished his career as the school leader in receiving yards (2,756). He was second in total catches with 182. His 17 TD's placed him in the top six in school history. Gibson will be missed, there is no denying that. Gibson, as you are probably aware, was a sixth-round draft choice of the flying Philly Eagles, ready to make some noise back east.

We salute you Gibby, and wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

But the page must be turned, so with that, we look ahead. And who shall lead them? Let's see....


While 2008 was, overall, a lost season for many WSU WR's, the raw numbers are a hard thing to comprehend. It seemed like nobody, and I mean NOBODY, improved at WR in '08. After all, the superstar game-breaker in Brandon Gibson saw his numbers shrink considerably, going from a 67-catch, 1180-yard, 9-TD campaign in '07 to just a 57 catch, 673-yard, two-TD campaign in '08. But, believe it or not, there was someone who improved last year, even with an offense that struggled so terribly for the bulk of the season. The one guy who did improve, at least statistically, was none other than the track star - Jeshua Anderson. Wait, you mean the amazing hurdler who flirted with making the 2008 Olympic Team, and then missed all of August with an abdominal injury? THAT Jeshua Anderson?? It's true.



After catching just 12 balls as a true frosh in '07, Anderson emerged with 33 catches in '08. His yards-per-catch was down in a huge way, at 9.2, but after '07 there was nowhere to go but down. Anderson averaged an unrepeatable 31(thirty-one!) yards per grab in '07, but that was on just the 12 catches. There was virtually no way he was doing that again, not as a starter after playing the deep threat role the year before.

I guess our concern with Anderson is the same one that a lot of people have for him, and that is has the track time taken away from his chances to get better on the football field? After all, he missed spring ball again this year to compete in the NCAA championships, where YES, he did repeat as NCAA CHAMP in the 400 hurdles. So as great as he is on the track, nobody can really blame him for missing practice time on the gridiron.


He is super-special in the hurdles, and a lucrative career may await on the track-n-field circuit once his NCAA days are behind him. Anderson does possess some good tools for the WR position, aside from just the great speed. He is cut at 6-2, 188, and shows good hands and excellent body control. But is he good enough at his craft to be THE MAN this year? He could be on the brink of a major breakthrough, or the load could be unbearable for a guy who may not exactly be ready to roll as the number one WR. But without question, Anderson is the fastest, most talented WR of the bunch coming back in '09. Here's hoping a healthy, productive practice session in August will see him ready for the rigors of a 12-game gauntlet in '09.

Now it gets a little challenging, as what you have left is a real mash-up of young, somewhat experienced WR's, but none of whom has really had a shot to make some noise. Of course, we love Jared Karstetter, and he will always live in Apple Cup lore for his 48-yard grab that saved the 2008 game.



But aside from that catch, he made just FIVE others the entire '08 season. But that was his true frosh year, and he did only start three games on the season. Excellent size at 6-4, 203, and pretty athletic as well, he could evolve into a difficult match-up for whoever he faces on a weekly basis. Last year we hoped he could turn out to be another Jeff Samardzija of sorts, the former Notre Dame great turned MLB reliever? Samardzija was your bigger, possession-type target with good hands, but also good enough quicks to break one here and there. Karstetter is going to be an interesting guy to watch this year as we see if he's taken a step forward in his development. The opportunity is there, no doubt about it. But the jury is, as they say, still very much out on Karstetter.

Another kid with a year of playing time now under his belt is Kevin Norrell. On the smallish side at 5-9, Norrell showed a little something with 11 catches last year. He's perfect for the slot, and should be able to use his quickness in space against linebackers or safeties who line up across from him. But still a youngster as a true sophomore, like Karstetter, a long way to go before he's a complete product.

Another WR to watch is Daniel Blackledge. Blackledge had a semi-good start to the '08 season, but after eight catches in his first four games last year, he only had ONE catch the rest of the way. Built similar to Jeshua Anderson at 6-2, 179, Blackledge obviously doesn't have the take-your-breath-away speed of Anderson, but he's still a very good athlete with decent wheels. Hard to believe he'll already be a junior this year, but they really could use his ability to get the ball down the field. Outside of Anderson, he is probably the second-best deep threat on the team.

Finally, the newcomers. Johnny Forzani, the Canandian prospect; Gino Simone, the heralded recruit; and Jeffrey Solomon, the transfer from Eastern.

First, Forzani. Who knows, really, what they got here. Most likely you know the back story already - but if you forgot, check out this link. He didn't play high school ball, has some family CFL ties, and even though he was known more as a hoops player, he ultimately makes the practice squad of the Calgary Stampeders. Decent size at 6-1, 195, and really good speed as well, reports are he still has quite a ways to go before he is ready to make an impact. He is rough around the edges, but given some solid practice time with WR coach Mike Levenseller, anything can happen. Maybe they'll catch lightning in a bottle? If anything, split him out opposite of Jeshua Anderson and send him deep with that 4.4 speed!

Simone is well-known in these parts. Regarded as the top player in Washington last year, he has a chance to get some real PT in '09. Not huge, but big enough at 6-0, 170, Simone's game is all about precise routes and excellent hands.



NOT a big highlight reel guy and he's not a speed demon, but he was as productive as can be in high school, where Skyline won the 4A state title in a pass-happy offense.

Solomon is a real under-the-radar type guy, but could be something when the dust settles. Another six-footer, and 196 lbs, he sat out last year after coming in from EWU. He had an injury that forced him to miss the '07 season, but '06 as a true frosh he was somewhat productive under Wulff at EWU, playing in nine games that year. He only caught seven balls as a true frosh, but definitely showed enough to follow Wulff to Pullman. Keep an eye out for him in practice reports next month.

That's about it for the WR spot. It's kind of a weird position, where the superstar is gone, but there is young, somewhat experienced guys waiting in the wings? But that said, there are an awful lot of "IF'S" here to hang your hat on. IF Anderson is healthy and improves; IF Karstetter continues to get better and learns how to use his size and athleticism as weapons against smaller defensive backs; IF Norrell is used properly in the slot and they can take advantage of mismatches with his quickness. Etc, etc, etc.

But I do believe this position will be better in '09 compared to last year. At least it looks like it has that proverbial "upside" tag, as long as health doesn't become an issue (quick, knock on anything resembling wood!). Just remember, last year at this time, yeah, they had Brandon Gibson. But Jeshua Anderson was hobbled with an injury, Daniel Blackledge had ONE career catch coming into '08, and both Karstetter and Norrell were true frosh! Those four - Anderson, Karstetter, Norrell, and Blackledge - will be the biggest factors in the passing game this season. And all four now have another year under their belts. So they should be a stronger, deeper, better unit in '09. But it may still not be enough to stop another tough season. Now for 2010, wow, can we talk?? But for now, we'll settle for improvement and consistency on a weekly basis!

That's it for a Thursday. ENJOY IT, as always, and GO COUGS!

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Did EA Deliver the Goods?

I know, more video game "dorkus-melorkus" alerts. But yesterday is a bit of a landmark day around the country for NCAA fans, as EA Sports shipped out the latest incarnation of their college football experience. And lo and behold, the game was sitting on the doorstep when I got home from work last night. Cool.

As a Coug fan, what else could I do but pop it in the X-Box 360 and give it a go with WSU? So I immediately went in and chose Stanford at WSU, the Cougs' season opener this year.

First off, as you can see, they more or less missed on some key spots of Martin Stadium. Namely the renovation, yeah, it didn't make it. No new stadium entrance sign, no new facilities along Stadium Way, no new scoreboard, no new CUB addition. Basically nothing new whatsoever from last year. And hey, the big white banner is back! Wasn't that ripped off in, like, 2005?? For whatever reason, the stadium is a version from a couple of years ago.


That said, I'm not too nit-picky. It's still nice to look at, and they did a good job. The overall experience did feel like you were watching a game in Pullman. The lighting in the game with the sun and clouds and shadows is really dynamic. But maybe next year for little 'ol Martin Stadium?

The game itself is alright. It's not the greatest game ever, but it's still entertaining. They introduced new camera angles this year so you can see more of the field, so that's cool. There are some new animations with catching and throwing. I even had some plays in the rain where wide receivers slipped running routes. My QB even slipped as he was going back to pass, and had to put his hand down to avoid falling to the ground.

I know uniforms are always a good topic, and this year EA lets you mix-n-match. This should stop the bitching from the fans who complain that they "didn't get the fourth alternate version of our road uni's in the game! LAZY EA PROGRAMMERS!" Now, I'm not as hardcore as some others out there, who spend hours ripping EA Sports for not giving teams their correct shoe-and-sock combination. I just like to pick up and play the thing, that's all.

It's not all good however. As always, there are some issues with this year's game, including some woefully out-of-date rosters that shipped on the disc and a big problem with the defensive pass-rush, or lack thereof. But I haven't spent any time with it to really know. I do know that my Coug offensive line had a hell of a time trying to block Stanford, and both Kevin Lopina and Marshall Lobbestael took some wicked-hard shots from their defensive line. Pass rush seemed fine to me!

Erin Andrews is in the game this year! Suh-weet! She hosts some game mode called "Road to Glory".....uh, yeah.


She also pops up in-game for her ever-informational sideline reports, such as player injuries.


Works for me.

Oh, and yep, the Cougs are pretty much awful in the game. EA rates them I think around 111 in the country or some God-awful rating like that? Yeesh. Oh, I did have one cool play, a long kickoff return that nearly went for six. Check out the video highlight after the jump....

EA Sports: NCAA Football 10 Video

He could...go...all...the....nope, didn't make it. Of course, the offense would stall and I was forced to kick a field goal. And what are the cheerleaders looking at?? We know you are all about entertaining the crowd, but TURN AROUND! The game is RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!

Finally, we'll use NCAA 10 to simulate the upcoming season. Each week we'll have the Cougs square off against their opponent, and we'll report back on the results, including photos and video. Sound good?

Moving on, Grippi at the Spokesman dragged out the screen and slide projector to share his summer vacation with the Cougar Nation. Pretty cool experiences overall. I missed the part where he says he saw Transformers and Star Trek about 100 times, but that's for him to tell?

There's another new diary at Cougfan, this time by senior defensive end Kevin Kooyman. It's a pretty good read, detailing the hard work in the weight room and some highlights in skeleton drills.


But he also took questions from the masses, including this one:

Response to SelahCoug: The d-tackles are looking very good. I think we're going to see a lot from Toby Turpin, who is nearly 300 pounds now, and Bernard Wolfgramm, who is coming back strong after his injury. We are going to have good size and speed across the entire d-line this year. We fully expect a dramatic change in how the d-line plays this year.

SelahCoug? We've got a SelahCoug who posts here. HAS to be the same guy?? But seriously, I like the sound of the d-tackles looking good. You can feel that Toby Turpin could have a real breakthrough season, but I really like hearing Bernard Wolfgramm is coming back strong after his injuries. There may not be a more important position on the field that needed improvement than the defensive front, and any tidbit of good news is GOLD BABY, GOLD!

Teddy "Football" Miller weighed in on his "Don't Be Surprised..." series with WSU. And his quote in bold pretty much says it all:

Don't be surprised if ...Washington State athletic director Jim Sterk, no matter what happens this season, remains optimistic that coach Paul Wulff is going to turn things around.

The only thing we could argue there is that IF it's more of 66-3-type performances? Even Sterk will let some air out of the Wulff balloon. Would anyone remain optimistic no matter what happens this season? We're understanding of the situation and trying to be patient, but optimism will wane big-time if it's 2008 all over again.

That's it for a Wednesday. Enjoy it, and as always, FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FOR WASHINGTON STATE!

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The Goodell, The Bad, and the Ugly

Hello Followers. I hope that you are well.

Well, since my last incarnation, there have been a bunch of happenings on the WSU Cougar front.

And for me, the most important development has been Teddy Miller’s agreement to double down on our little wager from the year past (But alas, the wager doesn’t look as good for me as it did before we lost our entire defensive backfield to suspension).

That all said, those of you who have followed this blog know that in all forms and spirits, I adore Theodore Miller as a sportswriter and blogger.

And for that reason, I thought it appropriate for you to see the most recent Man Collage—we’ll call it the “Sacred Homage”--that I have made of Ted in relation to a couple of other notable male specimens of the entertainment world.


As you can see, Ted has managed through the years to develop a visage that reflects both the sassyness and allure of William Hurt without sacrificing some of the good-natured manliness of NFL Commissioner and recent Mountain Climber Roger Goodell.

Any way that you cut it, I find the above picturesque combination of style, substance, and raw leadership to be quite high in Carma. For his solid contribution to college football sportswriting--and for his immense vision in pumping up this blog, I give Ted four solid Carma Chameleons.


Excellent work, Ted. I’ll look forward to having you on this blog for a double interview around the 1st of the Year when we edge UCLA for 8th place in the Pac.

Have you seen all the stuff about Cougar hoops lately? Rochestie lights up the summer league for the Los Angeles Fakers, Klay lights up the international stage for the Gold Medal U19 team, and Motum makes a case for being the most intriguing in-coming freshman in the Pac-10 conference on the same stage. Want proof? Andy Katz recently suggested on espn.go.com that our very Cougars have a chance to finish third in the conference next year!

But what is even more significant than the prediction was Ken Bone’s quote in the interview that accompanied the Katz column. When asked about his thoughts about the talent left to him by his predecessor, Bone was particularly sassy. In fact, Bone went so far to say that the talent that T-Bone left him was so great that Bone felt that Tony Bennett deserved to have a place on his staff a la the Tricky Dicky years:



Yep, Bone thought so much of Bennett that he thought T-Bone's previous accomplishments merited a spot as an ASSISTANT coach at WSU. Call it a joke, call it brashness, call it whatever you want to call it, but I call it Carma.

Welcome aboard, Kenny Bone, a whopping FIVE Carma Chameleons for you, my brother.



Finally, a fun-d-raising update for the faithful. As you all know, we have been involved in a very, very positive and loving effort to bolster the financial fortunes of our athletic department.

But currently, we are in the midst of a bit of phone tag in the "you're it, I quit" variety.

That said, we think it is important for the faithful to have complete confidence that we will have an official link for you by the start of kick-off against Notre Dame.

With that in mind, I am quite happy to announce that I am completely confident that our entire effort can raise at least one-hundred-twenty-five-dollars-and-sixty-two cents for Martin Stadium renovation, Phase VIII.

WSU Athletic Department, I love you with all of my sincerity and believe entirely in all of your recent and authentic efforts. But, in addition to being a lover, I am also a business man with many wives, kids, and 17 Rolls Royce's.

For that reason, only 1 Carma Chameleon for you this week, my brothers.





And to the rest of the faithful, until next time, I bid you a harty "Coug-de-L'Amor." Read more ...plus comments

Sunday Roster News

Some news broke yesterday on the WSU roster, updated prior to next month's fall practice. The news? Some names you might have expected to be on the roster are missing. Grippi has a good read on the situation, including some quotes from Coach Wulff, so check it out.

While all the names are disappointing, I think the loss of Devin Giles might hurt the most on the field. Projected by some to start at corner this year, even though he missed spring ball due to academics and was a reserve for most of '08, he did start 12 games in '07. The senior-to-be was one guy with at least some starting experience in the PAC-10. And for those of you scoring at home, the corner position has been hit hard this off-season. Romeo Pellum, who started 12 games last year, is no longer in the program. Others in some hot water include Tyrone Justin (now known as Aire, per Grippi?), Tyree Toomer, and LeAndre Daniels.

Glancing at the spring depth chart, you wonder how the corner position is going to look once things get going next month. Devin Giles was actually listed as the starter at left corner, but that's out the window now. Brandon Jones, the Cal transfer who sat out '08, might elevate to the starting spot. Jones was singled out by coach Wulff during spring as a player who was performing quite well. Jones was technically listed at #2 behind Giles this spring, so it's easy to see him as the starter now.

We'll look at the secondary in the coming days, but overall? Things seem awfully thin back there.

Michael Willis is officially gone as well. Not disappointed there, just a little sad that it never worked out for him.



Willis had a long journey to Pullman (just check out all the stories on him from Scout.com, dating all the way back to 2003!). Willis also saw multiple position changes, from safety to corner to WR and back again. Excellent size, outstanding athleticism, and always regarded as a seriously hard hitter, it's all over for him now. However, per the Grippi article, it appears that Willis is still in school and on track to graduate. So at least he'll get a degree when it's all said and done.

Meanwhile, Cougfan.com broke the news that there are four incoming recruits who will delay enrollment until January 2010, with the famous "gray shirt" path to Pullman. Offensive guard Quayshawne Buckley, safety Osi Hosea, defensive end Chris Mastin, and linebacker Terrell Thompson will all miss the '09 season. Here's hoping they get their academics in order and we see them early next year.

Finally, it doesn't have anything to do with football, but Cougcenter has been blowing up with summer basketball updates. Looks like Klay Thompson's Team USA won the gold today. Cool. If you are interested, check it out.

That's it for today. GO COUGS!

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Who's Carrying the Mail?

First off, a hearty WELCOME BACK to Sir Vincent Grippi, the best of the best Coug sportswriter in these here parts! Grippi has returned from a several-week hiatus, back to provide the fantastic coverage in ways only a champion can do. As many folks have already commented on the Spokesman-Review site, he's a welcome sight for these sore eyes....



And in the usual fashion, back from vacation and some big news breaks. You probably heard already, but WSU's budget information is making the rounds as of yesterday afternoon, and guess what? Per Sir Grippi, it ain't bad. The gist: No sports have been cut, as all 17 men's and women's programs will continue to soldier on. But still, when you are dealing with nearly a million in revenue shortfall, you aren't going to get off totally unscathed:

The athletic department, according to Sterk, had already instituted cost-cutting measures – “We’ve got a hit list about a page long of things we’ve done,” he said – and those will continue. They include leaving open positions unfilled, cutting back on travel for international recruiting and professional development, using ground transportation to competitions within 400 miles of Pullman (including Seattle football games), limiting the number of athletic publications and possibly cutting travel-squad sizes.

All sound, responsible decisions in these tough times. But you know what? Even in tough times like these, it's those who have been fiscally responsible all along who will survive. And WSU is no stranger to being responsible, per the article from the AP in late June. We are used to doing more with less, so this shouldn't be THAT big of a deal??

Moving on, we continue to look at the state of our Cougs on a position-by-position basis. Earlier in the week it was the QB's. Today, it's running back. Who's going to carry the mail in '09? Will someone emerge from what looks like it could be a crowded backfield? Or will it be a by-committee approach, where everyone will get a chance to do some heavy lifting? Let's take a look-see....





First of all, we would be remiss if we didn't look back at the running game from last year. And in 2008, it wasn't pretty. As in 95.1 yards per game, good for a measly 110th in the country in rushing yards. And in those 95.1 yards per game, they averaged just 2.7 yards per carry.



Not good is it? Generally you want at least three yards per carry (three yards and a cloud of dust?), but something closer to four would be nice.

That said, in a weird way 2008 wasn't all that bad in that there was some depth that emerged at the position. Dwight Tardy led the team in carries (133) and yards (481), but still averaged just 3.6 yards per carry. But the numbers overall for Tardy were down across the board compared to his pre-knee injury days in '07. In that year, Tardy had 676 yards and 6 TD's, averaging 4.7 yards per carry, before going down in the 8th game vs. UCLA. That 3.6 yards per carry is over a full yard less per touch compared to '07. And looking back to '06, Tardy logged 667 yards and four TD's on 4.6 yards per carry.



So '08 was definitely a down year across the board for Dwight.

So, was his downturn in performance related to the knee injury? It's hard to say. I think it's reasonable to look at his performance at times last year and wonder if he had lost some of his explosiveness. But at the same time, there were moments where he ran extremely hard. He had 75 tough yards vs. UW, and the following week vs. Hawaii averaged 4.1 yards per carry, scoring the only TD of the game for the Cougs. But it also must be said that the offensive line woes contributed mightily to the situation. The O-line was a jumbled mess through the first several games of '08, where the same lineup didn't start consecutive games until well into the latter part of the schedule. Such a lack of continuity made the running game suffer, heck, the entire offense suffered last year and a lot of the blame can be placed on the "fluid" situation up front. But that's a post for another day....

The bright spot? Logwone Mitz. The kid is one physical dude, a bruising package at 6-1, 225. And who can forget his huge 57-yard TD run vs. UW in the third quarter of the Apple Cup, a play that seemed to lift the entire team in the second half?



While Mitz was second to Tardy in carries (90) and yards (441), he did tie for the team lead in TD's with three. But the most impressive thing about Mitz? His yards-per-carry came in at nearly FIVE per touch (4.9). So even just sharing the load, in his physical style of play, he still was effective in moving the pile. Impressive stuff from a redshirt frosh, and a necessary ingredient for a balanced, effective running game. Flash-n-dash is nice, but man, you gotta convert those short yardage situations. Mitz is the lunchpail and hardhat type, unafraid to get a little dirt under his nails during a hard day's work. Yes, WE LIKE MITZ around here!

The wild-card, without a doubt, is James Montgomery. The heralded transfer from Cal, Montgomery was a Parade All-American in high school, where he ran for over 4900 yards and 82 td's. Rivals.com had him as the 14th-best running back coming out in '06, and after a redshirt year, he played in every game for Cal in '07.



Now after sitting out '08 due to transfer rules, the junior-to-be is ready for action. More of a home-run big-play type compared to Mitz and Tardy, Monty will be right in line for plenty of carries this fall.

Yes, there are others in the mix, like Chris Ivory and Chantz Staden. But right now, it's clear that the position is all about Tardy, Mitz and Montgomery. Per the spring depth chart, Tardy was listed as the starter, while Mitz and Montgomery were backups. But I think we can all agree that those three guys bring something a little different to the table. And, no matter who prevails as the starter vs. Stanford 9/5, you can bet that all three are going to get significant opportunities for touches.

So what do YOU think? Does Tardy get the starting nod, based on his experience as the senior returner? Should Mitz get more looks as the feature guy, and not so much the short-yardage type? Or, is it time to hand the keys to arguably the most talented offensive skill position player on the roster in James Montgomery and see what happens? Let's get your takes on what could be the deepest, most productive position on the '09 Cougar offense!

That's it for a Friday. Enjoy it, and as always, FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FOR WASHINGTON STATE!
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At Least the Fight Song is Great

In a "man, July sucks for college sports" item, they are listing out the top ten PAC-10 fight songs over at Buster Sports.com. They even recruited the help of a retired sports writer from the Oregonian to break down the songs (yes, it is a slow time right now). But that said, guess who came in at #1?



May you continue to rest in peace John Candy...but God bless the character known as Tom Tuttle! By the way, some of you probably know this already, but, did you know that there was/is a real Tom Tuttle? It's true. Remember Ken Levine, who worked for the M's for a few years? That same Ken Levine is also an Emmy-winning writer/director/producer (so says his bio anyway). Levine actually co-wrote the screenplay to Volunteers, along with David Isaac, and is responsible for the character. And he specifically wanted the character to be from WSU, and they loved the fight song. Check it out, in an e-mail Levine sent to the "real" Tom Tuttle:

Believe it or not, my partner David and I wrote the very first draft of VOLUNTEERS in 1980. It took five years to get made and released. We honestly pulled the name out of the air. We wanted the character to be real gung ho and for contrast, hail from as far away from the east coast as possible. First we came up with WSU as the college. We wanted the school to be well known (they're in the Pac 10) but still a little offbeat. We checked out a few fight songs, liked WSU's the best and settled on that. Then we figured the character should hail from the state of Washington. Tacoma was sort of a funny sounding name and again, a city that was recognizable. We always pictured that the character was a little wired and whenever he introduced himself would say his name and where he's from. So alliteration was employed to help the name roll off his tongue. Somehow we came up with Tom Tuttle from Tacoma. We just liked the rhythm of it. If we had gone with Spokane it might have been Stan Stodell from Spokane.

Cool.

Anyway, as the Buster Sports article says:

1. Washington State: “Fight Song”

Maves: Written a long time ago by two women, which doesn’t matter much. But they were both music majors, which does matter. Rhythmic, balanced, inspirational.

Notice who's #10 on the list?

10. Washington: “Bow Down to Washington”
Maves: This thing is horrid, with neither rhythm nor timing nor anything to recommend it. It’s unsingable and barely playable. They have a really cool secondary song called “Victory for Washington” which is actually pretty good, but it ain’t the official song. Damn shame.

I'm sure it's WSU's fault that they are #10. Some how, some way, we're responsible?

Moving on....




Meanwhile, they have announced who will be representing the different schools at PAC-10 media day, July 30th in LA. And none other than senior center Kenny Alfred will be on hand to answer the expected avalanche of "do you have any hope for this season?" type questions. I like Alfred, and without a doubt he's the most experienced, decorated player on the WSU offense coming into '09. A good choice for coach Wulff here. I think Alfred will say what's on his mind?

Finally, something kind of cool here. A few months ago, a poster on a message board created an interactive Google map for PAC-10 recruiting this year. The map shows the geographical locations of all the current commits, for each PAC-10 school. Check it out:


The map is completely interactive too. You can click on a school logo, and instantly get a pop-up of the player name and photo. But the most interesting thing to me was to see the different areas of the country that Stanford has been reeling 'em in. They are ALL OVER the map, which is pretty remarkable. They currently have 23 commits, the most in the conference, and are sitting at number five IN THE COUNTRY in the early recruiting rankings. Again, pretty remarkable for a program just three seasons ago had one of the worst teams in the modern PAC-10 era.

I know Stanford is a different animal in terms of academics, literally an Ivy League school on the west coast. But I guess they are at least one example where if you get the right coach and the right system in place, it can turn around in a few short years? Anyway, you can get the whole interactive map here.

That's it for a slow Wednesday. Enjoy it, and as always, FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FOR WASHINGTON STATE!


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Is There a Real QB Question in Pullman?

Greetings Coug Nation. As usual, we hope you enjoyed a nice, long holiday weekend. But now that it's behind us, time to start looking ahead. Over the last few months, we've spilled an awful lot of ink looking at the upcoming opponents for good 'ol WSU. But now, with news slowing to a trickle in this historically slow time of the year, what better time to take a closer look, oh, I don't know....the Cougs??

And with that, what better place to start than at the most important position on the field, the QB? And with some pretty good timing at that, as Cougfan yesterday ran a poll in regards to who should be the QB in '09, Marshall Lobbestael or Kevin Lopina. Did you vote? Further, have you seen the results? As of 6:30 AM today, it's Ocho Rojo in a runaway.



At first blush, it seemed a little surprising that this was even being asked of the Coug Nation. After last year, with an extended look at Lopina and just a glimpse of Lobbestael, the consensus was that young Marshall was the QB of choice, provided he could bounce back from the rough knee injury. But is it so clear-cut? Is there a chance that this will be Lopina's job after all? Paul Wulff has been quoted a couple of times this off-season in saying that Lopina's the returning senior, but Marshall Lobbestael will get a full opportunity to compete for the job. And what about the young wild card in all this, J.T. Levenseller? Let's take a look....


First, the senior returner, Kevin Lopina.

2008: 87 for 153, 841 yards, 0 TD's, 11 INT's. 56.9% completions. 5.5 yards per attempt. Sacked 23 times, for a QB rating of 88.66.

Really a rough line, all the way around. In nine games played, including eight starts, Lopina only broke the 100-yard mark in passing yards four times. That means the majority of his appearances, he was only in double-digits in yardage. And to never find the end-zone in eight starts is kind of hard to fathom.


But it also must be said that the vast majority of Lopina's playing time came after he suffered the fractured vertebrae. In fact, six starts came after Lopina was knocked out with the injury. And anyone who watched him play post-fracture could see he wasn't up to speed. Not that he played "soft" or anything. The guy did play hard, as well as stepping forward with leadership in the locker room when the season was completely unraveling. For as bad as last season was in Pullman? Without Lopina calling out some of the quitters, it could have been much, much worse. As in, probably no Apple Cup win.

And let's face it, the guy did make ONE big play on the season, a play that will probably live on in Apple Cup lore (check out the throw to Karstetter, about a minute into the video):


I guess the reality is that Lopina has to at least be acknowledged for doing what he could last year. To grit through the bulk of the season coming off the broken back, and to show leadership along the way, says a lot about the young man's character. One can envision that even if he doesn't win the job this fall, that he'll still be there to help keep things together. But who knows. Now that he's healthy, maybe we'll get to see the "real" Kevin Lopina? The one that had people excited after he transferred in from Kansas State? The one who was a high-profile QB recruit out of Cali powerhouse De La Salle?

Now, Marshall Lobbestael.

2008: 53-for-103, 571 yards, 4 TD's, 4 INT. 51.5 % completions. 5.54 yards per attempt. Sacked 12 times. 103.08 QB rating.

Not exactly blow-you-away numbers either. Granted, Lobbestael was a redshirt frosh, and he did only start three games last year. So we never really saw what he was - or wasn't. The "small sample size" argument has to be made here. While he passed the eye test on a lot of plays last year, and showing some real touch on the deep balls he completed, the jury is still very much out on Lobbestael.

But again, we're talking about a redshirt frosh dropped into the heat of the battle. For his first-ever game action at such a young stage of his career, he was more in survival mode vs. climbing the superstar ladder. And while the completion percentage is a concern, and the yards per attempt isn't a good thing, the fact that he more or less held his own under some pretty adverse conditions might speak volumes about what's to come.

The good news is that the kid seems to have some sort of "it" buzz going for him. The coaches have raved about him since early last year in regards to his leadership and personality. Players appear to really like the kid. So far, everyone raves about what they've seen of him thus far. So he's got that going for him. Which is good.

Finally, young J.T. Levenseller.

2008: 17-for-34, 134 yards, 0 TD's, 2 INT's. 50% completion percentage, 3.94 yards per attempt, with a passer efficiency rating of 71.34.

Numbers alone make this one difficult, if not impossible, to really judge. He never started a game last year, appearing in just four for the lost '08 season. He did show some good mobility, and in his last game vs. Hawaii was 6-for-11 for 53 yards, including a season-high 28-yard completion. But again, still far, far too early to make any judgments here.


Health was an issue for young Levy as well. He missed most of spring ball with a broken tibia, and while he should be recovered for camp next month, well, who knows.

In an ideal world, provided both Lopina and Lobbestael can stay healthy in '09? With Lopina the senior and Lobbestael the more established young QB of the program, one wouldn't mind seeing JT get a redshirt season this year. Then, when Lopina graduates after 2009, you could have Lobbestael as the starter as a junior, JT Levy as a RS-sophomore, and the promising young recruit, Jeff Tuel, a redshirt-frosh ready to compete in 2010.

So there you have it. A glance at the QB situation as we roll towards fall camp. What do YOU think? Is it Marshall by a landslide? Should Lopina be given a fair shot, now that he's healthy and most experienced? Or does Levenseller deserve a long look as well?

Enjoy your Tuesday, and as always, GO COUGS!






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Is Fat the Way to NCAA Glory?

Greetings Coug Nation! Hope you are all set to enjoy a nice holiday weekend while we celebrate the birth of this great nation.

I am lifting this from Colin Cowherd's ESPN radio show, but he made a point today that bears some thought. If you haven't heard, they released the list of the fattest states in the country. Have you seen the list?


It's striking for one big thing - since 2006, nine of the "top" ten obese states are in the south. Mississippi is in the lead, with Alabama closing in. In other words, red states = fat states.

Why does this even matter? Well, think about the SEC for a moment. What are they known for? Speed, for one thing. They have tremendous speed, especially on defense, throughout the SEC. But the bigger thing they have over most other conferences in America? SIZE. The SEC's linemen on offense and especially defense are huge, among the biggest in the country. And compared to the PAC-10? It's an eye-opener. Just check out the average size of some of these starting SEC d-lines:

LSU: 281.75 pounds
Florida: 286.25 pounds
Alabama: 287 pounds
Ole Miss: 287.5 pounds

Now, check out some of the average size of some of the PAC-10's starting d-lines:

USC: 282.5 pounds
Cal: 292.75 pounds

Hang on a second. USC and Cal are actually BIGGER than the touted SEC powerhouses? It's true. But, they are also the exception to the rule. USC is on another level obviously. They are an NFL pipeline, and produce NFL-ready defensive linemen from all over the country. And they own the state of California, where the biggest, best of the best usually go to Troy. And Cal has changed to a 3-4 exclusively, and that calls for bigger defensive linemen (particularly defensive ends). They also have a wide recruiting net right now, so the numbers are going to be bigger for their starting d-line.

But where you start to see the separation are with the rest of the conference, especially where they play a 4-3 defense...and ESPECIALLY in the northwest! Check out these d-lines:

Oregon: 260.50 pounds
Oregon State: 264.75 pounds
Washington: 277.75 pounds (note - this includes 348-pound defensive tackle Alameda Ta'amu. The rest of the starting linemen are under 270).
Finally, WSU: 271 pounds.

Now, of course, the defensive lines don't play against each other. It's not like Oregon's D-line has to face off against Florida's D-line. And some of these schools feature speed-over-brawn. Remember WSU's top defenses this decade had converted outside linebackers as defensive end, like Isaac Brown and DD Acholonu. Both those guys were barely 230, and that's half the starting d-line.

But it is interesting to see the differences, where the SEC lines are approaching an average of 290 pounds, while the NW schools are between 260 and 275 or so.

Think it's any coincidence that the heaviest regions produce the heaviest players? Where fit states like Washington and Oregon (both tied for 28th in the country in obesity) have some of the smaller defensive linemen? What's also amazing is to think about the size of Mississippi and compare it to Oregon. Oregon produces only a handful of D-1 prospects every year, while Mississippi might produce 30 in any given year. Both states have about the same population (roughly 3.5 million people). Yet Mississippi is the fattest state in the country. There is no comparison. It's a huge difference (literally).

It makes you wonder if there is any hope, nationally, for the NW schools. Do they have to try and dip into regions where they normally don't, hoping to get some of the 300-pounders and try to compete? Or do they do what Wulff has tried recently, getting the 250-lb kids with great frames, and then try and add the "right" thirty, forty, even fifty pounds over time? I guess when you are recruiting kids from your base who are going to be on the smaller side, yet you want to compete, you pretty much have to search for those desirable frames that can see added weight without destroying the player's mobility and speed!

The thing to watch around here will be when LSU comes to Seattle to open the season vs. UW. Football players usually lose some weight as the season wears on, but out of the chute, even after training camp, the lines should be at their heaviest.


Just watch the game or even catch the highlights from that opener, and use the 'ol eyeball test. LSU will come at you in waves of near-300-pounders up front, and over the course of four quarters, that size difference can wear teams down.

Finally, they are making news in the athletic department again.


Yep, ticket sales and donations are down. Yep, we're poor. Yep, the economy sucks. Yep, we need to get the stadium renovation done. Rinse. Repeat. Per the article:

Fiscal year 2009 came to an end Tuesday, and the WSU Athletic Foundation forecasts a $1.5 million drop in donations from last year’s record total of $8.26 million. Final numbers have yet to be calculated.

Donors dropped from 6,200 to 5,500 in one year. WSU already had the fewest athletic donors and donation dollars in the Pacific-10 Conference.

We've heard it before, and we'll keep hearing this message until things change. I hope we can do our part around here, but so far, we still don't have anything to announce (I know, I know).

That's it for today. Enjoy it, enjoy your weekend, and as always..GO COUGS!


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The 2K Decade Revisited, PAC-10 Style

This post has been hijacked to wish HAWK a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!


First of all, what a tough month on the celeb death front. A moment of silence for those who passed on.....

I loved Farah. She was like THE dream-gal of dream gals back in the day. Raise your hand if you at least knew someone who had that poster on their wall. You know the one I mean.


What's weird is that she was only on ONE season of Charlie's Angels? You would have thought she was the entire franchise, but she sure cashed in there. And, yes, I loved Michael Jackson, but that was back in the Thriller/Beat It days, when everyone was trying to moonwalk. But once Michael decided he wanted to physically become Diana Ross, and all the ugly accusations and lawsuits against him with young boys? In other words, once "Jacko" went wacko? I was done. Sad to see him spiral down the tube like he did, but the guy had some serious issues. I would imagine being in the conversation as one of the most famous individuals on the planet for a number of years would do some weird things to you? Still, an amazing talent, a once-in-a generation type, ala Frank Sinatra and Elvis.

That said, I don't know about you, but the Billy Mays death was one that made me the most sad of all. Not Billy Mays! He gets hit in the head with a piece of luggage on a rough landing of his flight into Tampa, then dies that night in his sleep? Probably a heart disease problem according to reports, but still, weird.

I think Mays might be one guy that Coug fans would have liked. Down to earth, hard worker, fun to be around, and lots of passion for what he does. I can imagine him wandering through WSU tailgate parties, handing him a Natural Light and a hot dog right off the grill, and just enjoying his company, more so than the others.


Well, OK, we'd probably enjoy Farah's company too. But we like Mays. And no, I won't insert a joke or video or whatever about the Sham Wow guy. Not today. Maybe tomorrow or the next day, but that would be disrespectful to Mr. Mays.

Moving on in a completely different direction, we thought it would be a good idea to take a look at how the PAC-10 has fared since the year 2000. If you remember, we looked at this last summer, and it was an eye-opener in how successful some teams were (Oregon State) and some teams weren't (cough*UW*cough). Check out the updated numbers and see for yourself....




1) USC: 93-22 overall - 47-8 at home, 38-12 on the road, 8-2 in neutral sites/bowls. It just continues. At least 11 wins since the 2002 season, including the 2004 13-0 record. Still amazing to think that they started out the decade by going 5-7 and 6-6, but have lost just 9 games the last seven years. And SC has lost some key assistants over the years, including super-O-Coordinator Norm Chow, yet the machine rolls on. They have run away with the decade, and it's clearly the era of the Trojan.

2) Oregon: 77-35 overall - 44-12 at home, 29-18 away, 4-4 in neutral sites/bowls. Just one losing season in the decade (5-6 in '04), but otherwise a winner on an annual basis. Bellotti hands off a major PAC-10 power to Chip Kelly, and when you look at the numbers? It's hard to imagine a better situation to walk into than the state of the program that Kelly inherits. Also included is now an impressive 27-9 non-conference record against some bigger-name programs. A super-strong number two to USC in the conference.

3) Oregon State: 72-40 overall - 43-12 at home, 23-27 on the road, 6-1 in neutral sites/bowl games. Just one win behind Oregon for #2 in home wins, and just five wins overall away from the Ducks, they are legit as legit can be. Don't forget this program had 28 straight LOSING SEASONS before 1999! Since Mike Riley returned in 2003, the Beavs have had just one losing season(5-6 in '05). It was a surprise to many last year when they came in such a strong #3, and it just continues this year.

4) CAL: 63-48 overall- 37-18 at home, 21-28 on the road, 5-2 in neutral sites/bowl games. A horrendous start to the decade (4-18 from '00-'01), it has completely turned around. Like another Jahvid Best run through the Washington-Washington State defenses in '08, Cal has sprinted to #4 in the conference, up from #7 last year. They won't catch Oregon State for third, but there is no doubt Cal is on a roll. They are finally over .500 in conference, now at 38-36 after going 6-3 in the PAC last year. If Tedford sticks around long-term, this may be the most interesting team to watch once we get into the next decade. After all, Tedford is now an impressive 59-30 at CAL in seven seasons. It's hard to imagine CAL going away anytime soon?

5) ASU: 61-50 overall - 41-19 at home, 18-27 on the road, 2-4 in neutral sites/bowl games. A rough '08 season at 5-7, but still good enough to catch UCLA for #5. They continued their road struggles last year, just 1-4 away from home (the lone win @ UW). Very similar to UCLA, now with three losing seasons this decade ('01, '03, '08). Also like UCLA, a couple of breakthrough seasons (9-3 in '04, 10-3 in '07), but otherwise a .500 record. They continue to be strong out of conference though, where even with some tough losses to UNLV and Georgia last season, they still are at 26-10 OOC for the decade.

6) UCLA: 60-51 overall - 38-18 at home, 20-28 on the road, 2-5 in neutral sites/bowl games. #4 in the PAC-10 wins last year, they have been passed by CAL and ASU and now sit at #6. A big step back last year at 4-8, but overall just three losing seasons in the decade ('03, '07', '08). And even prior to last year, their previous two losing seasons, both were of the 6-7 variety. But aside from their '05 ten-win season, they've hovered around .500 for the decade. Still a pretty good home record even with a down year last year at 3-4, just their second home losing record in the decade (2-4 in '02).

7) WSU: 56-53 overall - 26-24 at home, 23-25 on the road, 7-3 in neutral sites/bowl games (including 5-2 in Qwest Field). You know the deal here. WSU has fallen down a peg to 7th in the decade. Three straight top-ten finishes in the polls from '01 through '03, but home for the holidays ever since. '06 was promising, at one point 6-3 and ranked, but the season fell apart down the stretch. Still hanging in at over .500 at home, slightly under .500 on the road, but nearly a .500 record overall. Interesting that WSU is nearly a .500 school all-time? According to the WSU media guide, since 1894, WSU's combined record is 494-484-45 (45 ties?? YUCK!). So, I guess one could say that the 2K decade has gone just about the same as WSU has done in it's entire body of work/history? Some great heights, some ugly depths, but basically hovering near .500.

8) UW: 44-64 overall- 29-29 at home, 14-32 on the road, 1-3 in neutral sites/bowl games. Like last year, this is where you see a big separation from the rest of the teams. UW has 13 fewer wins that WSU, 17 fewer that UCLA in the decade. 0-12 is a huge anchor on their record, but this isn't a one-year fluke. You have to remember where UW was when the decade started to wrap your head around this thing. 11-1 and Rose Bowl champs in 2000, 8-4 in 2001, 7-6 in 2002 and even 6-6 in 2003. It all fell apart in '04 though, a 1-10 campaign considered by many as one of the worst teams in UW history....at least until '08 happened. But anyway, that '04 season ended a string of 27 straight non-losing seasons, but it's been down in the dumps ever since. Now with five consecutive losing seasons and on their fourth different coach this decade, it's been a mind-bending fall down the ladder.

You know the weirdest thing of all? Not so much the overall record, I mean that is a surprise when you consider where UW used to sit in the pecking order. But they are now an even .500 at home after going 0-7 in Husky stadium last year. Remember Husky Stadium, back in the 90's? That place used to freakin' SHAKE it was so loud. One of the most intimidating venues in the country, teams used to relieve themselves down one leg when they lined up and heard that crowd. Times have certainly changed in Montlake. But it's a new era, so we'll see if they can recapture that setting that used to be a complete nightmare for opposing teams.

9) Arizona: 41-64 overall - 25-34 at home, 15-30 on the road, 1-0 in neutral site/bowl games. After last year's 8-5 season, they have inched past Stanford for #9 in the conference. While still 9 games under .500 at home, they did go 5-2 in Tucson, their second home-winning record this decade (4-2 in '07). They do have a realistic shot at catching UW, just three wins behind them for 8th place in the decade with this '09 season yet to come. But they are trending upward and may have turned a corner after last season's bowl-win over BYU.

10) Stanford: 39-64 overall - 23-30 at home, 16-33 on the road, 0-1 in neutral sites/bowl games. Another big separation from the rest of the PAC, Stanford still has just one winning season this decade (9-3 in '01). But they are clearly making progress under Jim Harbaugh. However, even after a promising 5-7 mark last year, they have fallen to 10th place in the conference. But, considering Harbaugh inherited one of the worst recent teams in PAC-10 history (1-11 in '06), they are now 9-15 under Captain Comeback. They continued to struggle on the road though, just one victory away from home last year (@UW). But they are on the rise, and we think they are staring at bowl-eligibility this year for just the second time this decade.

So there you have it. No surprises at the very top, a still-nice surprise at Oregon State at number three, and a high-riser in CAL at number four.

That's it for a Wednesday. Enjoy it, and as always, GO COUGS!

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