What is
WSU’s toughest three-game FOOTBALL stretch?
By Kevin
Dudley Jun 2, 2018, Coug
Center
Good
Saturday morning, Coug fans. It’s the time of year where any kind of football
news gets the attention of you and me, and this week was no different. A
quarterback commit and four kickoff times will do that.
ESPN had
one of those typical offseason pieces on the toughest three-game stretches for
teams across the county. WSU isn’t among the ten teams ESPN deemed as having
the toughest three-game stretch, but it does show up as being part of a tough
three-game stretch....twice!
The first
is Cal at home against UW, in Pullman against our Cougs and at USC. The second
is USC, which plays at Stanford, at Texas and at home on a Friday night against
WSU. Those three games are in weeks two, three and four, so we’ll probably know
if USC’s already slim playoff hopes can cling to life.
WSU
doesn’t really have any three-game eye openers, but if I had to choose one, I’d
go with Oct. 20 - Nov. 3: At home against Oregon, at Stanford and then home
against Cal.
Oregon is
a sexy pick this year, and Stanford is still Stanford (and Bryce Love). We saw
how much trouble Cal gave WSU last season, too. This year’s schedule is more
balanced than last year, so it doesn’t exactly lend itself to finding overly
tough stretches.
Depending
on how good Arizona is, you could argue that the stretch of at Colorado, and
home against Arizona and UW is a candidate. but then again there’s a bye
between Arizona and UW. (Edit: Incorrect!)
And
lastly, dare I say the stretch of being at home against EWU, at USC the
following Friday night and at home against Utah? That might end up being the
most important stretch.
OK, what
say you?
:::::::::::::::
Let’s
examine transfer FOOTBALL players in the Mike Leach era
We’ve seen
some studs, some duds and others in between.
By Kevin
Dudley May 30, 2018, 12:10pm PDT
Coug
Center
With the
official announcement recently that WSU will add transfers Chad Davis Jr.,
Lamonte McDougle and Gardner Minshew, it got me thinking about other transfers
during the Leach era and how they’ve fared.
Signing
transfers is usually done so for a number of reasons. In some cases, the
coaches want to fill an immediate need. In others, the coaches want to build
depth and create competition. Some are wildly successful and end up in the NFL,
and others don’t pan out so well.
I went
through the rosters from each season starting in 2012 and grouped those that
transferred to WSU when Leach was coach into categories ranging from great to
forgettable. Guys who transferred in and still have eligibility are in their
own “TBD” category.
Almost all
of the transfers during the Leach era are from the junior college route.
Eight
players are known to be transferring to WSU for 2018 season, and we’re omitting
them for obvious reasons:
Gardner Minshew
Chad Davis Jr.
Lamont McDougle
Misiona Aiolupotea-Pei
Calvin Jackson Jr.
Kendrick Catis
Keenan Forbes
Jonothan Lolohea
This can
also be a fun exercise in, “Hey, I remember that guy!” In no particular order,
here....we....go.....
Great
== Vince
Mayle
Mayle
originally came to WSU listed as a senior because his eligibility clock began
his freshman year at Shasta Community College where he played basketball. After
taking a year off to care for his mother, he went to Sierra Community College
for his second year of competition but third year of his eligibility clock.
After the 2013 season at WSU, the NCAA rightfully ruled that he had a hardship
and granted him an extra year.
It paid
off, as Mayle started every game in 2014 led the Pac-12 with 1,483 receiving
yards and nine TDs. He played wide receiver with the size of a tight end. The
Cleveland Browns drafted him in the fourth round in 2015 and he currently plays
for the Baltimore Ravens.
Memorable
Moment
==Joe Dahl
Joe Dahl
began his career at the University of Montana, apparently not good enough to be
offered a scholarship by Paul Wulff (though, he was only about 250 pounds, to
be fair.) He transferred to WSU after his freshman year as a walk-on. After
sitting out 2012—Leach’s first season—a bulked up Dahl started at left guard in
every game before switching to left tackle for the New Mexico Bowl. He’d play
tackle the next two seasons, guarding Connor Halliday’s and Luke Falk’s blind
sides before being drafted by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round in 2016. He
missed the last half of the 2015 regular season with a broken foot, though he
returned for the Sun Bowl.
==Shalom
Luani
Here’s one
of the more interesting players in WSU’s history. Luani started as a soccer
player, competing for American Samoa as a teenager, scoring the game-winner
against Tonga in a World Cup qualifier that ended a 17-year losing streak for
his home country.
But with
American Samoa’s poor fortunes in soccer, Luani wisely opted for the football path.
All he did
at WSU was become one of the hardest hitters at the safety position and an
All-Pac-12 first teamer. Just don’t get between him and his pizza.
The
Oakland Raiders made him their seventh round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Memorable
Moment
==Ivan
McLennan
McLennan
came to WSU from El Camino Junior College and redshirted in 2013, his first
year on campus. Once he was eligible, he teamed with Kache Palacio to form a
nice one-two punch at rush linebacker.
He shined
his senior season, starting 10 of the team’s 13 games, recording 42 tackles and
six sacks. After playing some preseason games with the Atlanta Falcons,
McLennan finds himself still playing professionally, this time north of the
border for the B.C. Lions.
Good
==Robert
Taylor
Taylor started
his career at FCS U.C. Davis before attending San Francisco Community College
for his sophomore season. He got kicked out of his first career game as a Coug
for targeting (in that forgettable EWU loss), but was a steady presence at the
safety position for two seasons.
Memorable
Moment
==Garrett
McBroom
McBroom
found himself in the rotation on the defensive line for two season after
attending Northeastern Oklahoma A&M for three years (he redshirted his
first year there). He started five games his junior season but just two his
senior year. Still, he was a critical piece of that line.
==Justin
Sagote
I wish
Sagote was on the WSU teams the past three seasons. He came to WSU for Leach’s
first season in 2012 and earned a starting position in the third game of the
season and never let go of it. He made 167 tackles in two seasons. It’s a shame
he wasn’t just a little bit younger.
Memorable
Moment
==Ioane
Gauta
Gauta
arrived in 2012 from Fullerton Junior College and promptly started 24 of his 25
career games at WSU. His stat line is good, and I’m trying to remember when he
intercepted a pass.
………….
Serviceable
==Tyler
Baker
Baker
started at Ole Miss and transferred after his first season to WSU for Mike
Leach’s first year. He was an SEC guy but undersized. He didn’t appear in a
game until the 2014 season and broke out at Oregon State when he had 113 yards
receiving and a touchdown. He didn’t make a ton of plays after that, and his
senior season saw him end up with just one more yard receiving than he did in that
Oregon State game alone.
==Jacob
Seydel
Seydel was
expected to contribute a bunch on the offensive line but he couldn’t quite
become the everyday lineman coaches probably hoped for. He was often brought in
for specific plays and was who he was.
==Kirkland
Parker
He started
one game but that was it. He did appear in 31 games and forced a crucial fumble
in 2015 against Arizona State. He couldn’t quite beat out Hunter Dale for a
starting spot but he contributed when called upon.
==Paris
Taylor
Taylor is
similar to Parker: Never really could get himself in the starting lineup but
performed well in his limited time on the field. He did have five tackles in
the win at Stanford in 2016.
==Theron
West
West was
somewhat heralded during Mike Leach’s first recruiting class. He didn’t make
much noise until the New Mexico Bowl in 2013 when he caught a touchdown pass
and blocked his second punt of the year.
==Jeremiah
Laufasa
Question:
Among running backs in the Leach era, Gerard Wicks’ 11 rushing TDs in 2016 is
tops. Guess who’s second?
Mr.
Laufasa.
He had
seven touchdowns in 2013, including the opening TD at Auburn. He seemed to have
a promising future at WSU, but left on a sour note. He transferred to UTEP,
with his father telling The Spokesman-Review that Laufasa was promised a
scholarship but ultimately did not receive one.
Oh, and
also: His fumble late in the New Mexico Bowl allowed Colorado State to tie the
game before, well, you know. Let’s move on.
Just Meh
==Quentin
Breshears
Breshears
won the job his first year in Pullman in 2014. His overall stats are fine, but
all we remember is his missed 19-yard field goal at the end of the Cal game.
He lost
the starting job in 2015 to Erik Powell but he did handle kickoff duties in the
Apple Cup that year.
==Mike
Bowlin
Bowlin
came to Pullman after getting into some trouble at Oregon during his freshman
year. After two years of junior college play, he came to Pullman in Leach’s first
season when WSU was in need of a punter.
It’s
difficult to judge punters sometimes, and while Bowlin’s numbers were decent,
he didn’t have a huge impact on the team, which might not totally be his fault.
But this is where he lands, the “Meh” category.
==Treshon
Broughton
Broughton
joined the team late into fall camp in 2015 and played sparingly that season.
He started once in 2016 but mostly backed up.
Sadly, we
last heard from him when he was tased and subdued by Pullman police officers
after an incident where Broughton tried to buy a lighter using fake money. His
erratic behavior in the incident is definitely concerning.
==C.J.
Dimry
When Dimry
arrived, his big 6-foot-5 frame brought back hopes of Mike Bush. Alas, Dimry
missed his first season due to injury, then was spotty his next season. He was
granted a sixth year of eligibility and finished his career last season and
played in nine games.
==Rico
Forbes
Information
is scant on Forbes, but I do know he missed the 2012 season with an injury and
then started on the o-line in 2013 before (maybe?) being passed by someone
else. At any rate, being a starter gets you at least on the “Meh” list, in most
cases.
==Lyman
Faoliu
Faoliu had
six tackles in his two season spent mostly on special teams. He became the
assistant football strength and conditioning coach, but it is unclear if he’s
still in that position.
Daniel
Lilienthal
Best known
for being named “Dan Post” by Mike Leach because he ran great post patterns. He
was on the team for three seasons an only got on the field in his senior year.
He had just four catches total but always seemed like he was thisclose to
getting a little more playing time.
………………………..
Forgettable
==Sebastian
LaRue
LaRue gave
Coug fans some excitement when he announced he was transferring to WSU. He was
a four-star wide receiver recruit who chose Texas A&M over WSU and other
schools. He eventually ended up in Pullman but his stay was brief. The coaching
staff moved him to the defensive side of the ball.
Alas, he
didn’t make it much longer. He sat out the 2014 season due to transfer rules,
and didn’t make it to spring practices the in 2015 before being dismissed for a
violation of team rules.
==Kyrin
Priester
Talk about
blowing your chances. After playing one game and then leaving Clemson in his
freshman season, Priester transferred to WSU and figured to factor in to the
receiving corps. He scored one touchdown in 2015 before trouble started.
He was
dismissed prior to the 2016 season and then allowed to work his way back onto
the team. After a brief stint at inside receiver in the spring of 2017,
Priester was again dismissed, this time for good.
==Drew
Loftus
Loftus is
best known for attempting to steal booze from Dissmore’s by stuffing it down
his pants.
==Jeff
Farrar
Farrar was
headed to Virginia but couldn’t quite qualify academically, so he joined WSU
partway through fall camp in 2014. He was supposed to give WSU quality depth in
the secondary, but after a redshirt year, he left the team in 2015.
Aaron
Porter
He was a
former four-star recruit who signed with the UCLA Bruins out of high school,
but in what appears to be just one season at WSU, he only played on special
teams and had just four total tackles.
==Niu Sale
The
massive lineman never panned out.
==Jeremiah
Mitchell
In two
season, Mitchell played in just four games and did not register any stats. He
missed much of the 2015 season.
==Devonte
McClain
Started as
an offensive lineman but switched to the defensive line. McClain didn’t have a
meaningful impact, stats-wise at least.
==Dymund
Richardson
He’s the
brother of Paul Richardson and did not appear in a game last season. That might
be part of the reason it was reported last week that he has left the team.
……………………..
To Be
Determined
The
following players, in no particular order, are still at WSU and therefore still
have time to raise or lower their stock.
==Nick
Begg
Was Begg
really a transfer? He originally signed with Arizona State but delayed his
enrollment. Instead of starting at ASU in January of 2014, Begg found his way
to Pullman and didn’t find the field until his sophomore season. He hasn’t
started a game, but that could change heading into his senior season.
Transfer
or not, I’m including him here for the heck of it.
==Trey
Tinsley
Tinsley,
recently put on scholarship, had a slight lead at the quarterback position
after spring football. He’ll compete with Gardner Minshew this fall, as well as
the next guy on our list.
==Anthony
Gordon
Gordon
will figure into the quarterback competition this fall as a sophomore.
==Chima
Onyeukwu
Onyeukwu
was mentioned a couple times last year during fall camp as someone who could
sneak his way into some solid playing time, but we didn’t really notice him
until he picked off a pass at Utah.
==Brandon
Arconado
Got his
first taste of D-I football last season and scored a touchdown in the rain
against Colorado. He was recently put on scholarship.
==Robert
Valencia
Looks like
Valencia will factor in on the offensive line this season. He has a grand total
of zero snaps of D-I football.
Sean
Harper Jr.
I like
what I’ve seen from Harper Jr. so far. He had a big interception last year
against USC and enters the 2018 season as a veteran leader in the secondary.
His path
to WSU was an interesting one, as he originally signed but didn’t qualify
academically. Oftentimes, that’s the last we hear of a recruit, but Harper Jr.
kept in touch with the coaching staff and signed again with WSU out of Holmes
Community College in Mississippi.
==Easop
Winston
Winston
was hyped last year during spring football and figured to factor in at the
receiver position. But apparently he arrived back last fall in less than ideal
shape and redshirted. The hype was back this spring, and if he doesn’t end up
playing this fall, I think we’ll know what category he’ll find himself in.
OK, there
you have it. Overall, only a handful of transfers were real difference makers
and another handful were good, and some promising transfers (LaRue, Priester)
unfortunately blew their chances.
I’m sure
others have opinions, and I hope I didn’t miss any. Did I give McLennan too
much credit? Was I too hard on Priester (I was not)? Yell at me in the
comments.
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