Watch football Cougs
Gardner, Andre of South team.
Senior Bowl TV Sat., Jan.
26 starting 11:30am Pacific
What: 2019 Senior Bowl (North vs. South)
When: Saturday, Jan. 26, 11:30 a.m.
PT/2:30 p.m. ET
Where: Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile,
Alabama
TV: NFL Network
WSU football
Before he arrived at Senior Bowl, Washington State’s
Gardner Minshew was already learning Kyle Shanahan’s offense
UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 24, 2019, 10:43 p.m.
By Theo Lawson Spokane S-R
South coach Kyle Shanahan praises quarterbacks’ ability
to learn on the fly at Senior Bowl
MOBILE, Ala. – On the field, he’s the revered leader and
the consummate competitor. Behind the scenes, those in Gardner Minshew’s
football circle also describe him as the dogged student.
That didn’t change when Minshew got to Mobile, Alabama,
this week for the Senior Bowl, where the Washington State quarterback is trying
to do anything and everything he can to distinguish himself from seven other
quarterbacks on site – and going to some pretty impressive lengths to do so.
One challenge for Senior Bowl QBs – rather, one of many –
is picking up a new offense in less than a week. It usually isn’t the offense
they spent years learning in college and often won’t be the one they have to
grasp when they get to the NFL. But for a week in the presence of NFL coaches,
scouts and executives carefully examining them, it’s imperative the QBs show at
least some mastery of the offense they’ll be running Saturday at Ladd-Peebles
Stadium.
And Minshew decided to fast-track that process.
At the Senior Bowl, the WSU QB is playing for the South
team coached by Kyle Shanahan, second-year coach of the San Francisco 49ers.
For eight games this season, with No. 1 quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and backup
C.J. Beathard inured, Shanahan’s starting quarterback in San Francisco was Nick
Mullens.
Mullens and Minshew have a relationship that dates back
to Minshew’s junior year of high school, when the Brandon (Mississippi) High QB
took an in-state visit to Southern Miss. Mullens was a four-year starter for
the Golden Eagles from 2013-16 before the 49ers picked him up as an undrafted
free agent last season.
He’s been a handy contact for Minshew in the weeks
leading up to the Senior Bowl.
“He’s actually helping me, giving me some of their stuff
from their offense to give me a head start,” Minshew said. “So man, it’s been
awesome to see him do so well this year.”
Mullens fed Minshew a handful of Shanahan’s plays via
text message, giving the WSU QB an upper hand on the three other quarterbacks
running San Francisco’s schemes this week in Mobile: Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham,
Buffalo’s Tyree Jackson and West Virginia’s Will Grier.
Likewise, Duke’s Daniel Jones, North Carolina State’s
Ryan Finley, Penn State’s Trace McSorley and Missouri’s Drew Lock are being
coached by Jon Gruden and learning the Oakland Raiders’ playbook this week.
Because of his southern roots, Minshew followed the Atlanta
Falcons during a successful two-year stint for Shanahan, then considered one of
the league’s up-and-coming offensive coordinators.
“That’s when Julio (Jones) was having, what, 1,800-yard
seasons just absolutely killing it,” Minshew said. “Matt Ryan’s MVP season.”
Minshew developed a rooting interest for the 49ers when
Shanahan got to San Francisco, especially this last season once Mullens got the
keys to the offense. He threw three touchdowns and no interceptions, beating
Gruden and the Raiders 34-3 in his first start on Nov. 1. Mullens won two more
games and lost five as San Francisco’s starter, throwing for 2,277 yards, 13
touchdowns and 10 interceptions on the season.
“In a lot of ways, we’re pretty similar guys,” Minshew
said. “Didn’t have a whole lot going on out of high school, both about the same
size. Both of us just love football, man, and just stayed in touch.”
The 49ers list Mullens at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds. Minshew
was measured at 6-foot, 224 pounds earlier this week by the Senior Bowl.
Mullens only had midmajor offers coming out of high school. Not until after his
second season at East Carolina did Minshew, a former Troy walk-on, attract
Power Five interest.
Minshew probably won’t have to take the same roundabout
path to the NFL – it may not happen in the first few rounds, but he should
still be claimed in the NFL draft – but that could be the only place their
journeys differ.
“Out of high school, he almost didn’t go play college
ball basically and gets one offer from Southern Miss because his high school
coach went there and he wasn’t supposed to be the starter there. Ends up
starting four years,” Minshew said. “Coming into this year, he’s on the
practice squad, he’s not supposed to play at all this year. By the end of it,
he’s playing and he’s doing really well playing a high level. So, man, just to
see that, it’s been awesome. I’m super happy for him.”
Mullens evidently tracked Minshew’s season, too. He gave
the WSU QB a Twitter shout-out after Minshew led the Cougars on a winning drive
to beat Cal.
A few months later, it’s been helpful to have a Shanahan
pupil in his corner at the Senior Bowl.
“It’s a staff that’s definitely doing things the right
way, and I’m just eager to learn from them,” Minshew said.
:::::::::::::::::::
WSU Football
A longtime left tackle, Washington State’s Andre Dillard
briefly enters new world (right tackle) at Senior Bowl
Thu., Jan. 24, 2019, 10:44 p.m.
By Theo Lawson
S-R of Spokane
MOBILE, Ala. – Andre Dillard was less than 10 yards away
from home, but in a completely new world Thursday at the Senior Bowl.
If NFL scouts wanted a sample of Dillard’s versatility,
they got it during the South’s final practice at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in
Mobile, Alabama.
And if the Washington State offensive lineman wanted to
see what life was like outside of his comfort zone, he got that too.
The All-American left tackle got a new assignment
Thursday afternoon, spending a majority of the two-hour practice session on the
opposite side of the offensive line, playing four spots to the right of the
only position he’s ever known.
Prior to Thursday, Dillard’s only experience at right
tackle came during his redshirt season in Pullman. He played there briefly on
WSU’s scout team before shifting over and spending four years at left tackle –
three of them in a full-time starting role.
“That was it,” Dillard said of his short stint at right
tackle. “High school I was left as well and the rest of college.”
Not until the South team regrouped for a team period
toward the end of practice did Dillard make the flip. Earlier on, during
one-on-one offensive line versus defensive line drills, he was excelling from
his usual left side. On one play, Dillard shielded Jaylon Ferguson from the
“quarterback,” squaring up the Louisiana Tech edge rusher at the point of
contact before holding a steady block another three or four seconds until the
whistle blew.
The 6-5, 306-poiund Dillard didn’t commit any major
errors in protection when he split out to right tackle later in more of a
scrimmage-like environment.
But there’s still an adjustment for somebody whose mind
and body have taken hundreds of thousands of career reps from the left side.
“It’s totally just a muscle memory thing,” Dillard said.
“I’m so used to being twitchy off the right foot, on the left side, but then
just switching it up you just kind of have to get a feel for switching your
whole body and your kind of mind, you just flip the plays in your head.”
A few of his old WSU teammates have undergone position
swaps at this same event in the past. Last year, ex-Cougar right tackle Cole
Madison took a handful of reps as an interior lineman, playing both right guard
and center. Before him, Joe Dahl traded plays at left guard and right guard
during the 2016 Senior Bowl.
In three days at the Senior Bowl, Dillard’s name has
become one of the most popular among offensive linemen in attendance. He didn’t
have an exact count, but the number of NFL teams Dillard hadn’t met with by
Thursday night was much smaller than those he hadn’t.
This week in Mobile, Dillard, an O-lineman with Air Raid
lineage, is also keen on showing scouts he can play on a line with closer
splits. Air Raid linemen usually play anywhere from three to four feet apart
from each other. The distance of those splits has essentially been cut in half
this week at the Senior Bowl.
“It’s not super difficult,” he said. “You’re still
playing, still doing your techniques, you’re just a little bit closer to the
guy next to you.”
Dillard also said learning new play-calling language has
been a change, albeit a welcome one.
“Well, first of all, plays that don’t just have one word
to them,” he said. “More complex stuff, terminology, plays and different types
of stuff like that.”
:::::::
WSU football
Yet another reunion for quarterback companions Trace
McSorley, Gardner Minshew at Senior Bowl
UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 24, 2019, 10:43 p.m.
By Theo Lawson
Of Spokane’s Spokesman-Review
MOBILE, Ala. – Gardner Minshew and Trace McSorley just
can’t escape each other.
The Washington State and Penn State quarterbacks
represent one-fourth of the signal-callers hoping to enhance their NFL Draft
profiles this week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.
But college football’s premier all-star game isn’t their
first run-in. Or second. And it probably won’t be their last.
While it isn’t uncommon for NFL prospects to bump into
another a few times between the months of January and April, attending many of
the same functions and events – this week’s Senior Bowl, the Scouting Combine
and NFL Draft among them – Minshew and McSorley might need two hands to count
the amount of times they’ve crossed paths by the time their pro contracts are
signed.
It was at a quarterback-specific summit last summer that
the WSU and PSU passers met for the first time. Both attended the Manning Passing
Academy, along with 37 other college QBs who served as camp counselors for four
days in Thibodeaux, Louisiana.
Seven of the eight QBs in attendance this week at the
Senior Bowl – everyone but West Virginia’s Will Grier – gathered at the
prestigious Manning camp, but Minshew and McSorley probably got the closest.
They were assigned to the same dorm room at Nicholls State and spent the week
as bunkmates.
“He’s a great dude,” McSorley said of Minshew Thursday
after his North team wrapped up its final practice at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
“…We’d kind of cut loose, hang out. Great dude and I’ve really enjoyed getting
to know him.”
After meeting at the MPA, Minshew and McSorley went on to
lead great seasons in Pullman and State College. Minshew, the Pac-12’s Offensive
Player of the Year, led the Cougars to 11-2 while the Nittany Lions finished
9-4 behind a 2,530-yard passing, 798-yard rushing season from McSorley.
Both were in the running for many of the country’s major
QB awards and McSorley was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm trophy
that was eventually won by Minshew.
Just days after their seasons ended, Minshew and McSorley
reunited in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Both have been working with QB trainer
Ken Mastrole, along with three other quarterbacks: Nick Fitzgerald (Mississippi
State), Jordan Ta’amu (Ole Miss) and TJ Linta (Wagner).
“So, I’ve spent a lot of time with him,” McSorley said of
Minshew. “… He dedicates himself to the game. You understand when you get in a
room and start sitting with him, knowing his understanding of football, why he
was able to do what he did this year.”
McSorley became a household name a couple years before
Minshew did, winning All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore in 2016, then following
it up with all-league seasons in 2017 and ’18. Minshew’s rise to national
prominence, on the other hand, happened in an instant.
It doesn’t matter at this point. Now both quarterbacks
are in a similar position – entering the next phase of their careers battling
the same stereotype.
Minshew and McSorley have the production and wins to
rival every QB in Mobile this week, but pro scouts often like to focus on
numbers not related to either during the pre-Draft process. And both players
are on the diminutive side of the things when measured and weighed.
“I guess so, but I can tell you right now both of us
don’t really look at it like that,” McSorley said. “We’re just out there
playing ball. I think personality we’re pretty similar, we get along well. I
think there’s more similarities there. For each of us, we don’t really look at
the height as any kind of setback or anything that is negative on either of
us.”
They won’t be splitting soon. After the Senior Bowl,
Minshew and McSorley will return to Florida to continue pre-Draft preparations,
and it’s expected both will receive invites to the Scouting Combine, held Feb.
26-March 4 in Indianapolis.
McSorley couldn’t dial up any memorable Minshew stories
from their short time as roommates, simply describing the WSU QB as “just
another one of the guys.”
“He’s always looking for a good time,” he said. “Even
being down here (in Mobile), he’s joking with guys, he’s loose, got a great
personality so he’s just kind of all the time out there having fun.”
The Penn State signal-caller said he followed WSU’s
season from afar. McSorley knew a clean-shaven version of Minshew – they met
before the Cougar QB decided to grow out the mustache that eventually grabbed
national attention.
“I followed what that they were doing on the field, but
then the mustache growing into a story of its own,” McSorley said. “It was
awesome to see how he embraced it and how he just bought into it and let it
go.”
:::::::
WSU men’s basketball remains winless away from home after
13 point loss to Beavers
BY ISAAC SEMMLER, Evergreen
January 24, 2019
WSU men’s basketball remained winless away from Beasley
Coliseum after suffering a 90-77 defeat to Oregon State on Thursday night in Corvallis.
Both teams got off to fast offensive starts as WSU shot
3-5 in the opening four minutes and the Beavers were 5-8.
The Cougars (8-11, 1-5) struggled containing outside
screens and stopping passes into the post, allowing the Beavers (12-6, 4-2) to
score easy baskets.
Almost 10 minutes into the first half, WSU was failing to
protect the rim and the Beavers height overpowered junior guard Ahmed Ali on
the perimeter.
Senior forward Robert Franks couldn’t find an offensive
groove early on but his shots started to fall at the halfway point of the first
half. He led the Cougars with nine points to keep the Beavers lead below double
digits.
Head Coach Ernie Kent kept the majority of his bench
players off the court early on as the team fought to stay in the game.
Freshman forward CJ Elleby struggled early. He failed to
knock down a shot or score a point in the first half as the starters combined
for just 24 points.
In front of a loud Oregon State student section, WSU let
the game slip away in the final minutes of the first half. The team missed
several shots as they failed to keep up with the Beavers 61 percent shooting in
the first 20 minutes. OSU led 52-36 at halftime.
Oregon State carried the momentum into the opening
minutes of the second half as the Cougars looked lost on both ends of the
court, trailing by 18 with 16 minutes left.
Elleby sparked the offense with six straight points
allowing a short but much needed to run to get the crowd out of the game and
shift the momentum. With 12 minutes left, WSU had reduced the deficit to nine
points.
In the final minutes, Oregon State would pull away to
hand WSU its fifth conference loss. Elleby led the Cougars with 21 points
followed by Franks with 20.
WSU takes on Oregon at 5 p.m. Sunday in Eugene. The game
can be seen live on ESPNU.
:::::::::
WSU regents will debate school funding
Proposal argues new facility is ‘critical’ to school
By CARMEN JARMILLO, Evergreen
January 24, 2019
The WSU Board of Regents will begin a two-day retreat for
their first meeting of the new year today at SeaTac.
Regents plan to discuss and approve funding for
expansions to the Bailey-Brayton Field as well as marketing of WSU’s Cosmic
Crisp Apple.
With regards to Bailey-Brayton Field, regents will vote
on whether to approve a $10 million project for the construction of a “baseball
clubhouse” at the field.
“This facility is considered critical to allow WSU to
continue to compete at the highest level with peer programs in the Pac-12
Conference,” the project proposal states.
The new building will hold locker rooms, a pitching lab,
academic spaces and meeting rooms for WSU’s baseball program.
According to the funding proposal, 65 percent of the
costs will be paid for through donations to the athletics department. The other
35 percent is proposed to come from the university’s general revenue and will
be repaid over five years.
On the Cosmic Crisp apple, regents will vote on a
proposal to allocate $10.1 million to increase consumer demand for the apples through
marketing over the next four years.
According to the proposal, Cosmic Crisp production is on
the rise. Supply of the apple will rise to 175,000 40-pound cases available in
2019. This is projected to reach 5 million cases by 2021.
“With such a large supply of Cosmic Crisp apples expected
in the market,” the proposal states. “It is in the best interest of Washington
growers and WSU to ensure that there is an appropriate, corresponding level of
customer demand.”
The marketing campaign will be paid for in full through
revenue from Cosmic Crisp royalties, the proposal states.
The two-day meeting begins today at 6 p.m. at Cedarbrook
Lodge in SeaTac. It will continue into Friday beginning at 8 a.m.
::::::::::::::::::
No. 5 Ducks come to Pullman
WSU women’s basketball will face pair of ranked opponents
at home in hopes of ending two-game losing streak
By ISAAC SEMMLER, Evergreen reporter January 25, 2019
WSU women’s basketball returns home to face two ranked
opponents after losing to a pair of conference foes in the Bay Area this past
weekend.
The Cougars (7-11, 2-5) will face No. 5 Oregon on Friday
and then battle No.9 Oregon State on Sunday.
WSU met these two teams a few weeks ago. The Cougars put
on a strong showing against the Beavers (15-3, 5-1) on Jan. 4 in Corvallis,
nearly pulling off an upset.
The Cougars’ contest against the Ducks (17-1, 6-0) on
Jan. 6 in Eugene was anything but impressive as they got crushed by 40 points.
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge said it’s going to be a battle
trying to knock off a physical Oregon team.
“It doesn’t matter what you change in the game, if you
don’t play hard you’re not going to beat [Oregon],” Ethridge said. “Obviously
we are going to tweak our approach but I think what we did wasn’t very good,
and we didn’t play very hard.”
Ethridge also said the Ducks dominated them in most
aspects of the game.
Currently, five Pac-12 teams are ranked and three of
those are in the top 10. Ethridge said it’s always a challenge competing
against ranked opponents but the Cougars feel ready this week.
Ethridge said for the past couple of years WSU has played
the Beavers tough due to their lack of physicality and similar approach on the
court.
“Oregon State doesn’t play as physical basketball as
other teams which allows us to keep it a close contest,” Ethridge said. “We
need to trust that if the ball moves, we’re going to get good shots.”
Junior forward Borislava Hristova leads the team in
points, averaging 21.3 points per contest which is third-best in the Pac-12 and
13th in the nation.
Hristova scored in double figures in all 18 games this
season and the Cougars will need to continue to give her the ball to stay
competitive with the Ducks and Beavers.
The Ducks have five players who average double figures in
points per game and the Beavers have three with a heavily-involved bench.
Meanwhile, the Cougars have three double-digit scorers with a struggling bench.
WSU’s highest scoring substitute player averages 3.5 points per contest.
Ethridge said she and the staff try to give their
non-starters more playing time.
“Our bench players are starting to get to the point where
we really do trust them,” Ethridge said, “and I’ve got to do that in a game
even if it is a tight game or a great team.”
The Cougars will take on the Ducks at 7 p.m. Friday and
the Beavers at noon Sunday both in Beasley Coliseum. Both games can also be
seen live on Pac-12 Networks.
#
