Coug
football’s James Williams to relinquish senior year
Washington
State junior running back tweets his intention to leave early, declare for 2019
NFL draft
By Dale
Grummert,
Lewiston
Trib
Jan 7,
2019
James
Williams reversed field Saturday.
The
Washington State running back, who had been leaning toward staying in school
for his senior year, announced via Twitter that he's instead declaring for this
year's NFL draft.
"So
as I announce my decision to depart WSU one year early in order to pursue my
long dream of playing in the NFL," Williams wrote, "I want to say
this from the bottom of my heart: This is not a farewell in any way, just the
next chapter in my life. I am a Cougar for life. I love this university and all
the people who make it so special. I will be forever grateful for the
opportunities and lifelong friendships."
Williams
led all running backs in the nation this season with 83 catches as junior,
breaking a Pac-12 record from 1985, and also rushed for 563 yards.
Last month,
he seemed inclined to remain at the Pullman school for his senior season.
"I'm
in the process of (deciding) whether I'm going to leave or not," he said
during a speech to Deary High athletes Dec. 5. "I think I'm going to stay
and get my degree. My degree is probably going to be the most important thing
that I get. I don't want my kid growing up and telling me, 'You didn't get your
degree.'"
On New
Year's Eve, Williams announced on Twitter that he and his fiancee, Rye Hewett
of Lewiston, are indeed expecting a child in July. They live in Lewiston with
Hewett's 7-year-old daughter.
In his
tweet Saturday, Williams reiterated his intention of getting his bachelor's
degree while also expressing gratitude to WSU for staying firm in its
scholarship offer after he tore knee ligaments during his senior season at
Burbank (Calif.) High.
"The
WSU family helped guide me from a high school senior with a blown knee and
uncertain academic situation to this incredible place in my life. I am 2
semesters away from my bachelor's degree (and promise I will finish it),"
he wrote, placing the parenthetical phrase in all caps. "I have been part
of the winningest four-year stretch - and the single-best season - in WSU
football history; and I met my soul mate and fiancee Rye here on the Palouse. I
hit a triple lottery when I arrived at Washington State University! Thank you
again Coug Nation! Go Cougs."
At
6-foot-0 and 205 pounds, Williams will probably be considered too small to be
an every-down back in the NFL next season. But scouts will no doubt value his
elusiveness, his quickness and especially his pass-catching abilities. His
first fumble of the season came in the Cougars' 28-26 win over Iowa State in
the Alamo Bowl, which capped an 11-2 Wazzu season.
He
finished with 16 touchdowns this year, including four through receptions, and
his 202 career catches are tied for first among WSU running backs.
His
departure will break up the 1-2 punch the Cougar enjoyed in 2018 with the RB
duo of Williams and true freshman Max Borghi, who rushed for 366 yards rushing
and caught 53 passes. Wazzu also loses senior running back Keith Harrington.
Williams
has gone under the radar nationally for much of his WSU career, which included
a redshirt year in 2015. He garnered more attention this year, but the Pac-12
was packed with good backs and Williams settled for honorable mention on the
All-Pac-12 team last month.
"I
thought I had a great season, and all-conference came out and I got honorable
mention," he said in his Deary talk. "I looked at it and I was pretty
(ticked) all day yesterday, mad, just sitting there looking at the picture
saying honorable mention under my name. ... That's just another speed bump and
adversity for me. That just means I need to work harder, that they didn't make
me first team."
After
spending his early years in a rugged section of Toledo, Ohio, Williams began to
thrive after his parents moved to Burbank. Behind academically and relegated to
special education for years, he nonetheless rallied during his high-school
years and narrowly gained eligibility to accept WSU's offer.
"Everything
I dreamed of in high school is literally becoming a reality for me right
now," he told his audience at Deary.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Dennis
Erickson, who coached the Cougars and Idaho, led Miami to two national
championships.
By RALPH
RUSSO, AP
Former
Washington State and Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson, who led Miami to two
national championships, has been selected for induction into the College
Football Hall of Fame, along with 13 players and one other coach.
Erickson
also was a head coach at Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon State, Arizona State and for
the San Francisco 49ers.
Texas
quarterback Vince Young and Notre Dame speedster Raghib Ismail were among the
players selected for induction.
Young was
the Heisman Trophy runner-up and led the Longhorns to the 2005 national
championship with a memorable performance in the Rose Bowl against Southern
California. Ismail, better known as Rocket, was an electric receiver and kick
returner for the Fighting Irish and the Heisman runner-up in 1990.
The rest
of the players to be enshrined at the National Football Foundation’s award
banquet in December include Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, Oklahoma
defensive back Rickey Dixon, John Carroll linebacker London Fletcher, Texas
A&M defensive lineman Jacob Green, North Carolina State receiver Torry
Holt, Arizona State quarterback Jake Plummer, USC defensive back Troy Polamalu,
Wisconsin offensive tackle Joe Thomas, Michigan State running back Lorenzo
White and Mississippi linebacker Patrick Willis.
Joe
Taylor, who won 233 games at historically black colleges, was the other coach
selected for induction.
Young was
the first FBS player to pass for more than 3,000 yards and run for more than
1,000, leading Texas to an undefeated season in 2005. Against USC in the Rose
Bowl, Young passed for 267 yards, ran for 200 and scrambled for a game-winning
touchdown on fourth down with 19 seconds left in a 41-38 victory.
Ismail was
part of Notre Dame’s 1988 national championship team and had six return
touchdowns in his career, including five on kickoffs. He is best remembered for
taking two kicks back for touchdowns against Michigan in 1989.
McFadden
was a two-time Heisman runner-up, coming in second behind Ohio State
quarterback Troy Smith in 2006 and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow in 2007.
The
Goodyear Blimp was also named an honorary member of the College Football Hall
of Fame.
::::::::::::::
Pullman's
Lumberyard finishes opening all new restaurants
Variety of
cuisine now available, as new food hall works out its kinks
By Maggie
Quinlan, Evergreen Jan 7, 2019
As of last
week, Lumberyard in Pullman completed its process of opening its multiple
concept kitchens to the public. The Food Hall originally opened its doors
during Apple Cup weekend, operating just one of the several kitchens, Grand
Ave. Gourmet Burgers.
The former
Pullman building supply storage space contains rows of food truck style
restaurants. Now these kitchens are filled with cooks. Groups can order from
any of the concepts at kiosks around the hall and mix and match orders from any
of the outlets.
The
restaurant collective has slowly opened separate kitchens since late November,
starting with La Isla Cuisine, which serves Puerto Rican fare.
“Each one
of the concepts had its own kinks that we had to work out,” Jenny Finau,
general manager and namesake of Jenny’s Chicken Shack, said.
Kitchen
manager Javier Paredes said Jenny’s Chicken Shack was the final space to open
last week. The shack offers traditional Southern food including fried chicken,
fried catfish, fried green tomatoes and a daily casserole.
On the
main floor The Whole Pizza, The Whole Yard Salad and Grain Bowls, Scoops Ice
Cream, (509) Coffee, and a bar are all open to the public now. A second bar
occupies the loft above, where patrons can access a porch overlooking
Pufferbelly Station and the South Fork of the Palouse River.
Pullman
residents Alicia Baker and Rob Baker, ate dinner with their six-year-old
daughter Audrina at the Lumberyard Food Hall on Sunday evening. The Lumberyard
Food Hall features a wide variety of cuisine in a relaxed eating environment,
complete with a playground for younger children. “It’s nice to have a place in
Pullman that has a place for the kids to play,” Rob said, “that isn’t
McDonald’s,” Alicia continued.
Finau said
she worked on the development team to generate the theme and concept of every
kitchen, except for La Isla.
“Foremost
we wanted to bring Pullman something that Pullman didn’t already have,” Finau
said. “Most everything we do is from scratch – homemade pickles, homemade bacon
onion jam. A lot of our condiments are homemade.”
Finau said
salad and grain bowls and Southern and Puerto Rican cuisine aren’t available
anywhere else in the area. Grand Ave. burgers are uniquely big, she said.
Though all
the kitchens are up and running, the Food Hall will continue to expand their
business in coming months, Paredes said. They’ve installed a refrigerator
display case to sell their homemade pickles and plan to sell pie by the slice
and round once they hire a fulltime baker.
In the
late summer or early fall, a back building will become available as an event
center, Finau said. And as soon as the weather allows, the patio area will open
up to the public.
“Fortunately,
Pullmanites are okay with a little bit of chilliness,” Finau said.
The patio
fits Finau’s vision for the Food Hall. She said the Food Hall should be a
communal area where people of all ages with different tastes can come together.
Paredes agreed.
“It’s the
atmosphere,” Paredes said. “The atmosphere forces people to be social.”
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