Researchers
develop new needle
Patented
flexible needle in gel-testing trials, animal organs, humans to follow
By BAILEY
CAMPBELL, Evergreen Feb 6, 2018
AWSU
research team is developing steerable needles that use waterjets to reduce
tissue damage and lower the risk of infection in medical procedures.
John
Swensen directs WSU’s Modeling, Motion and Medical Robotics Laboratory, or M3,
which is developing needles that can be controlled by medical robots. Though
other universities across the country are developing similar needles, Swensen
said he and his team are trying to create a more efficient pathway through the
body tissue.
His lab
created a new approach by using a waterjet, allowing them to direct the needle
exactly where they want it to go. This method also eliminates resistance,
making it easier to press the needle in further.
“We’re at
a point where we’ve proved it works,” said Swensen, an associate professor who
has a doctorate in mechanical engineering.
Waterjets
can cut through steel like paper, but can also work on a small scale and cut
gently through human tissue.
“We are
using the waterjet for its unique features,” said Mahdieh Babaiasl, a graduate
researcher persuing her doctorate in mechanical engineering.
Her role
on the team is to develop the waterjet’s efficiency. The cut depth is now
controlled by how fast the waterjet runs, Babaiasl said.
“Whenever
you’re doing medical research,” Swensen said, “they always care about two
things: patient outcome and decreasing costs.”
Steerable
needles can go around anatomical obstacles to reach targets inaccessible to
traditional straight needles, greatly increasing accuracy and precision.
Swensen
and his team use an alloy needle made of nickel and titanium. Its elastic yet
rigid structure allows it to spring back to its original form.
Flexible
needles, with no steering ability, tend to follow the flow of tissue as they
curve once inserted. This is particularly troublesome in soft tissues like the
brain. Swensen compared it to how a flexed hand put outside a car window will
follow the airflow.
Current
medical needles are uncontrollable and can damage tissue surrounding the target
site or puncture a nearby organ. The further a needle goes into tissue, the
harder it is to continue pressing it in, due to the increasing force on the tip
of the needle.
Swensen
and his team have patented their design and are working on applying their
research to improve various medical procedures, like liver biopsies and tumor
ablation. The team is testing its research on tissue-like gel and will move to
animal organs soon. They hope to someday perform clinical trials on humans.
////////
Institute
for senior hospitality in works
As elderly
population grows, so does the need for trained work force
By YASMEEN
WAFAI, Evergreen Feb 7, 2018
The
College of Business will expand courses for students looking to work in the
senior living industry.
“It has
been a project in the making for several years,” said Nancy Swanger, School of
Hospitality Business Management director.
The
Faculty Senate approved Swanger’s proposal in late January to expand the
Hospitality Business Management curriculum and scholarships, crucial steps for
creating the Institute for Senior Living.
Swanger
said the institute would bring together industry professionals and faculty
members from other disciplines around campus who focus on improvements to
senior living and the senior housing industry.
“This is
the first such institute of its kind,” she said. “Our focus is really finding
solutions to senior living community-based problems.”
The
difference between senior living and hotel management, she said, is the care
component of senior living.
Scott
Eckstein, clinical assistant professor and senior living executive-in-residence,
referred to that care component as “softer skills,” which include emotional
intelligence, psychology and gerontology. Eckstein said caring for seniors
involves their family, so while senior living has everything any other business
would have, there is also an emotional aspect.
He said
executives in the senior living industry from Western Washington came to the
university looking for help to find solutions for problems in the industry.
Eckstein
said representatives in senior living say the business would need more managers
as the elderly population grows. In addition to improving the lives of seniors
and their families, he said, he wants the institute to provide workforce
opportunities. However, he noted senior living is not typically as desired as
other businesses.
“One of
the problems that senior living has is that it’s not sexy,” Eckstein said.
He said he
wants the institute to show students that they can go into the senior living
industry and make an impact.
Swanger
said she hopes WSU will become a leader in the growing market.
“We want
the industry to look to us for solutions in senior living,” she said.
There is a
huge demand for quality care in senior living management, she said, so students
can spend a lifetime in the career.
In terms
of university-wide impact, Swanger said the institute could help with
fundraising and research.
She said
the school wants to create an institute that is a formal academic entity on
campus, with opportunities for collaborations and research. She said the
institute is unique in that it could better take on the “softer skills”
Eckstein described.
Over time,
the hospitality school would like to offer senior living management as a third
major, in addition to the hospitality business management and wine and beverage
business management majors, Swanger said.
She said
the institute already has some scholarship money in place, and they are in the
process of a fundraising campaign for a naming gift for the late Granger Cobb,
who taught senior hospitality course ar WSU and was instrumental in the field
of senior living.
“[We’re]
definitely looking for all of this to be self-sustaining, ultimately,” she
said.
/////////////////
Armstrong
hopes career goes beyond WSU
Junior
shot eight-under, had two birdies in closing holes to help seal victory for WSU
in tournament
By SAM
HEIKELL, Evergreen February 6, 2018
Getting
better and better, junior AJ Armstrong looks to build on an impressive fall
performance as men’s golf gets ready to tee off its spring season.
After
competing in all five of the fall tournaments earlier this season, the Canadian
native turned some heads at the Itani Quality Homes Collegiate in September.
Armstrong shot eight under in the three-round tournament, tying for a
fifth-place finish and notching two birdies on the final two holes to help WSU
pull out a one-stroke win over Boise State University.
“The weird
thing is that you never really know what your team is at, so you just got to do
what you can individually and hope everything comes together in the end,”
Armstrong said. “It was my last hole, so I didn’t know if it meant anything at
the time, but it turns out it did.”
Since
there is only so much warm weather in the fall, the players get a big break and
then the season picks up again in the spring. Armstrong has been trying to
improve certain areas of his game during the time off, even taking a trip to
Florida after the end of the fall semester to play in ideal conditions.
During
winter break, players typically travel and get rounds in by themselves. When
they get back from break, the home course of Palouse Ridge Golf Course is still
closed, so players travel south to Lewiston to practice their craft.
“It’s
honestly great,” Armstrong said. “Because it’s about 10 degrees warmer down
there, the courses stay open and it’s in pretty good shape.”
He said
the team has been effective in reaching the greens, but their focus is
improving their play once they get there.
“Driving
and iron play were pretty much at the top of the Pac-12 as a team and
individually,” Armstrong said. “And then around the greens and putting we were
near the bottom, so that’s definitely our main focus this offseason.”
This will
be put to the test next week when the team heads to Lihue, Hawaii, for the John
Burns Intercollegiate. Armstrong said the players are looking forward to it.
“All our
tournaments are honestly great, we play awesome courses,” he said. “Then it’ll
all lead up to the Pac-12 championship, which is a big deal.”
Armstrong
said he has a couple objectives in mind for the team and himself as they
prepare for the second half of the season.
“We’ve won
our home tournament, but I think that just winning a tournament away from home
would be really cool,” he said. “And then getting my first collegiate
individual win would be a main goal of mine.”
Aside from
preparing for the upcoming tournament, Armstrong said he has been keeping up
with his schoolwork, despite considering a career in golf beyond college.
“It’s
pretty important to me. Golf is great, but at the end of the day you still want
to have an education,” Armstrong said. “[I’m going to] just kind of see where
the next three semesters take me and evaluate at the end whether I want to give
professional golf a shot.”
/////////////////
WSU
releases spring schedule as soccer Cougs prepare for fall 2018 season
AVERY
COOPER, Evergreen
February
6, 2018
WSU soccer
released its spring 2018 schedule of exhibition games Monday. The season starts
March 3 and will feature six games, including three at home.
The team
finished the 2017 season 10-8-4 in non-conference play and 4-6-1 in Pac-12
play. Despite the losing record, the Cougars were invited to the NCAA
tournament in November, where they made it to the third round.
The
Cougars open the spring season against the Seattle Reign, a women’s
professional team, at 11 a.m. in Seattle. They will turn around two days later
and face University of British Columbia at 7 p.m. March 5 in Pullman.
WSU will
get a break to train and then play the Crossfire Boys at noon on April 1.
The Cougs get
a two-week break before a double-header in Spokane against Central Washington
University at 9:30 a.m. and Boise State University at 1:30 p.m. on April 14.
WSU last faced the Broncos in September 2016 and won 2-1.
WSU will
close its spring season at home against Western Washington University at noon
April 22.
///////////
FOOTBALL
Coach Claeys gets second chance to prove himself at WSU
By TYLER
SHUEY, Evergreen columnist
February
6, 2018
The recent
hire of Tracy Claeys as WSU’s new defensive coordinator is controversial after
the way things ended at University of Minnesota.
Claeys was
hired in mid-January after former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch left for a
position at Ohio State University. In terms of relieving the damage done by
Grinch’s departure, the Cougs probably hired the best defensive mind they could
under the circumstances.
But the
real dilemma is his involvement in a player-led boycott in 2016 after 10
Minnesota players were suspended amid accusations of sexual assault.
Initially
after the players were suspended, the rest of the team wanted to boycott the
2016 Holiday Bowl, ironically against WSU. Claeys backed his players and joined
the boycott, tweeting that the accused players did not receive due process.
Soon after, a detailed report of the alleged assaults went public, showing the
players were more at fault than people originally believed.
Though he
later rescinded his support of the boycott after learning more information
about the alleged assaults, this incident painted Claeys in a bad light.
Minnesota ended up playing the game with 10 of their players suspended,
ultimately beating the Cougars 17-12. Claeys, who was serving as head coach
that season, was fired shortly after the bowl game and the boycott.
After a
year of unemployment, Claeys is back to his roots as a defensive coordinator.
Claeys
became a prominent and respected name under Jerry Kill, who has coached for
more than 30 years at nine different universities. He worked with Kill first at
Southern Illinois University from 2001-2007, where he was defensive
coordinator. In 2004, the Salukis led the nation in scoring defense, allowing
just 13.2 points a game.
When Kill
was hired at Northern Illinois University in 2008, Claeys followed suit to
become their defensive coordinator, where in his first season the Huskies led
the Mid-American Conference in pass defense, scoring defense and total defense.
The two of
them were finally hired at a Power Five school in 2010 at University of
Minnesota. In 2013, Claeys was nominated for the Frank Broyles Award, which is
given to the top college assistant. He gained respect from the coaching staff
and was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2014 season. During his
tenure, Claeys transformed the Gopher defense into a consistent power in the
Big Ten Conference.
Now
Claeys’ journey brings him to the West Coast. He will be reunited with WSU
defensive line coach Jeff Phelps, who he worked with from 2006-16 at NIU and U
of M.
“To be
back with coach Phelps means a lot to me,” Claeys said in a conference call.
“He’s a great coach and had a lot of influence in my decision to come here.”
In terms
of schematics going forward, this is the first time Claeys has the defensive
groundwork already laid out for him, due to Grinch’s revitalization of the WSU
defense. At the finish of the 2017 season, the Cougars were 13th in total
defense, sixth in passing yards allowed and tied for ninth in turnovers forced
in the nation.
Claeys
made it clear that he will only incorporate a few minor adjustments to the
defense, as the athletes he has at his disposal have learned a system that
plays to their strengths. Some of those tweaks include a greater focus on
scoring defense, third-down defense and red-zone defense, whereas Grinch
emphasized scoring defense.
“We’ll get
to spring ball, find out what our kids do best,” Claeys said. “And whatever
that is, we will line up and do that on Saturdays.”
/////////////////////////////
New WSU
conduct rules to be in place by fall semester
Student
task force submits 32 recommendations
By Taylor
Nadauld, Moscow Pullman Daily News
Feb 7,
2018
Washington
State University's Student Conduct Process Task Force, established in 2016 amid
accusations of racial bias against WSU's Student Conduct Board, has formulated
32 recommendations to bring the university's conduct process into best
practices with the rest of the nation.
Announcement
of the recommendations came in a press release Tuesday from WSU's Office of the
President. The task force submitted its report to WSU President Kirk Schulz on
Jan. 22.
Schulz
will choose which revisions to adopt upon an administrative review. Any
revisions to the rules are scheduled to roll out in the fall.
The
recommendations cover student notifications; conduct and appeals board
structure and member training; conduct process; review of policies; educational
outreach to campus community; and assessment/evaluation strategies.
Schulz
appointed the Student Conduct Process Task Force in fall 2016, after members of
the public accused WSU's Student Conduct Board of discrimination and racial
bias against members of the Cougar football team.
Appointment
of the task force came just days after the Washington Court of Appeals ruled
WSU and other public universities across the state must use a full adjudication
process in conduct cases in which students face possible expulsion or are
accused of sexual assault.
Threat of
expulsion was the case for 22-year-old Cougar nose tackle Robert Barber, whom
WSU first expelled, then suspended in 2016 after the conduct board investigated
a fight Barber was involved in that left one student unconscious and another in
the hospital with a fractured jaw.
The
Whitman County Prosecutor's Office charged Barber with felony second-degree
assault for the incident. A jury later found him not guilty of the charges.
WSU's
Student Conduct Board and the Pullman Police Department faced backlash from
Barber's supporters for their treatment of Barber and for a perceived lack of
due process before his expulsion.
In
response to the incident and a series of other arrests involving Samoan
football players, Schulz and other community leaders traveled to American Samoa
last year to understand the needs of WSU's Samoan population.
Also in
response to the accusations of racial bias, WSU hired Lyons O'Dowd, a Coeur
d'Alene-based law firm, to independently review its Student Conduct Board in
2016. The law firm found no evidence of racial bias in its investigation, but
made several recommendations to improve the board's conduct process.
Among the
32 recommendations from the Student Conduct Process Task Force are suggestions
to ensure students are fully informed of their rights at the start of a conduct
case and providing them with access to advisers and legal sources; implementing
mandatory training for conduct board members in cultural competency and
implicit bias, conflict of interest and sexual assault and gender-based
violence; implementing term limits for conduct board members; providing
alternative dispute resolution when suitable; and publishing plain-language
sanctioning guidelines outlining what sanctions students may face for
particular violations.
According
to the press release, the task force studied conduct processes of other
universities, reviewed current research, examined past WSU cases and reviewed
more than 300 comments from the community, as well as responses to an online
survey on the matter.
"I
appreciate the task force's comprehensive review and the effort to ensure as
many voices as possible were heard and incorporated throughout the
process," Schulz said in the press release.
Based on
the task force's recommendations and the administration's review, the WSU
division of the state Office of the Attorney General will draft revisions to
the Washington Administrative Code that governs student conduct.
A public
hearing on the revised Washington Administrative Code is scheduled to take
place later this spring.
/////////////////////////
National
Signing Day live thread: Washington State football rounds out 2018 recruiting
class
UPDATED:
Wed., Feb. 7, 2018, 10:13 a.m.
By Theo
Lawson S-R of Spokane
PULLMAN –
Mike Leach and his staff knocked out a bulk of their recruiting in December
during the NCAA’s new early signing period, inking 20 high school and junior
college prospects – a handful of whom are already on campus in Pullman.
That left
only a handful of available scholarships for the Cougars to fill before the
traditional Feb. 7 National Signing Day. Below is a list of the players who
made it official on Wednesday.
==Tyrese Ross
Position:
Defensive back
High
school: Westlake High (Atlanta)
Height/weight:
6-0, 180
Other P-5
offers: Mississippi State, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan State, Oregon State,
Pittsburgh, UCLA, Virginia Tech.
WSU
doesn’t often land former SEC commits, but the Cougars had an in with Ross,
whose father played for Mike Leach at Valdosta State. The defensive back from
Jacksonville, Florida, verballed to Mississippi State, but reopened his
commitment when Dan Mullen left for Florida and committed to the Cougars just
last week.
==Blake McDonald
Position:
Offensive line
High
school: San Ramon Valley (San Ramon, California)
Height/weight:
6-4, 295
Other P-5
offers: Nebraska, Cal, Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon State, Utah
A one-time
UCLA commit, McDonald decided to open things up when Jim Mora was fired and
among his five other Pac-12 offers – not to mention another from Nebraska – WSU
looked most attractive. McDonald possesses good size and physicality, giving
the Cougars their fourth offensive line signee, along with Syr Riley, Keenan
Forbes and Cade Beresford.
==Misi Aiolupotea-Pei
Position:
Defensive line
Junior
college: Riverside Community College (Riverside, California)
Height/weight:
6-3, 250
Aiolupotea-Pei
is relatively inexperienced on a football field and grew up playing rugby in
his native Australia. He amassed 41 tackles and 5.5 sacks in his second season
at Riverside CC and earned 2017 Southern California Football Association Second
Team honors.
==Calvin Jackson
Position:
Wide receiver
Junior
college: Independence C.C. (Independence, Kansas)
Height/weight:
5-9, 160
Other
offers: Colorado State, Toledo
One way or
another, Jackson was going to end up playing for WSU outside receivers coach
Derek Sage. The Floridian initially signed with Toledo when Sage was on the
staff, but failed to qualify academically and spent two seasons at
Independence, a Juco powerhouse in Kansas. Sage joined Mike Leach’s staff in
January and Jackson committed to WSU just three months later. In year No. 2 at
Independence, he caught 25 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns. That came
after a 49-catch, 649-yard, five-touchdown freshman season.
//////////////////
WSU hit by
another assistant coaching departure – OL coach Clay McGuire heading back to
Texas Tech
Originally
published February 7, 2018 at 2:08 pm Updated February 7, 2018 at 2:54 pm
Clay
McGuire departs to return to his alma mater, Texas Tech, where he will be
co-offensive coordinator
By
Stefanie Loh Seattle Times
Washington
State’s coaching staff has been hit hard by attrition this season, and
Wednesday brought yet another change.
After six
years at WSU, offensive line coach Clay McGuire has left to become the
co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach under Kliff Kingsbury at Texas
Tech.
When asked
about McGuire’s departure during a news conference Wednesday, WSU head coach
Mike Leach seemed displeased about losing his offensive line coach.
Leach said
he wished McGuire well but said, “He’s gotta sort that himself. From his
standpoint, he’s going back home, but they’re on thin ice out there. If you
fall through the ice you’re leaving home pretty quick too.”
The Red
Raiders have been mediocre at best of late, amassing a 30-33 record in
Kingsbury’s five seasons as head coach. As a result, Kingsbury appears to be on
the hot seat going into this season.
McGuire
and Kingsbury were teammates at Texas Tech, where they both played for Leach.
McGuire played Mike Leach from 2000-04 and then got his start in coaching as a
video intern under Leach, eventually rising to Texas Tech running backs coach
by 2009.
He worked
under Ruffin McNeill at East Carolina from 2010-11, then reunited with Leach in
2012 when Leach was hired at WSU.
McGuire
helped Leach overhaul the Cougars’ offensive line and restock a talent pool
that was woefully depleted when they first got to WSU. His list of pupils
includes Detroit Lions’ draft pick Joe Dahl, consensus All-American Cody
O’Connell and Cole Madison, who just accepted an invitation to the NFL Scouting
Combine.
With
McGuire’s departure, WSU has now lost four assistant coaches this offseason:
defensive coordinator Alex Grinch went to Ohio State, rush linebackers coach Roy
Manning went to UCLA and running backs coach Jim Mastro went to Oregon.
WSU has
filled the two defensive positions but has yet to name replacements for Mastro
and McGuire.
Until
their departures this winter, Mastro and McGuire were the only two holdovers
from the original coaching staff Leach hired during his first season at WSU in
2012. Inside linebackers coach Ken Wilson, who was hired in 2013, is now the
longest-tenured member of the Cougars’ coaching staff.
Special
teams coach Eric Mele has been at WSU since 2012, but began his tenure as an
offensive quality control coach and was not promoted to one of the nine
on-field assistant coaching positions until 2014, when he was named interim
special teams coach.
/////////
Cougar
FootballCougarsPac-12Sports
Analysis:
What we learned from WSU’s Signing Day show with QB Camm Cooper, LB coach Ken
Wilson and DC Tracy Claeys
WSU's
Signing Day radio show featured freshman quarterback Camm Cooper, new defensive
coordinator Tracy Claeys and linebackers coach Ken Wilson, among others.
By
Stefanie Loh
Seattle
Times staff reporter
Washington
State rolled out its iconic quarterback-turned-broadcaster tandem of Jason
Gesser and Alex Brink to break down the Cougars’ 2018 signing class on live
radio (and Facebook Live) Wednesday morning.
Along the
way, Gesser and Brink, along with host, Matt Chazanow, interviewed some
coaches, and freshman quarterback Camm Cooper made his first media appearance
for the Cougars.
Here are a
few things we learned from Cooper and fellow radio show guests DT J. Pono
Lolohea, WSU football Chief of Staff Dave Emerick, linebackers coach Ken Wilson
and defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys.
1 — Tracy
Claeys will likely call plays from the box this season
New
defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys says he’s coached from the press box and the
field but that he will likely call plays from the box because he wants “the
guys who’ve coached the players all week long to be on the sidelines.” That
also leads us to deduce that, unlike his predecessor Alex Grinch, who coached
the defensive backs, Claeys will not coach a position, but focus on the overall
game plan and calling plays.
2 —
Differences and similarities Grinch’s and Claeys’ defenses
Grinch
played a base 3-3-5 and stressed speed over all else, which led to the Speed D
moniker the Cougars’ defense used to brand themselves. In his radio show
interview Wednesday, Claeys indicated that he also prizes speed. But his big
thing is that he always molds his defense around what his players can do
instead of trying to come in and implement any particular scheme. That leads me
to think the defense might not look all that different from what Grinch ran.
One big difference, however: Claeys says he’ll introduce more personnel
groupings. And when the Cougs are up by a lot and the other team is forced to
pass, expect to see lots of speedy DBs and LBs on the field. His overall motto
is similar to Grinch’s: “You try to look multiple but keep it simple for the
kids,” Claeys said.
3 — WSU
has a young core to build around in its early enrollee freshmen
Asked to
name the guys he’s formed close relationships with, quarterback Cammon Cooper
singled out receiver Rodrick Fisher and running back Max Borghi.
Coincidentally,
that’s the same three whom Emerick had earlier in the show referenced as guys
who could play early. Tyler Hilinski’s death left a void in the quarterback
room, and Cooper will get every opportunity to show what he can do. Former
running backs coach Jim Mastro said before he left for Oregon that Borghi would
almost certainly get early playing time due to Jamal Morrow’s graduation, and
WSU also has a void to fill at receiver, where the departures of Tavares Martin
Jr. and Isaiah Johnson-Mack have opened a spot for someone like Fisher to step
up.
Cooper
said the Cougars have already held a couple of 7-on-7 throwing sessions this
year, but that he’s excited for spring ball to begin.
Cooper is
an athletic quarterback in the mold of Hilinski, and is significantly more
mobile than Luke Falk was. But he knows that in Mike Leach’s offense, he might
have to be more discerning about when he takes the check down versus when he
making the first read and then just tucking and running.
Cooper
said he talked to Falk briefly when he first arrived on campus for the start of
this spring semester, but that they haven’t spoken much since. He has, however,
already managed to adopt one of Falk and Leach’s favorite catch phrases: Do
your job.
“Just
realizing that I’m not gonna be able to outrun everybody, I’ll have to keep my
eyes downfield, check down if I have to. And just do my job as a quarterback,”
Cooper said.
4 — No,
Cooper won’t cut his long hair. Yes, he’s a true lefty.
Cooper
said he’s been growing out his signature long locks since his junior year of
high school, and tends to keep them around for a while. The left-handed
quarterback says he’s left-handed at just about everything he does. Also, he’s
already learned WSU’s offensive signals, and says he’s getting well acquainted
with the playbook.
5 — DT J.
Pono Lolohea, who enrolled for spring semester, has already lost 10 pounds
after being part of Jason Loscalzo’s strength and conditioning program for the
last month
Lolohea
came on the Signing Day show and corrected Chazanow when the host read his
weight as 310 pounds.
“Actually
it’s 300 on the dot now,” Lolohea said.
With
Hercules Mata’afa, Garrett McBroom and Daniel Ekuale gone, the Cougars need
some beef to replenish their defensive tackle ranks, Lolohea could be a
candidate for a starting spot.
6 — Long
term solution up the middle of that D-line?
Perhaps
WSU can look to Misi Aiolupotea-Pei, a defensive end/linebacker hybrid from
Riverside City College who signed with the Cougars Wednesday.
Aiolupotea-Pei
was recruited by inside linebackers coach Ken Wilson, who is friends with
Riverside City College coach Tom Craft.
Aiolupotea-Pei
is listed at 6-foot-3, 260 pounds, but has the frame to bulk up.
“We think
(putting) Misi on training table, he’s already 260, man, he could grow into
that (DT role) and he could be a bigger Hercules in there. That’s the kinda
quickness we’re looking for,” Wilson said.
7 — Misi
could also be the punter
Aiolupotea-Pei
played rugby all his life in Australia and New Zealand before he decided he
wanted to switch to American football.
“Misi
said, ‘If you need a punter, I can kick it to the other end of the football
field,'” Wilson said. “He played rugby and has all of those skills.”
WSU
special teams coach Eric Mele has been known for his willingness to experiment
with different players in the punt game. He had a punt package for former
international-class soccer player Shalom Luani a couple of years ago, and has
also installed receiver Kyle Sweet as WSU’s rugby style punter. So, why not use
a true rugby player as your rugby punter. It’s a perfect fit.
8 — Alex
Grinch had a funny nickname for Ken Wilson’s young linebacking corps last year
Senior
linebackers Peyton Pelluer, Isaac Dotson and Nate DeRider all went down with
injuries at some point last year, leaving Wilson no choice but to piece
together a young linebacking corps consisting of a cadre of redshirt and true
freshmen: Jahad Woods, Justus Rogers, Dillon Sherman and Dominick Silvels.
Or,
otherwise known as: “We got to a point in the middle of the season, and Grinch
would call it ‘coach Wilson’s daycare.'” Wilson said. “We were traveling eight
freshmen. He was like, ‘get your daycare make sure they’re on time.'”
The young
guns have grown up though. With Pelluer back for a sixth year, Wilson can now
rebuild the linebackers around him. Woods will likely play a big role. But also
watch for Rogers, Sherman, Silvels, Fa’avae Fa’avae, junior college early enrollee
Kendrick Catis and Cole Dubots. Wilson said Pelluer is already helping to get
Catis up to speed — again, the value of Pelluer’s sixth year of eligibility
cannot be overstated. Dubots was a high school running back with a 10.54 100m
dash time, and the coaches are salivating at the prospect of him hunting down
opposing tailbacks.
9 — Here
are Brink and Gesser’s picks of receivers who need to take the reins for WSU
this year
Tay Martin
and Kyle Sweet need to step up, says Gesser, who cites the experience Martin
got as a true freshman last year as invaluable.
“You can’t
teach experience. You have to go out there and have successes and failures and
learn from those. I saw that personally from Tay Martin last year,” Gesser
said, adding that Sweet, as the senior receiver in the room, also has to play a
bigger role.
Of the
five receivers who signed as part of the 2018 recruiting class, Brink is most
excited about early signee Fisher, from Spokane.
“He’s a
great story, he’s big, fast and can make an impact right away,” Brink said.
But he and
Gesser are also high on Independence Community College WR Calvin Jackson, who
signed on Wednesday.
“He can
flat out fly,” Brink said of Jackson. “He has explosiveness and the ability to
get vertical. And he can come in and compete right away.”
10 — One
more important question: Who will take a leadership role on the offensive line?
Asked to
project who might fill the spots vacated by Cole Madison (RT), Cody O’Connell
(RG) and BJ Salmonson (LG) on the offensive line, Gesser made a salient point:
the biggest void is not in any specific offensive line position. It’s in the
leadership factor that Madison brought.
With his
messy shock of long, curly hair, an assertive personality and his vocal nature,
Madison was the de factor leader of WSU’s offensive line in 2017. He was the
glue that held it all together, and he wasn’t afraid to call out his line mates
and hold everyone accountable. Now, WSU needs someone to be that guy.
Left
tackle Andre Dillard is a logical option — he’s the senior, and will be a
third-year starter in 2018. He’s never been as openly vocal as Madison, but
could grow into that role.
Center
Fred Mauigoa is also an option. The center calls the protections and takes a
leadership roles of sorts, and that’s what Riley Sorenson was for WSU in 2016.
Even
though he hasn’t played much, I think Noah Osur-Myers could also step into that
role. Osur-Myers was a key reserve last season and figures to be a main
contender for one of the guard spots. He’s respected by his teammates, has a
quiet gravitas to him and could emerge as a leader on the O-line.
/////////////
Meet the
newest members of WSU’s 2018 recruiting class who signed NLIs Wednesday
Originally
published February 7, 2018 at 7:39 am Updated February 7, 2018 at 1:38 pm
The
Cougars signed 20 recruits during the early signing period in December, but
finished up the 2018 recruiting cycle with some more additions on Wednesday
By
Stefanie Loh Seattle Times
Washington
State entered Wednesday’s National Letter of Intent Signing Day with 20
recruits already signed from the December early signing period.
Despite
losing a couple of committed recruits to other schools late — Bolles School
(Fla.) offensive lineman Nick Lewis flipped to Kentucky in late January and
Cy-Fair (Texas) cornerback Erick Hallett flipped to Pitt last week, — the Cougs
also benefited from some of the coaching changes that have taken place since
December and picked up a couple of players who were formerly committed to other
programs.
WSU also
signed several junior college recruits to pad a young roster with some
experience.
Here’s a
look at the newest Cougars who complete the 2018
Tyrese Ross
: DB, 6-1,
180 pounds, Westlake High School (Atlanta, Ga.)
Ross was
the first recruit to send in his NLI on Wednesday morning. Rated a three-star
safety by 247Sports.com, Ross was originally a Mississippi State commit who
pulled his verbal and re-opened his recruitment after coach Dan Mullen left for
Florida. Ross visited WSU in late January and committed to the Cougars this
week over an offer list that included Pittsburgh, UCF, West Virginia and
Indiana. Ross is originally from Jacksonville, Fla. but finished his high
school career in Georgia.
Gesser:
“He opened his highlight film with a backflip, and compares himself to Troy
Polamalu. He’s very physical, and he is quick when he strikes. He’s like a
coiled snake — when he hits he expands. He reminds me of Shalom Luani and Deone
Bucannon. Those are the guys I like to compare him too. Natural player, great
at taking angles, never gets out of position, able to get low on those blocks
and make plays in the backfield. This is a need we’ll have. Coach (Tracy)
Claeys wants to be versatile. (Ross) can play a nickel, a safety, four-man rush
– this kid fits exactly what Coach Claeys wants to do.”
Blake McDonald:
OG, 6-4,
295 pounds, San Ramon Valley High School (Danville, Calif.)
McDonald
signing with WSU is another example of how coaching changes can cause domino
effects in recruiting. McDonald was committed to UCLA under the Jim Mora
regime, but decommitted after Mora was fired and Chip Kelly became head coach.
He then took trips to Nebraska and WSU before deciding to sign with the Cougars
over offers from most of the Pac-12, including Cal, Arizona State, Colorado,
Oregon State and Utah. McDonald led San Ramon Valley to the CIF North Coast
Section Open Division playoffs last fall.
Gesser:
“UCLA decommit, Nebraska offered him late. For him to come here and sign with
WSU is huge. He reminds me of The Continent (Cody O’Connell) in the way he
moves and how he uses his body. He played left tackle, but he’ll probably play
a guard for us. Every highlight film is a pancake (block). He’d go out there
and hit guys. He has to use his hands a bit better. From the inside of his
body, his weight, he’ll dominate you. He’s the No. 31 guard in the country.”
Misi Aiolupotea-Pei:
DL, 6-3,
250 pounds, Riverside City College (Riverside, Calif.)
Aiolupotea-Pei
comes to WSU as a junior by way of Riverside City College.But the hybrid
linebacker/defensive end prospect is of Polynesian descent and grew up in New
Zealand and in Gold Coast, Australia. He spent most of his life playing rugby
before switching to football, and his measurables are similar to that of
Hercules Mata’afa. Aiolupotea-Pei had 41 tackles and 5.5 sacks at Riverside City
College last season and has shown some ability as a pass rusher. The Cougars
came in late on Aiolupotea-Pei, extending a scholarship offer on Jan. 26, and
lining up a visit shortly thereafter. He picked WSU over offers from San Diego
State and Memphis.
WSU ILB
coach Ken Wilson: “Misi is one of those guys, you can see the fast first step.
When he got to Riverside College, he didn’t even know how to get in a three
point stance with his hand on the ground. Just everything is new to him and
he’s such an exciting kid, and wants to learn. All he wanted to do on his visit
was sit with Coach (Jeff) Phelps and watch film. He loved Hercules (Mata’afa).
… The sky is the limit for him.
Calvin Jackson:
WR, 5-9, 160 pounds, Independence C.C.
(Independence, Kans.)
Jackson,
originally from Pompano Beach, Fla., was recruited by outside receivers coach
Derek Sage when Sage was at Toledo. He signed with Toledo out of Coral Springs
Charter School in February 2016, but never enrolled there due to academic
issues. Instead, Jackson spent the last two seasons at Independence Community
College in Kansas. But he kept in touch with Sage and committed to WSU because
he wanted to play in Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense. Jackson will enroll at WSU
as a junior.
Brink:
“He’s got a little juice. He can get out and go. I loved watching him on film,
he has a mix of taking the top off, but also had some quick screens and broke
some tackles, and got down the sideline. WSU is gonna need someone from this
class to come in and make an impact it could be Calvin Jackson.”
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