TITANS,
PACKERS, VIKINGS
WSU's
Falk, Madison drafted; Mata'afa, Linehan sign with Vikings
AP at
Lewiston Trib website
Washington
State quarterback Luke Falk was selected in the sixth round of the NFL draft
Saturday by the Tennessee Titans, who made him the 199th overall pick.
Falk
became the second Cougar chosen, after offensive lineman Cole Madison was taken
in the fifth round by the Green Bay Packers as the 138th overall selection.
No other
Cougars or Idaho Vandals were drafted. Shortly after the drafted ended, it was
reported that the Minnesota Vikings had signed as free agents defensive lineman
Hercules Mata'afa from WSU and quarterback Matt Linehan from Idaho.
Falk had
been projected as a fourth- to fifth-round pick but needed to wait a bit
longer, finally going as the 25th choice of the sixth. With the Titans he'll
join former rival QB Marcus Mariota, who starred at Oregon and has started 42
games for Tennessee. They have the same agent, Chase Callahan.
Other
quarterbacks on the Titans roster are eighth-year pro Blaine Gabbert; second-year man Tyler Ferguson, who signed as
an undrafted free agent last May; and Alex Tanney, who spent last season on
injured reserve.
Eight
quarterbacks were taken ahead of Falk, and only two were chosen in the fourth
and fifth rounds as the draft resumed Saturday.
Falk is
the first WSU quarterback selected in the draft since Alex Brink was taken in
the seventh round by the Houston Texans in 2008. He is the highest-drafted
Cougar QB since Ryan Leaf was the No. 2 selection by the San Diego Chargers in
1998.
The Titans
were quick to point out that Falk was the 199th overall choice, which was also
the case for his hero, Patriots superstar Tom Brady, in 2000. They also noted
that Falk's two sisters live in Nashville, where the Titans are based and where
Alexa and Natalee Falk are pursuing a career in country music.
Titans
offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur put Falk through a workout at his home in
Logan, Utah, earlier this year.
“I am so
excited to be a Titan, and do whatever I can to help the team,” Falk said in a
Titans news release. “I am so happy I got picked by a great organization, a
great staff. I am just so happy that I have an opportunity to go and compete
and have a chance to help the team.
“I am grateful (the Titans) took a chance on
me and they are giving me an opportunity to compete and help the football
team.”
Falk,
6-foot-4 and 223 pounds, is the all-time leading career passer in the Pac-12.
He threw for 14,486 yards, including 3,593 yards and 30 touchdowns in 2017,
with 13 interceptions.
Madison
became the highest-drafted Cougar offensive lineman since Scott Sanderson was
chosen in the third round by the Tennessee Oilers in 1997.
As the
first choice of the fifth round, Madison was the first player from either WSU
or Idaho to be chosen in this year's draft, which began Thursday. He was a
fixture at right tackle for the Cougars but will probably switch to guard as a
pro. The Packers have a history of drafting tackles in the middle rounds and
turning them into effective guards.
"It’s
obviously a more physical position," he said of the guard spot in a
Packers news release, "but I’m a more aggressive guy by nature, so I fit
right in. I think I'm a nice guy when it comes to it, but ultimately I'm not
afraid to get my hand a little dirty. Playing this position (offensive line),
you've got a screw a little loose at least.”
:::::::::::::::::::::
WSU
FOOTBALL
Washington
State’s Luke Falk plays waiting game, finally gets scooped up by Tennessee
Titans with 199th pick
UPDATED:
Sat., April 28, 2018, 7:42 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson Spokane S-R
The 2018
NFL Draft turned into a brutal waiting game for Luke Falk. Good thing the
former walk-on knows plenty about being patient.
Falk’s
name didn’t come up until almost 2 p.m. on Saturday, but in at least a few
regards, the Washington State quarterback couldn’t have been happier about his
draft position.
The
Tennessee Titans gave Falk his NFL shot when they selected the Pac-12
record-holder with the 25th pick of the sixth round in Arlington, Texas. That’s
significant for Falk because it’s the same spot Tom Brady was selected in the
2000 Draft. Falk, an avid fan of Brady, has gone to great lengths to follow the
training regimen, nutritional tips and lifestyle habits of the New England
Patriots quarterback bound for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Nashville,
Tennessee, is also the home of Falk’s older sisters, Alexa and Natalee, who
moved south to pursue careers in country music.
“I am not
going to lie – it was a pretty grueling process,” Falk said in a Titans news
release. “When I finally got the phone call and saw my name up on the TV, it
was nothing but gratitude. I am so grateful.”
Falk heads
to Tennessee to join – and potentially back up – a fellow Pac-12 record-setter,
former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. Falk, a native of Logan, Utah,
smashed Mariota’s conference record for total offense, but couldn’t quite catch
up to the Heisman Trophy winner’s 136 total career touchdowns. Falk finished
with 123.
Falk and
Mariota share the same agent, Chase Callahan of Rep 1 Sports.
The mobile
and elusive Mariota enters his fourth season as Tennessee’s starter, but Falk,
a pure passer, could challenge Blaine Gabbert for the Titans’ backup job.
Gabbert signed a two-year deal with the club in March. Tyler Ferguson and Alex
Tanney are the other quarterbacks on the Tennessee roster.
Titans
offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur set up a workout with Falk in Logan a few
months ago, so Falk’s already had an early glimpse of the Titans playbook.
“I am so
excited to be a Titan, and do whatever I can to help the team,” Falk said. “I
am so happy I got picked by a great organization, a great staff. I am just so
happy that I have an opportunity to go and compete and have a chance to help
the team.”
Instead,
nine quarterbacks were chosen before the Titans took a chance on Falk, who fell
below Richmond’s Kyle Lauletta and Western Kentucky’s Mike White.
Falk’s
draft, not unlike his career at Washington State, was a “long and winding road”
as described by ESPN’s Mel Kiper on the live broadcast from AT&T Stadium.
“You look
at Luke Falk, 6-4, 215, he has the size, he can manage the pocket,” Kiper said.
“He can make accurate throws. Arm strength is the issue with Luke Falk and he
holds the ball too long and takes sacks. He won’t just throw the ball away. But
he’s a cerebral kid, he’s got a professional approach. There’s a lot to work
with there.”
Most
projections had Falk going in the third round and the quarterback himself
thought there was a chance he’d go in the late first or early second, telling
ESPN’s Adam Schefter as much in a podcast early this week.
There
could be a few explanations for Falk’s slide down the draft board.
Quarterbacks
who’ve played in Mike Leach’s Air Raid system have a hard time adjusting to the
NFL’s pro-style schemes and typically don’t have long pro careers. Falk’s
predecessor at WSU, Connor Halliday, ranks sixth on the Pac-12 career passing
yards leaderboard but went undrafted and didn’t make it out of Washington
Redskins camp after signing a free-agent deal.
Falk also
wore a hard cast on his non-throwing wrist most of his senior season after
being injured in a game against Boise State. He had surgery in December and
wasn’t all that accurate during the throwing portion of the NFL Combine, though
he fared much better at Utah State’s Pro Day in his hometown of Logan.
He doesn’t
boast the arm power that many of the QBs drafted before him possess, but as
Kiper notes, that’s something he can develop once he arrives in Tennessee.
“Can you
improve arm strength? Yes he can,” Kiper said. “I think he’s a guy, good
mechanics, he understands the game and with Luke Falk, I think this is a really
nice pick at this point of the draft.”
Tennessee
general manager Jon Robinson said Falk “was kind of sticking out at the top of
our board.” He continued, “To add a guy like him who has had a really
productive college career, and with his work ethic and his mindset at the
position, a guy to work with, come in here and compete for the 90-man roster
for a spot. I am really excited to add Luke.”
Falk’s
credentials are well-known to WSU fans. He set Pac-12 and WSU career records
for passing yards (14,486), passing touchdowns (119), total offense (14,086),
plays (2,306), completions (1,404), attempts (2,055) and 300-yard games (30).
Ask Falk and he’ll say he’s most proud of becoming the winningest QB in school
history, with 27 career victories.
…………………..
Minnesota
Vikings take on Washington State’s Hercules Mata’afa as undrafted free agent
UPDATED:
Sat., April 28, 2018, 7:50 p.m.
When the
2018 NFL Draft came to an end Saturday afternoon, ESPN listed Hercules Mata’afa
as the sixth-best player not taken after seven rounds at AT&T Stadium.
So it was
no surprise that the Washington State defensive tackle found his NFL home
within minutes of the undrafted free agent market opening up. Shortly after the
draft came to a close, Mata’afa posted a Minnesota Vikings logo from his
Twitter account, indicating he’d agreed to a free agency deal with the NFC
North club.
Most
expected Mata’afa to become the third Cougar selected in the 2018 Draft, next
to offensive lineman Cole Madison and quarterback Luke Falk, who were
respectively taken Saturday by the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans. Pro
Football Focus had labeled him a top-60 prospect in the draft, equating to a
second-round selection, and Chad Reuter of NFL.com projected that he’d be
drafted in the fifth round. ESPN’s Todd McShay rated him No. 140 on a list of
the top-300 prospects.
If teams
were hesitant to take a chance on Mata’afa, it was likely because of his
“tweener” status. Mata’afa played with a hand in the ground at the college
level, usually as a defensive tackle, but he probably lacks the size and
strength to do so at the next level. The Lahaina, Hawaii, native will likely
move to a rush linebacker or interior linebacker in the NFL, but having
strictly played on the D-line at WSU, he’d not had any experience at either
spot.
Still,
Mata’afa took a chance on himself and declared for the NFL Draft following his
junior season, less than a week after WSU’s loss to Michigan State in the
Holiday Bowl.
The
Vikings are getting a consensus All-American who was also named the Polynesian
College Football Player of the Year in 2017. Mata’afa led the Pac-12 with 22.5
tackles-for-loss and 10.5 sacks, and was the conference’s Defensive Player of
the Year, according to the Associated Press.
…
SATURDAY’S
GAME AT UW POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN
From WSU
Sports Info
SEATTLE –
Washington State's baseball game at Washington scheduled for Saturday night has
been postponed due to rain.
The teams
will play a doubleheader Sunday beginning at 10 a.m.
::::::::::::::
Engineering
expos showcase student work
Students
at the University of Idaho and Washington State …
Regents to
look at $67M athletics deficit
WSU board
to create plan at meeting next week to reduce shortfall that has built up in
recent years
By Matt
Baney, Lewiston Trib
The
Washington State University Board of Regents will try to formulate a plan to
reduce an estimated $67 million budget deficit in the WSU athletics department,
according to the agenda for the regents' meeting next week.
The
department has had four consecutive years of budget deficits. According to a
Seattle Times story in June, the deficits were $10.6 million in 2017, $12.9
million in '16, $13.2 million in '15 and $13.7 million in '14.
The $67
million figure mentioned in the agenda is the "estimated accumulated
deficit" when the 2018 fiscal year ends June 30.
The board
of regents will meet Thursday and Friday in Spokane at the WSU College of
Nursing Building. The Finance and Compliance Committee is scheduled to discuss
the athletics budget at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the agenda, which was
posted online Friday.
The
regents' agenda also cites a bill, passed by the Washington Legislature in
March, that calls for more transparency in the budgeting process for
intercollegiate athletics. It states that colleges and universities must
approve the annual budget for their athletics programs during an open meeting.
And, if there is a deficit, a plan to deal with it must be approved.
After Bill
Moos was hired as WSU athletic director in 2010, the department began
renovating Martin Stadium (at a cost of $65 million) and constructing the
Football Operations Building ($61 million). The school has also paid for
better-known coaches, in particular football coach Mike Leach, who will make
$3.5 million this year, and men's basketball coach Ernie Kent, who earns $1.4
million per year.
Meanwhile,
the athletics department also missed out on some revenue, with the school
pulling back an estimated $5 million in annual institutional support and the
Pac-12 Network not being as lucrative as expected. The department also had to
pay more to comply with NCAA rules geared toward improving student welfare.
Pat Chun
was hired as WSU's new AD in January, and his primary mission is to increase
donations to the department, President Kirk Schulz said. Chun will earn a bonus
if WSU reaches a certain fundraising level.
"The
financial part is where we need most of our effort, and Pat brings that to the
table, and that's what we want to incentivize," Schulz said during Chun's
introductory news conference.
#
