Popular back
to class party beach for WSU students almost completely underwater this year
From Pullman
Radio News
The popular
party beach for Washington State University students returning for class is
almost completely under water this year. Reservoir managers are operating the
Lower Snake River system higher this Summer to help juvenile salmon and
steelhead migrate downstream. The higher pool means there is very little beach
at the Illia Dunes below Lower Granite Dam in Garfield County.
The dunes have
been closed twice in the past 6 years after large crowds of WSU students
trashed the beach near the start of the Fall semester. The US Army Corps of
Engineers wants to remind students that Corps Rangers, the Garfield and Whitman
County Sheriff's Offices, Washington State Patrol Troopers and Fish and
Wildlife Agents will be patrolling the dunes. Officials want to remind students
that marijuana and fireworks are illegal on Corps land, glass containers are
prohibited at the dunes and that parking is limited to the 2 nearby lots.
Further
upriver above the dam is another popular party spot for WSU students which they
call "the cliffs." Granite Point was trashed by a large crowd of WSU
students last Spring just before the end of the semester. The Corps had to shut
down the recreational site for cleanup. The Corps wants to remind students that
cliff jumping is illegal at Granite Point. Rangers will also patrol the site
with local law enforcement over the next few weeks.
::::::::::::
https://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-football-recruiting/2018/8/14/17682424/wsu-football-recruiting-mike-leach-interactive-graphic
There are a
lot of reasons to think this will be a down year for the Cougars. But improved
recruiting has hopefully raised the floor significantly.
By Zane
Murfitt
Coug Center
Aug 14, 2018,
9:42am PDT
Luke Falk
slinging the rock, All-American Cody O’Connell opening running lanes for the
three-headed monster of James Williams, Jamal Morrow and Gerard Wicks, and
Hercules Mata’afa wreaking havoc on the defense. Even other coaches felt — as
told in the annual “anonymous coach” post by Athlon — that if WSU was ever to
make noise and push for a championship under Mike Leach, last season was the
season to do it.
Given the fact
that WSU both returns the fewest starters of any team in the Pac-12 and endured
a a terrible offseason, I understand why the media would pick the Cougs to
finish fifth in the North. Even after three consecutive bowl appearances, I
can’t shake the feeling that the other shoe is always about to drop (as in, any
given season has a high probability of WSU going 3-9 or worse).
The 2018
version of the Cougs will introduce us to many new faces, but I don’t think
it’s all doom and gloom. One of the primary reasons is the progress Mike Leach
and his staff have made on the recruiting front since his arrival in Pullman.
I remember
last year (or maybe the year before), on one of the coaches’ shows, there was a
conversation about the high quantity of freshmen and sophomores in the two
deep. The feedback from the coaches was that underclassmen pushing into the
depth chart is the goal and that if you’re trying to out recruit yourself every
year compared to the prior one, a team should see their new talent pushing for
time. I think the chart below shows that wasn’t just coach speak.
This chart
looks at the difference in 247sports.com’s four-year recruiting average for
every Power 5 team since 2012 (shout out to Tableau Public user quesohusker for
posting the dataset). The goal of this view is to understand what teams have
seen the most positive or negative change in their four-year recruiting
ranking, as that should give us a decent understanding of the overall talent
level of the roster.
The only Power
5 team that has improved more than WSU since 2012 (when Leach arrived) is
Arizona State (18 spots better from 2012-2017). WSU is tied for second with
Duke, having improved their four-year average ranking 14.7 spots over that same
time period.
I saw that and
my chest puffed out a little bit for our Cougs. However, in the words of Lee
Corso, not so fast my friend. While WSU has improved a lot in the overall depth
of the team as far as recruiting rankings go, it still isn’t the rosiest of
pictures.
Heading into
2012, things were dark. WSU was on par with Southern Miss and Purdue ranking in
the low 60’s for their 4 year recruiting average. While things have improved,
the Cougs aren’t putting down a bunch of top 30 or 40 classes. They’ve pulled
themselves up into lower part of the 3rd tier of Pac-12 recruiting, ranked
right around Arizona, Utah and Cal, with a four-year average of 48.
If you’re on
mobile turn your phone horizontal or want to open the chart in it’s own tab and
return to the post, click here.
That isn’t
horrible company to be around, given Utah is super consistent and we all
remember what Arizona and Cal both did to WSU last year, but it isn’t on the
level of tier 2 (Oregon, Washington, UCLA, Stanford, Arizona State) and we
ain’t ever going to be on USC’s level when it comes to recruiting.
It’s fall
camp, there are a ton of unknowns at really key places on this team, and I
wouldn’t knock you if you weren’t feeling too optimistic about 2018. However, I
think WSU is going to be OK. I believe the floor is right at that 6-7 win mark,
primarily because of the improvement in recruiting since Leach arrived. It’s
only a few weeks until we’ll see if Leach’s “Next Man Up” mantra has
replenished the 2018 rendition of the Cougs with players that can compete and
win in the Pac-12, but I think we’ll be relatively pleasantly surprised.
:::
After 30
years, annual Pullman festival is known for much more than its chili
By Katie
Short, Moscow Pullman Daily News
The National
Lentil Festival marks the start of each new fall semester at Washington State
University. The festival celebrates the pulses that make the Palouse different
from anywhere else in the world, and over the past 30 years, it has put the
little city of Pullman on the map.
George Sharp,
who was the director of the National Lentil Festival from 1990 to 1998, said
the idea originally came from Jim Crow, the late manager of WSU's Beasley
Coliseum.
Before 1989,
Sharp said Pullman hosted a Harvest Festival the third week of September.
But, he said,
Pullman's annual celebration did not stand out from the nearly 3,000 other
harvest festivals throughout the United States in a given year.
It was Crow
who said, "Why don't we celebrate what we have here?" Sharp recalled.
And it was
then the idea of the National Lentil Festival was born.
Crow always
had big dreams for the festival, Sharp said. So big that in 1991, just two
years after the festival got its start, Crow booked Jerry Seinfeld as the
headlining entertainment for the festival.
However, no
jokes about lentils were made because Seinfeld canceled his performance after
his show - Seinfeld - was signed for a second season.
The
cancellation made national news, Sharp said, and only generated more publicity
for the Lentil Festival.
"I sent
him a letter that said 'Dear Jerry, thanks for canceling' and he sent me a
signed picture back that said 'Dear George, thanks for not having me' - I still
have that signed picture somewhere," Sharp said.
Sharp said in
1989, he was the first person to dress as Tase T. Lentil, the official mascot
of the Lentil Festival, and in 2014, he returned to Pullman to be Tase T.
Lentil again for the 25th anniversary parade.
He said the
Pullman Chamber of Commerce held a contest the first year of the festival and
let the Pullman community name the Lentil Festival mascot. He said a Pullman
first-grade teacher was the one who came up with the name Tase T. Lentil.
In 1998, Sharp
left Pullman and moved to Olympia, but he said he regularly talks to parents
who say their child is attending WSU and has gone to the Lentil Festival.
"It is
always on the weekend kids go back to school," Sharp said.
Pullman Mayor
Glenn Johnson said he has only missed one festival in 30 years and enjoys how
it is used to encourage student participation in the community.
"We're as
close to campus as we can get without being on campus," Johnson said.
In recent
years, the Lentil Festival has grown so much it now extends from Reaney Park to
the parking lot just below the WSU Steam Plant.
The
festivities last for two full days and include a parade, live music, a beer and
wine garden, a 5K fun run, basketball, mini golf, and softball tournaments, a
lentil pancake breakfast, food demonstrations by local chefs and free lentil
chili - one of the festivals main attractions.
In the 1990s,
the city of Pullman was awarded the Guinness World Record for the largest bowl
of lentil chili, current festival director Britnee Packwood said.
She said the
bowl used to cook the chili can hold 600 gallons of lentil goodness.
The year
Pullman set the world record, Johnson said the festival had so much chili they
were using the radio to beg people to bring buckets.
The following
year, once the record was set, the festival didn't require as much chili, he
said, but people were still bringing buckets to fill.
In recent
years, the festival has packaged and donated any left over chili to the
Community Action Center, which in turn distributes it to the food banks,
Johnson said.
"(The
Lentil Festival) did two things for us: It put Pullman on the map from a
festival standpoint and from a food standpoint," Sharp said.
………
WSU FOOTBALL
Projecting
Washington State’s starters on offense, defense and special teams this fall
UPDATED: Wed.,
Aug. 15, 2018, 7:45 p.m.
By Theo Lawson
Spokane S-R
As a team
replacing seven starters on offense, five on defense and a longtime
placekicker, Washington State has had to make plenty of edits to its depth
chart this offseason.
The school
won’t release the final draft until the week of the season opener against
Wyoming – and plenty could change between then and now – but based on
observations from watching the Cougars through the spring and 10 days of fall
camp, we take a crack at predicting the two-deep – and go three-deep at wide
receiver – with explanations for each position.
Offense
Quarterback
QB1: Gardner
Minshew, RSr.
QB2: Trey
Tinsley, RJr.
QB3: Anthony
Gordon, RJr.
QB4: Cammon
Cooper, Fr.
Explanation:
If Minshew’s objective coming to Pullman was to make it appear as if he’s a
four-year vet in the Washington State Air Raid – rather than the 10-day-old
rookie he is – the East Carolina graduate transfer has been largely successful.
Minshew’s progression is noticeable on an almost-daily basis, his command and
control of the huddle have been evident since day one and the most important
audition of his preseason camp – Friday’s scrimmage in Pullman – also coincided
with his most impressive day with the Cougars to this point. He hasn’t won the
job, per se, but if he does we’ll look back at Friday as a turning point.
Running back
RB1: James
Williams, Jr.
RB2: Max
Borghi, Fr.
RB3: Keith
Harrington, Sr.
Explanation: I
suspect WSU will give running back the classic “OR” treatment when the week-one
depth chart is printed. I’m thinking more along the lines of 1A) Williams 1B)
Borghi and 2) Harrington. The Cougars haven’t established a “feature” back
among this group, which isn’t a problem considering WSU deployed three of them
last season and still got 2,133 yards of production. Excitement for Borghi
seems to be justified and it’s hard to imagine Williams regressing as a junior,
but the position is definitely on the thin side and could be in trouble if one
or both backs go down at any point.
Wide receivers
“X” WR1: Tay
Martin, So.
“X” WR2:
Rodrick Fisher, Fr.
“X” WR3: Drue
Jackson, Fr.
“Y” WR1: Kyle
Sweet, Sr.
“Y” WR2:
Jamire Calvin, So.
“Y” WR3:
Brandon Arconado, RJr.
“H” WR1:
Renard Bell, RSo.
“H” WR2:
Robert Lewis, RSr.
“H” WR3:
Travell Harris, RFr.
“Z” WR1:
Dezmon Patmon, RJr.
“Z” WR2: Easop
Winston Jr., RJr.
“Z” WR3:
Calvin Jackson Jr., Jr.
Explanation:
The Cougars are so well off at receiver that they can probably afford one
injury at each of the four positions without much of a drop-off in production.
Leach uses a steadfast eight-player rotation at receiver, but circumstances in
2017 – Robert Lewis’ injury, Tavares Martin’s suspension and then dismissal,
and Isaiah Johnson-Mack’s departure – forced the Cougars to pull a few of their
third-stringers up at different points of the season, which could be a silver
lining for players like Arconado and Jackson Jr., who wouldn’t have a problem
cracking the depth chart elsewhere and could produce for WSU given the
opportunity.
Offensive line
LT1: Andre
Dillard, RSr.
LT2: Cade
Beresford, Fr.
LG1: Josh
Watson, RSo.
LG2: Liam
Ryan, RSo.
C1: Fred
Mauigoa, RJr.
C2: Brian
Greene, RFr.
RG1: Robert
Valencia, RSr.
RG2: Christian
Haangana, RSo.
RT1: Abraham
Lucas, RFr.
RT2: Jarrett
Kingston, Fr.
Explanation:
The wall of blockers protecting (insert QB here) has just 42 games of
experience under its belt and 29 of those belong to Dillard, the third-year
tackle who anchors the left side of the Cougars’ offensive line. But in a
post-Cole Madison/Cody O’Connell era, the front five may not be quite as feeble
as it appears at first glance. Dillard is a potential All-American, center
Mauigoa is a second-year starter and Rimington Award watch list candidate,
right guard Valencia is a former four-star junior college prospect and right
tackle Lucas is a 6-6 sequoia tree who’s gained 60 pounds since arriving on
campus and possesses many Dillard characteristics. The Cougars are still
seeking clarity at left guard, where they feel comfortable with both Watson and
Ryan. Valencia’s played a lot of right tackle, as well, and I imagine he’d fill
in – and Haangana would take over at right guard – if something happened to
Lucas.
Defense
Defensive line
DE1: Nnamdi
Oguayo, RJr.
DE2: Will
Rodgers III, So.
NT1: Taylor
Comfort, RSr.
NT2: Pono
Lolohea, Jr.
DT1: Nick
Begg, RSr.
DT2: Hunter
Mattox, RJr.
Explanation:
This group is hard to gauge or predict with all of the packages, schemes and
formations the Cougars employ up front. We do know one thing: Oguayo will be at
the center of everything that’s done on the defensive line now that the Cougars
can’t depend on the quarterback-harassing skills of Hercules Mata’afa, or the
brute strength of Daniel Ekuale. WSU should also feel good about Oguayo’s
backup, Rodgers III, who’s had a few studly moments of his own this camp
filling in for Oguayo. Lolohea has the size and skill set to overtake Comfort
at nose tackle, but the former walk-on has been able to lean on fundamentals
and experience to cling onto the spot.
MLB1: Peyton
Pelluer, RSr.
MLB2: Justus
Rogers, RSo.
WLB1: Jahad
Woods, RSo.
WLB2: Dillon
Sherman, RSo.
Rush LB1:
Willie Taylor III, RFr.
Rush LB2:
Tristan Brock, RJr.
Explanation:
Woods, Rogers and Sherman were supposed to be understudies to Pelluer, Isaac
Dotson and Nate Derider last year, but when injuries claimed all three of WSU’s
senior linebackers, the youngsters stepped into spots they probably didn’t
expect to inherit until this fall. The Cougars go three-deep at both “Mike” and
“Will” spots and players not included above such as Dominick Silvels and Fa’vae
Fa’vae will hear their names called at some point. The loss of Frankie Luvu at
Rush linebacker looms large and presumed starter Chima Onyeukwu hasn’t
participated in recent practices. Taylor III, a redshirt freshman who plays
with a high motor, and Brock, a walk-on who’s spent time on the defensive line,
will fill the gap for the time being.
Last year’s
injuries make Washington State inadvertently deep at inside linebacker in 2018
Secondary
CB1: Darrien
Molton, Sr.
CB2: Marcus
Strong, Jr.
FS1: Skyler Thomas,
RSo.
FS2: Deion
Singleton, RJr.
SS1: Jalen
Thompson, Jr.
SS2: Chad
Davis Jr., So.
CB1: Sean
Harper Jr., Sr.
CB2: George
Hicks III, So.
Nickel 1:
Hunter Dale, Sr.
Nickel 2:
Patrick Nunn, Fr.
Explanation:
There’s a significant gap in experience between the ones and the twos in the
defensive secondary. Molton, Thomas, Thompson, Harper Jr. and Dale have
combined to play in 110 games, while their backups have appeared in just 32.
And no position group on the team was more affected by the offseason coaching
shakeups, which brought in new safeties coach, Kendrick Shaver, new cornerbacks
coach, Darcel McBath, and new defensive coordinator, Tracy Claeys. Nonetheless,
the secondary should be in good hands this year if no long-term injuries are
sustained, and the future looks promising, too, with Nunn, Halid Djibril and
Tyrese Ross.
New Washington
State DC Tracy Claeys has ‘nightmares’ about not being able to stop people
Special teams
Kicker 1: Jack
Crane, RSo.
Kicker 2:
Blake Mazza, RFr.
Punter 1:
Oscar Draguicevich, Jr.
Punter 2:
Oliver Graybar, RJr.
Kick returner
1: Travell Harris
Kick returner
2: Jamire Calvin
Punt returner
1: Travell Harris
Punt returner
2: Jamire Calvin
Explanation:
Crane’s consistency during spring camp gives him a slight edge over Mazza and
Ryan Henderson, who’ve both pushed the redshirt sophomore this fall. Punter is
more of a coin-flip. Draguicevich, the son of a former pro soccer player, has a
big leg, but Graybar is a former Arizona punter who transferred to Rhode Island
and subsequently set the school’s single-season record with 3,207 yards and an
average of 39.6 yards-per-punt. Harris may not sneak into the receiver
rotation, but he’ll be used heavily in the return game – potentially in both
punt and kick return.
…
WSU FOOTBALL
Observations
and notes from day 11 of Washington State camp: Trey Tinsley efficient,
decisive while Gardner Minshew struggles to get in rhythm
Wed., Aug. 15,
2018, 8:41 p.m.
By Theo Lawson of Spokane’s S-R
On the one
hand, it feels like the summer of 2018 in Pullman might last forever. It was a
toasty 92 degrees on Wednesday, and as always, substantially hotter on the
artificial turf as the Cougars plugged through day 11 of preseason camp at
Martin Stadium/Rogers Field. Then again, when a few-hundred 18-year-olds pour
onto the turf and into the bleachers for orientation within minutes of practice
ending, you can easily sense the academic semester is right around the corner.
Here are the
daily notes and observations from Wednesday’s practice in Pullman.
Notes and
observations
– After
Gardner Minshew and Anthony Gordon took turns during the 11-on-11 period
Tuesday, it was Minshew and Trey Tinsley who flip-flopped on Wednesday. Similar
to Tuesday, though, it was Minshew getting multiple drives and the other guy
getting just one. The QB analysis, as always, continues two sections below this
one.
– The offense
grew lackadaisical during one of the skeleton periods and earned some up-downs
because of it. Mike Leach’s other preferred method of punishment is “rolling”
his players – which he explained in a comedic post-practice interview last
spring – but we haven’t seen the WSU coach turn to that quite yet.
– Jack Crane,
who I believe, will win the starting placekicker job also seems to be the
Cougars’ top choice in kickoff situations. He slammed a few long kicks deep
into the end zone and some went past it. Though Crane’s never kicked a field
goal for WSU, he does have some experience in the kickoff realm and recorded
nine last year as a redshirt freshman.
– With Josh
Watson still in a yellow no-contact jersey, Liam Ryan is getting a large share
of the reps at left guard. Coaches are still trying out different offensive
line combinations, hoping that by cross-breeding their big guys, they can
develop better depth at each of the five spots. At one during the team period,
we saw a front five of Ryan (LT), Brian Greene (LG), Fred Mauigoa (C),
Christian Haangana (RG) and Robert Valencia (RT).
– The Cougars
were in shells only Wednesday. I’d imagine they’ll be in full pads for
tomorrow’s normal practice, then strip off the pads for Friday’s varsity short
walkthrough leading up to Saturday’s 1 p.m. scrimmage at Martin Stadium. All
practices are still open, but that’ll change at some point next week.
Highlights
– Safety Deion
Singleton, who should be in the two-deep as a backup safety, cut in front of
his receiver to snag an interception on a ball thrown by Tinsley during the
team period.
– Minshew
aired out a 30-yard pass to Kyle Sweet, who caught the ball as he was running
diagonally to the boundary before stepping out of bounds.
– Five plays
later, Minshew noticed Sweet in a bubble near the front of the end zone and
lasered a short-range pass to the receiver, who caught it without a defender
near him.
– The
highlight of the day for Tinsley came on his second play of the 11-on-11
series. The redshirt junior uncorked a high, deep throw down the left sideline,
placing it perfectly for Robert Lewis, who made the catch and barely snuck a
toe in bounds.
– Tinsley
displayed his touch later in the series when he lofted a ball for Tay Martin in
the back corner in the end zone. The pass flew over the head of covering
cornerback Myles Green-Richards and Martin stretched his arms out to reel it in
before stepping out of the end zone.
– It’s always
difficult to judge the validity of QB runs during practice because the passers
aren’t allowed to be touched, but Tinsley would’ve had at least 15 yards and
probably more on a sneak around the left side.
– Nickel
Damion Lee got to Tinsley for a touch-sack on the second to final play of the
drive.
– During
Minshew’s second series, linebacker Dillon Sherman bided his time on a pass
play and eventually shot into the backfield to record a QB sack.
– Minshew got
a chance to show off his wheels and dashed for a 5-yard touchdown that, similar
to Tinsley’s scamper above, would’ve been legitimate in a game scenario.
Keeping up
with the QBs
Gardner
Minshew: Through the last two practices, Minshew has led four offensive series
during the 11-on-11 period while the others have each led one. And he’s worked
with the No. 1 skeleton group twice, while Tinsley and Gordon have each done it
once. Superb on Tuesday, Minshew’s play regressed Wednesday though he did
manage to get his offense into the end zone three times including once with his
feet. Still, he was just 8-of-15 after a 14-of-17 showing on Tuesday.
Trey Tinsley:
Gordon on Tuesday needed the day Tinsley had Wednesday. IF the redshirt juniors
are still competing for the starting job – or even if they’re competing for
backup reps at this juncture – one has looked superior to the other since
Friday night’s scrimmage. Tinsley was moving the offense at a blistering pace
to start his drive, completing all of his first four passes including the long
one to Lewis that was mentioned above. The last two plays of the series weren’t
quite as encouraging – a sack and an incompletion – but Tinsley still finished
the day 6-of-8 with a touchdown, no interceptions and a long rushing play that
got the offense amped up.
Anthony
Gordon: Gordon was left out of the rotation Wednesday. If Leach hasn’t already
cut this competition down to two guys, I’d anticipate a Gordon sighting on
Thursday.
Quotable
“In high
school, after my senior year I had two hip surgeries on both sides so I had
five anchors in my left hip and three in my right. so I’ve always known how to
treat the body and it’s not nothing new. I’ve always known after practice,
after lifts, any off days I’m always doing ice baths, getting my stuff
stretched out by the trainers and stuff like that.” – Nickel Hunter Dale, on
how experience with injuries has taught him how to treat his body.
