For Cougs, it looks like a three-man race at QB:Tinsley,
Minshew, Gordon appear to be top passers as WSU shifts to Lewiston
By DALE GRUMMERT OF THE Lewiston Trib
The first two days of preseason football workouts have done
nothing to settle Washington State's quarterback competition. But maybe they've
clarified who exactly's in the running.
Trey Tinsley, Gardner Minshew and Anthony Gordon appear to be
the top candidates to replace the graduated Luke Falk, and so far it's Tinsley
- the only walk-on among the three - who has logged the most repetitions.
That could change today. Wazzu coach Mike Leach seems to be
foregrounding two QB's each day, and the favored pair Saturday was Tinsley and
Gordon as the Cougars launched a series of six workouts at Sacajawea Junior
High in Lewiston.
The day before in Pullman, it was Tinsley and Minshew. And
Tinsley said he expects to be ushered aside today while the other two cross
swords. That would give the three of them about equal reps through three days.
Leach, for his part, is keeping his options open - maybe more
open than he'd prefer.
"I'll rotate them around - I haven't entirely decided
(today's arrangement)," said the seventh-year WSU coach. "That's the
toughest thing about it, because you'd like to pack all the reps into two guys.
But we've got some tough decisions to make. We've just got to get them out
there, get a look at them and see where we're at."
The good news? All three are playing well. Minshew, the
graduate transfer from East Carolina who made his WSU practice debut Friday,
seems to have spent the summer buried in Leach's playbook. The other two, both
former junior-college players entering their third year in the Cougar program,
are showing the same calm efficiency they showed during spring workouts.
Of course, it helps to have perhaps the deepest receiver
corps in school history. Combining veterans like Kyle Sweet with an impressive
set of youngsters, the wideouts helped the Wazzu offense take the upper hand
over defenders for much of a warm but pleasant afternoon. Athough the mercury
could climb as high of 109 by the time the Cougs leave Lewiston on Thursday, it
scarcely reached 90 on this day.
Drue Jackson, a true freshman wideout from Dallas, did the
improbable - turned heads despite being surrounded by talented rivals.
"Explosive, good hands, still kind of learning things
but doesn't really hesitate out there," Leach said. "Even if it's
something sloppy, he'll be explosive, he'll be strong, he'll be powerful. All
those young guys. Once the ball's in the air, they'll go after it. Even if the
route isn't perfect or something like that, they're aggressive going after the
ball."
As for Tinsley and Gordon, "I think both had good tempo,
I thought they were explosive," Leach said. "The other thing - which
is what you expect from good skill players - they bailed them out of some tough
situations. Some throws that weren't perfect, some contested balls that they
pulled down and got upfield."
Despite the loss of Falk and the shocking death of Tyler
Hilinski in January, there's no lack of QB's in the program. But it's
increasingly clear that Tinsley, Minshew and Gordon have separated themselves
from touted true freshman Camm Cooper, second-year frosh Connor Neville and
walk-on John Bledsoe (whose famous father Drew attended Saturday's practice).
"We knew, with Gardner coming in, it was going to be a
three-man race," said Tinsley, who's trying to duplicate Falk's rise from
walk-on to program superstar. "I don't know how long we're doing it
(splitting reps evenly). I just know when I get my opportunities I have to make
the most of them. I thought today was an overall good team practice."
Leach, too, seems unsure how long the reps will be split
three ways. He's anxious to slice the field to two, but said that could take
several days. And naming a starter? He's not even close.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Leach wants to
name starting quarterback prior to season opener (Sept. 1 in Laramie vs.
Wyoming)
Cougars start fall camp Friday, team hopes to develop depth
at offensive line
WSU football kicks off fall camp 2 p.m. Friday at Rogers
Field and Martin Stadium.
By DYLAN GREENE,
Evergreen editor-in-chief
August 2, 2018
August 2, 2018
WSU Head Coach Mike Leach discussed his
timeline for naming a starting quarterback, the Cougars depth at multiple
positions and the current front runners for starting on the offensive line during
a conference call with the media Thursday.
The Cougars kickoff fall
camp Friday and Leach said he hopes to name a starting quarterback more than a
week before the season opener against University of Wyoming on Sept. 1.
Leach said that the
Cougars are currently evaluating four quarterbacks for the starting job.
“We’ll look at all four
of them but we’re going to try to channel it toward the top two as quickly as
we can and then go from there,” Leach said.
Those four quarterbacks
are redshirt juniors Trey Tinsley and Anthony Gordon, freshman Cammon Cooper
and graduate transfer Gardner Minshew.
Minshew is the only
quarterback of the four that has taken a snap at the Division I level and
played in 10 games for East Carolina University last season, throwing for 2,140
yards, 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
“Picking a quarterback is
easy from the standpoint of, regardless of how good they are, you figure out
who the best one is,” Leach said, “and in the end, the most important thing is
who moves the offense the best.
Leach also highlighted
the depth at the wide receiver position and the need to establish depth on the
offensive line. He said the first group on the offensive line currently
consists of redshirt senior Andre Dillard, redshirt sophomore Josh Watson,
junior Frederick Mauigoa, redshirt senior Robert Valencia and redshirt freshman
Abraham Lucas.
Leach said he and the
team are anxious to get on the field after a long offseason, which he noted is
important to developing players. But Leach admitted he wouldn’t mind coaching
year round and receiving little time off.
“If they let me reset
football, we’d go year-round,” Leach said. We’d expand the roster … we’d have
to have a varsity season in the fall and then we’d have a season in the spring
where we work younger guys that didn’t play as much, get them some games.
Everybody would have a great time and of course they’d televise the games and
it’d be great for everybody.”
The Cougars start fall
camp 2 p.m. Friday at Rogers Field and Martin Stadium.
:::::::::::::::::::::::
WSU FOOTBALL
Observations and notes from day two of Washington State
preseason football camp
Sat., Aug. 4, 2018, 8:54 p.m.
By Theo Lawson
Spokane S-R
The Cougars moved things to Lewiston and Sacajawea Junior
High for the second day of preseason camp. Here are the observations, notes and
highlights from day No. 2.
Observations and notes
– The Cougars kept the pads off for the second day in a row.
They’ll strap on shoulder pads tomorrow, then put on full pads Tuesday.
– Mike Leach will continue to rotate three quarterbacks –
Trey Tinsley, Gardner Minshew and Anthony Gordon – in and out of skeleton and
team periods. It was Tinsley and Minshew Friday, but Tinsley and Gordon
Saturday. Leach is looking to narrow down the field to two before choosing his
starter. But merely finding the top two could still take anywhere from a few
days to a week.
– WSU held three separate special teams periods during
practice. Jack Crane, Ryan Henderson and Blake Mazza all got work on kickoff
team and a large group of returners stood in the end zone, awaiting their
boots. Travell Harris and Keith Harrington were the primary kick returners, but
Jamire Calvin, James Williams, Max Borghi and Renard Bell all got work as well.
– And here’s how the kickers fared: Crane made a 34-yarder
but missed a 42-yarder, Henderson made a 34-yarder and a 40-yarder, Mazza made
a 39-yarder and a 45-yarder.
– Cougar legend Drew Bledsoe, as he’s been known to do, made
a cameo at Sacajawea Junior High. Bledsoe’s son John is a redshirt freshman
walk-on for the Cougars.
– A freshly painted Cougar logo awaited the team on the
50-yard line of their temporary practice venue at Sacjawea.
Highlights
– True freshman receiver Drue Jackson made a few physical
catches with Marcus Strong draped all over him during the 1-on-1 period. After
the first grab, Strong commented that the receiver “has some long (bleep)
arms.”
– Strong finally got the best of Jackson on their third
matchup, swatting a pass to the ground before the receiver could corral it.
– In the skeleton period, freshman safety Tyrese Ross got a
few levels off the ground to bat down a ball from Tinsley intended for Jamire
Calvin.
– Later on in skelly, Tinsley placed a ball over the second
level of the defense, between three defensive backs and finally into the arms
of Renard Bell who scampered away for a touchdown.
– There haven’t been many interceptions through two days, but
I might need three hands to count the number of near-interceptions. Peyton
Pelluer and Dominick Silvels both had passes graze through their hands during
skeleton.
– Receiver Tay Martin and cornerback Darrien Molton had an
entertaining back and forth during the 1-on-1 portion of practice. Martin
claimed repeatedly Molton was holding, but from Molton’s perspective, Martin
was the one initiating the contact. Molton broke up two passes to Martin,
before Martin finally beat him to the end zone though the receiver couldn’t hang
onto Gordon’s pass.
– Linebacker Dillon Sherman stoned James Williams at the line
of scrimmage for no gain during the first series of the team period.
– Gordon completed his 12th pass of the team period to Keith
Harrington on a wheel route that went for a 7-yard touchdown.
– His 13th completion was a dart to Calvin in the end zone
that somehow zipped between Chima Onyeukwu and Pelluer.
– The opening play of Tinsley’s team series was a shovel pass
to Max Borghi, who caught the ball and turned upfield for a 40-plus yard gain
that took him all the way to the other 20-yard line.
– Williams fumbled near the left sideline later on in the
series. It was unclear who got the rip, but corner Isaiah Love emerged from the
scrum with the recovered ball.
– Calvin managed to come up with a 25-yard reception despite
being pinned by two defensive backs as the ball flew into his hands.
– Martin ran for a 27-yard touchdown after catching a pass
from Tinsley and evading Sean Harper Jr. with a nifty juke move.
Keeping up with the QBs
Anthony Gordon: None of the quarterbacks on this roster throw
a better-looking ball than Gordon, who might win the competition going away if
we were only judging spirals and release. Gordon looked decisive and confident
in his first team period this fall camp, completing 13-of-16 passes and 10 of
his first 11. His series concluded with an incompletion, but Gordon reaffirmed
he’s still very much a part of this competition.
Trey Tinsley: Tinsley also recorded just three incomplete
passes, albeit on two fewer passing attempts, closing out his series 11-of-14.
The redshirt junior got the first set of reps during skeleton period and was
about as accurate during that segment of the practice session as he was in
11-on-11. Tinsley and Gardner Minshew are similar in their vocal leadership and
are generally a few of the more animated Cougars after a big play.
Gardner Minshew: After working with the No. 1 skeleton group
and repping in the team period Friday, Minshew ran with the No. 2 skelly on
Saturday and observed during 11-on-11.
Cammon Cooper: The QB competition is feeling more and more
like a three-man race at this stage. After working into the team period
regularly this spring, Cooper’s yet to earn a series in the fall and has worked
with the second skeleton group both days.
Quotable
“We’re going to kind of move them around and get a view of
things and get an idea. Which that’s the toughest thing about it, because you
like to pack all the reps into two guys, but we’ve got some tough decisions to
make and we’ve just got to go out there, get them out there, look at them and
see where we’re at.” – Mike Leach, on the quarterback competition.
…………………..
WSU FOOTBALL
Why Washington State’s receiving corps could be historically
deep in 2018
UPDATED: Sat., Aug. 4, 2018, 9:54 p.m.
By Theo Lawson of the S-R of Spokane/Inland Empire
PULLMAN – The allure of catching passes in the Air Raid
offense typically brings in top-end wide receiver talent to Washington State.
Already in six years, Mike Leach and his pass-aggressive system have produced
six of the school’s top-10 leaders in career receptions, including the top
three and five of the top six.
Many of them made their ascents up the receiving charts at
the same time. Isiah Myers, Marquess Wilson and Dom Williams in 2012; Williams,
Myers and Mayle from 2013-14; Gabe Marks and River Cracraft from 2013-16.
It’s never easy to identify the next player who’ll make a
similar run up the receiving leaderboards, but there’s a good chance he’s on
campus right now. Flush with talent at all four positions, WSU has a chance to
be historically deep at wide receiver in 2018.
As Leach and his staff whittle a group of 12-13 players down
to eight, we take a deeper dive into the position and look at how the WR depth
chart could shake out this fall:
X receiver
1. Tay Martin – Tavares Martin Jr.’s suspension against
Colorado created an opportunity for the younger Martin, who responded with a
four-catch, 78-yard performance against the Buffaloes and scored his first
collegiate touchdown. After the game, Leach said the freshman from Houma,
Louisiana, had the upside to become the team’s best wideout by the end of the
season. And he did. A long strider with basketball hops, Martin returns as
pound-for-pound the most talented wideout on the roster.
“He’s a physical, explosive guy and he’s got a little bit of
experience,” Leach said Friday. “He’s a talented guy, so we’re just excited to
see him continue to develop. And even if he makes a good play here or there, I
still think he’s got a lot of upside.”
Martin drew lofty praise from the Cougars’ newest QB after
day one of fall camp. Gardner Minshew, when asked about the easiest and most
difficult part of his transition to WSU, responded, “I’d say the easiest is
throwing to Tay Martin. That’s pretty easy.”
2. Rodrick Fisher – The Spokane native was so eager to learn
the Cougars’ schemes and concepts during spring camp he practically lived in
Steve Spurrier Jr.’s shadow. When Fisher wasn’t running routes, he was quizzing
the outside receivers coach about them. The East Valley grad helped himself out
in a major way by arriving early and it could be the reason he fends off a few
of his fellow freshmen for a spot in the eight-man rotation.
“He’s a talented, kind of gifted and he’s a little bigger
than you think he is,” Spurrier Jr. said in May. “He plays a lot stronger than
someone who should still be in high school, so I’m pretty impressed with him.”
3. Drue Jackson – Excitement for the four-star high school
prospect out of Texas is justified. Jackson already looks the part of a college
receiver and even if he doesn’t crack the rotation, he could be one of the
players who benefit from the new NCAA rule that allows redshirting players to
appear in four games without burning a year of eligibility.
“Explosive, good hands, still kind of learning things but
doesn’t really hesitate out there,” Leach said Saturday of Jackson. “Even on
something sloppy, he’ll be explosive, he’ll be strong, he’ll be powerful.”
4. Brandon Gray – It’ll be a tough task for the 6-foot-5,
190-pound Gray to beat out any of the three players listed ahead of him, but
his length and vertical leaping will be useful tools for the Cougars at some
point in the future.
Y receiver
1. Kyle Sweet – Sweet was a revelation for the Cougars during
spring camp and he was unmistakable in the Crimson & Gray Game, catching
eight passes for 138 yards on a day that saw only one other receiver break 90
yards. If the first couple days of August are any indication, Sweet’s fall
could be a better encore to his spring. The senior slot receiver reeled in two
touchdown balls during the 11-on-11 period Friday and looks capable of leading
the Cougars in any number of receiving categories this season.
“I just wanted to make sure that when we go back to real
ball, that there’s no dropoff,” Sweet said during Pac-12 Media Day. “You always
want to be moving upward and forward, whether that’s running extra routes. It’s
always just being on the same page as the quarterback and always feeling
crisp.”
2. Jamire Calvin – With top-end quickness and steady hands,
Calvin made an immediate impression last fall and had a spring campaign that
was as good as any receiver not named Kyle Sweet. Calvin’s listed almost 10
pounds heavier than he was in the spring and seems to be playing with more
consistency, which you’d expect from someone making the freshman-to-sophomore
transition. Calvin can be the flashiest player on the field at any time and
finding a way to divvy up the “Y” receiver reps should be high on the list of
challenges for Leach and receivers coach Dave Nichol this fall.
3. Brandon Arconado – The redshirt junior from Chino Hills,
California, can finally be addressed as “former walk-on Brandon Arconado” after
being put on scholarship this May. Arconado looks noticeably more toned in his
upper body than he did in the spring – according to the roster, he’s added 5
pounds – and even though he’s a clear third option to Sweet and Calvin, the
newest scholarship receiver should be able to improve upon his numbers from
2017.
“H” receiver
1. Renard Bell – Luke Falk’s most reliable deep threat last
season wrapped up his rookie campaign with 538 yards and a team-high 13.4
yard-per-catch. Few people other than Bell would’ve predicted those numbers
coming into the season – mainly because he was supposed to back up Robert Lewis
– but the former high school teammate of Calvin posted three 100-yard games by
week six primarily because of his ability to create separation on deep routes.
Against Boise State, Nevada and USC, he posted long receptions of 59, 60 and 61
yards.
2. Robert Lewis – The Cougars weren’t even halfway through
August when they lost Lewis for the season with a torn ACL. At that point,
Lewis, in year No. 5 with the Cougars, also had reason to think he’d have to
forfeit the remainder of his college career. But in late May, the NCAA motioned
to extend his eligibility clock by one year, giving Lewis at least 12 more
games with the Cougars. Lewis, who’s been in Pullman since January 2013, has 37
games of experience under his belt, including 22 starts, and is the team’s best
blocking receiver when healthy, according to Leach.
“The most famous block I guess was, as we’re coming back
against Utah (in 2015), we hit Vince Mayle on a post and we didn’t have that
much time left,” Leach said Thursday.” And Robert Lewis peels back, blows up
this safety. And I mean he just smokes him. Then of course Vince scores a
touchdown, but Robert Lewis had as much to do with that play.”
3. Travell Harris – It’s likely we see more of Harris in a
kick or punt returning role this year, but the speedy inside receiver from
Florida was often one of the standout players during the Cougars’ Thursday
night scrimmages last season and after spending a redshirt in 2017, he should
finally get a chance – even if it is a limited one – to contribute in the Air
Raid offense.
Z receiver
1. Dezmon Patmon – Though he’s still seeking his first
college touchdown, the 6-4, 220-pound Patmon made an impact last season,
especially late in the year, as the primary backup to Isaiah Johnson-Mack. His
big frame and physicality should make him WSU’s top possession receiver – he had
four games with at least five catches last season – and the Cougars can use him
as a mismatch on fade routes and goal-line situations, similar to how they
employed Johnson-Mack last season.
2. Easop Winston – Falk famously raved about Winston’s hands during
spring camp a few years back, but the junior college transfer was challenged to
improve his conditioning during his redshirt season in 2017. A year later,
Winston’s in superb shape and his Velcro hands are once again a conversation
point. The San Francisco native made both of the top plays on day one of fall
camp – both acrobatic one-handed grabs – and he has the potential to thrive in
his first true season with the Cougars.
“Just a very crafty, knows all the tricks,” Leach said.
“Elusive, slippery guy.”
3. Calvin Jackson Jr. – Season three of Netflix Original
series “Last Chance U” puts spotlight on Jackson’s Independence (Kansas)
Community College, so the receiver’s arrival was highly anticipated by those
who’ve already plugged through all eight episodes. The reality TV star hasn’t
erred much in his first two days with the Cougars. He’ll play on the outside
for the time being, but has the versatility and body type to slide inside if
necessary.
“Elusive and fast and a playmaker,” inside receivers coach
Nichol said. “What we call pop plays, he can catch the deep post, he can make a
few guys miss. At least he did in junior college and we hope he does here.”
4. Kassidy Jackson – A 6-4, 205-pound freshman from Texas,
Woods can benefit from a redshirt season and should develop through WSU’s
Thursday Night Football scrimmages.
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