Cougars Drop Pitchers Duel at No. 2 Oregon State
From WSU Sports Info
CORVALLIS, Ore. (April 28, 2019) – Washington State dropped
the series-finale in a pitchers duel 2-0 at No. 2 Oregon State in front of
3.968 fans at Goss Stadium, Sunday afternoon.
Cougar starting pitcher freshman Brandon White was solid,
working into the fifth inning and allowed just one run on four hits and struck
out two. Reliever Hayden Rosenkrantz worked 3.2 innings, allowed one run on
five and hits and struck out five. OSU starter Grant Gambrell was outstanding,
working 8.1 scoreless innings, striking out 12 along the way.
In the third, OSU put a runner on third base with two outs
but White buckled down to get Adley Rutchman to pop out to shortstop Andres
Alvarez in shallow left field for the third out. In the fourth, the Beavers
used a single and a one-out double down the left field line to put runners on
second and third and OSU brought home a run with sacrifice fly to centerfield
for a 1-0 lead.
In the fifth, White exited with one out in the fifth and
gave way to Hayden Rosenkrantz who allowed a pair of walks but posted a zero
after a pair of strikeouts.
In the sixth, OSU pushed the lead to 2-0 after a double to
right-centerfield, a ground out to second and a two-out RBI-single back up the
middle.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Dillon Plew singled in the 3rd to extend his hitting streak
to 6 games
NEXT UP
The Cougars return to Pullman and will open a six-game
homestand beginning next week with a three-game series against Washington.
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Remaining finalist for WSU Provost announced
From Pullman Radio News
The Dean of the College of Business at Oregon State
University is a finalist for Provost at Washington State University. Mitzi Montoya will make a campus visit on
Monday. The 3 finalists for WSU Provost
have now been announced. The hire will succeed
Dan Bernardo, who is retiring.
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Minshew taken in sixth, Elliss in seventh
WSU QB picked by Jaguars; UI LB selected by Saints; Coug RB
Williams and LB Pelluer hook on as free agents
By DALE GRUMMERT
Lewiston Trib April 28th, 2019
In college, he was a career journeyman. As it turned out,
the journey took him where he wanted to go.
Gardner Minshew, a one-and-done folk hero at Washington
State, became the second Cougar quarterback in two years to be selected in the
NFL draft Saturday, going in the sixth round to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Idaho linebacker Kaden Elliss was taken in the seventh round
by the New Orleans Saints. All other Palouse players went unchosen on the third
and final day of the draft, but WSU running back James Williams reached a
free-agent agreement with the Kansas City Chiefs, according to multiple
reports, and linebacker Peyton Pelluer did the same with the Cleveland Browns.
Cougars offensive lineman Andre Dillard was tabbed by
Philadelphia in the first round Thursday.
Minshew took a circuitous route to Saturday’s good news,
attending four schools in five years and seemingly facing long odds of reaching
the NFL until his sensational 2018 season with the Cougars.
So he’s not complaining about a three-day wait to hear his
name called.
“When I was a little kid and you told me I’m getting picked
in the NFL draft, I don’t care if it’s the first pick or the last pick,” he
said in a conference call. “It’s such a blessing. It’s such an honor get the
opportunity. I’m fired up. Wherever I go, as long as I’m getting a chance, I’m
fine.”
A year ago, Minshew’s predecessor as WSU quarterback, Luke
Falk, was also chosen in the sixth round. He’s now a reserve for the Miami
Dolphins.
Minshew watched TV coverage of the draft from his home in
Mississippi, then celebrated with 25 to 30 relatives and friends, many of them
playing lawn games like cornhole and beer pong in the back yard.
“He’s just thrilled — it’s a lifelong dream,” his father,
Flint Minshew, said by phone. “It’s also a ton of relief.
“Jacksonville is close to a lot of our famly, on the east
coast of Florida,” he said. “We knew they (the Jaguars) liked him a lot through
the interview process and things like that. We think they’re a bunch of good
guys in that organization.”
He said the draft went more or less according to form for
his son.
“We had always been told late fifth or early sixth round —
that’s what we expected. But it’s hard not to watch each pick with a little bit
of expectation, especially with the teams you know were going to need a
quarterback.”
Minshew, 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, was the fifth pick of the
sixth round, the 178th overall, and the 10th quarterback taken. He lacks the
height and arm strength of some of his peers, but scouts liked his accuracy,
footwork and especially his performance in the Wonderlic intelligence test.
“He is high energy, loves football, really smart guy — the
Wonderlic, the tests that we do, he is highly intelligent,” Jaguars scouting
director Mark Ellenz said in a news release. “He has played in a lot of
different systems. He has picked them up quickly.”
Minshew said he formally interviewed with the Jaguars at the
NFL Combine earlier this year, “which I felt went really well. I wasn’t trying
to get my hopes up with any team, but the Jaguars were definitely a place that
I was excited about.”
He began his college career as a walk-on at Troy,
transferred to a junior college (where he won a national title), then spent two
years as a part-time starter at East Carolina. Upon deciding to leave that
school as a graduate transfer, he committed to Alabama, where his odds of
starting would have been slim. But he wound up accepting a late offer from WSU
coach Mike Leach after the suicide of projected Cougar starter Tyler Hilinski.
“It’s been a crazy journey I’ve been on, especially this
past year,” Minshew said. “I’m just fortunate to be where I am now.”
Arriving at WSU last May, Minshew quickly learned Leach’s
Air Raid offense, won the starter’s job, touched off a fan craze with an
impulsively grown mustache and passed for 4,779 yards while guiding the Cougars
to an 11-2 season. He was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and
finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
“I’ve learned four offenses since I’ve been in college, so
I’ve heard it taught four different ways,” Minshew said. “I’ve also been in
four different locker rooms, being the new guy every time — learning how go in
as somebody that nobody knows and earning their respect, being a leader, being
a captain. I think that prepared me well for the next step.”
The Jaguars already have an undisputed No. 1 quarterback,
having signed free agent Nick Foles last month. And Minshew’s bid for a 2019
roster spot is hardly assured. The team’s other QBs are Cody Kessler, Tanner
Lee and Alex McGough.
Elliss, a 6-2, 240-pound outside linebacker, was the 30th
pick of the final round, 244th overall. He wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine
but performed well for scouts later, posting a 60-yard shuttle time that would
have been No.1 at any position at the combine. He played every linebacker spot
for the Vandals, most recently edge rusher, and even saw action at tight end.
“I love to pass rush,” Elliss said in a conference call. “I
think it’s the greatest thing in football. It’s a beautiful thing and I work
very hard at it.”
During the ESPN draft show, analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said
Elliss “was an ultimate playmaker at Idaho. He beat offenses in a variety of
ways, tested off the charts. This kid has a chance as a guy that was way, way
under the radar.”
In speaking with reporters, Elliss alluded to a number of
Saints coaches — and one player in particular.
“I have always been a Drew Brees fan and have cheered for
them in the Super Bowl,” he said. “It’s a pretty cool spot, and I got to come
down and visit (during the scouting process). It was really special getting to
see that locker room, to see those halls, and see all of the players that have
been through there. I’m psyched. New Orleans is a really special place.”
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WSU football
Eric Dickerson fires off tweets at Washington State’s Mike
Leach, criticizing coach for “talking down” James Williams
UPDATED: Sun., April 28, 2019, 6:53 p.m.
By Theo Lawson Spokane S-R
Eric Dickerson, the Hall of Fame running back who has
represented Washington State’s James Williams since the running back declared
for the NFL draft, fired off a series of tweets Sunday morning, chiding Cougars
coach Mike Leach for “talking down” Williams’ stock in the months leading up to
the draft.
The longtime WSU coach has been steadfast in his belief that
players should stay in college all four years and earn their diploma before
skipping off to the NFL. Leach advised Williams to return for his senior season
and obtain his undegraduate degree, though the running back made a hard
decision to come out a year early and pursue his dream of playing professional
football.
“The NFL advised James to stay in school,” Leach said in
January, the day Williams declared. “I agree with the NFL, but in any case we
wish James the very best of luck with his future.”
Williams, who’d been projected as a late-round selection on
some mock draft boards while not appearing on others, wasn’t selected in the
final four rounds Saturday and promptly signed an undrafted free agent deal
with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Dickerson, an ex-Los Angeles Rams running back who now works
as an NFL analyst for FS1, posted the following tweet in a notepad message
Sunday morning:
“Thank you @Coach_Leach for talking down @boobiewilliams2
#NFLDraft stock nonstop since James declared. Because of you… James was able to
choose his dream team @Chiefs. Thank you for not helping James accomplish his
goal of feeding his family… who were homeless only a few years ago. Because of
you … James will be a great NFL running back. Thank you for thinking this is
the 1980s where players have no voice. Because of you… players will unite from
Hall of Famers to top high school recruits and protest your ways. We will not
stand for NCAA coaches using their power to harm young men who are simply
trying to help their families. We’re watching you “Coach” Leach.
#ThisTimeItsDifferent #Brotherhood.”
Dickerson’s tweets may have been in response to something
Leach posted from his own account Saturday afternoon, shortly after the 2019
draft ended. Leach shared a screenshot from a tweet originally posted by The
Athletic’s Max Olson, listing the 49 underclassmen that went undrafted, out of
144 total who declared early.
In the past two years, both of the Cougar players who
elected to leave school early – Williams and defensive lineman Hercules
Mata’afa – went undrafted. Mata’afa, like Williams, was one of the most
highly-coveted free agent targets available when the draft ended and signed a
deal with the Minnesota Vikings.
WSU QB Luke Falk briefly contemplated an early exit, but
ultimately chose to stay for his senior year and was drafted in the sixth round
by the Tennessee Titans last April.
Early Sunday morning, Williams posted then subsequently
deleted a tweet that was seemingly directed at Leach.
“Some people really butt hurt that I left early and all I’m
trying to do is feed my family so if that makes me a bad person then
whatever..besides how could you get mad at me leaving when you been trying to
leave since I’ve been there. I’m good #ChiefsKingdom”
Leach’s name has been thrown around for a variety of other
jobs over the last few years and the coach was allegedly prepared to take the
head coaching position at Tennessee before things went sideways with former
Volunteers athletic director John Currie.
Williams spoke to The Spokesman-Review the day he officially
declared for the draft, on Jan. 5, reasoning “I feel like I’m going to get no
better, because I’m going to come back and catch a bunch of balls and probably
rush for 500 yards next season. That could be different. I could get hurt – I
mean, I could get hurt walking down the street right now out there. I’m
healthy, so that’s my main thing.”
Running backs are known to have a much shorter shelf life in
the NFL than other positions and Williams has also felt an obligation to
support his family, which has grown since the WSU season ended. The Burbank,
California, native got engaged to fiancee Rye Hewett last spring and the couple
announced the arrival of a newborn boy on New Year’s Eve. Hewett also has a
7-year-old daughter, Breezy.
Williams said that by declaring now, and going through the
predraft process one year early, he’d be in a better position to support his
family once his son was born. Had he stayed at WSU another year, he would’ve
been not only been forfeiting a year’s salary in the NFL – Williams’ earnings
may not match those of somone who’d been drafted, but even a practice squad
player is guaranteed a minimum of $7,600 per week – but significant time spent
with his family.
Over the last few months, Williams went through a rigorous
predraft routine that included working out with Dickerson in Southern
California, attending the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and preparing for
WSU’s Pro Day in Pullman. This time next year, he’ll be in the thick of the NFL
offseason, which will give him more time to spend with his family.
“I’m a family-oriented person, so I’d rather sacrifice this
little portion of time to get to where I’m trying to be, and then once I’m in
the NFL and hopefully everything goes smooth and I’m making enough to support a
family, so when my baby is born we have enough to support,” Williams said. “If
I ran into this situation next year, I’d be away from my kid for three to four
months, whatever the case may be.”
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