WSU football vs. Cal on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock: Coug secondary ‘hopefully’ healthy against Golden Bears; WSU to honor legendary 1997 Mike Price coached team
By Colton Clark 9/28/2022 Spokane S-R
PULLMAN
– Washington State’s secondary showed inexperience last weekend, but the
Cougars’ defensive backfield might welcome back a veteran leader Saturday.
Strong
safety Jordan Lee is nearing a return to action after missing WSU’s past two
games. The grad transfer started the Cougars’ first two games and performed
well before suffering an unspecified injury late in a Sept. 10 contest at
Wisconsin.
Lee
went through warmups ahead of the Cougars’ home game last Saturday against
Oregon. Before kickoff, WSU staffers decided he wasn’t quite ready.
“We’re
getting there,” Cougars coach Jake Dickert said Wednesday after practice when
asked about Lee’s status for Saturday’s homecoming game against Cal. “He’s
starting to work more into the team sessions and we’re getting him there.
“He’s
done everything we could possibly ask to get back on the field. Hopefully,
we’ll get a chance to see those results this week.”
Lee,
who appeared in 47 games over the past four years with Nevada, is by far the
most experienced piece in the safeties room, which lost three key contributors
to graduation after the 2021 season.
Second-year
freshman Jaden Hicks started in Lee’s place the past two weeks, pairing with
junior college transfer free safety Sam Lockett III. Oregon aimed to exploit
WSU’s unproven secondary and amassed 446 passing yards – with several big plays
late in the game – during a 44-41 comeback win at Gesa Field.
WSU
players and coaches have acknowledged that communication issues plagued the
defense against Oregon. The Cougars should see improvements in that regard when
Lee returns to the field.
The
5-foot-11, 202-pounder earned a reputation as a strong tackler with the Wolf
Pack. He totaled 143 tackles, six fumble recoveries, four forced fumbles and
seven pass break-ups over the past three seasons. As a senior last season, Lee
had 86 tackles – five for loss – while forcing four fumbles and recovering
five. He was named an All-Mountain West honorable mention pick.
Known
as a reliable run-stopper and open-field tackler, Lee recorded nine tackles and
two tackles for loss in his first two games with the Cougars, who will be
facing an impressive rushing offense when they meet Cal at 2:30 p.m. Saturday
at Gesa Field.
“There
are definitely some moments in this game that fit him,” Dickert said, noting
the Golden Bears’ heavy-running sets and underneath passing game, “some of the
bigger-body personnels, keeping the (ball) in shorter spaces.”
The
Bears are paced by true freshman tailback Jaydn Ott, who leads the Pac-12 and
ranks 11th nationally with 463 rushing yards. Ott, the reigning Pac-12
Offensive Player of the Week, piled up 274 yards and three touchdowns on 19
carries in Cal’s 49-31 win over Arizona last weekend. He ranks third nationally
in yards per carry (8.27).
“We
gotta make sure we’re keeping him bottled up,” Dickert said. “He’s hitting the
big play. He has the ability to not just make people miss, but to take it the
distance. You group-tackle guys like that.”
Tight end, backup RB positions solidify
Billy
Riviere and Andre Dollar have cemented themselves as WSU’s two top options at
tight end. Riviere, known most for his blocking abilities, was the first tight
end on the field for the Cougars’ first three games but was dealing with a
nagging injury last weekend. Dollar, a highly regarded recruit last offseason
out of Oklahoma, made his first career start – and the first true start by a
WSU tight end in 11 years. WSU’s offense opened its first three games without a
tight end on the field. Dollar did not record a catch against Oregon.
“Billy
wasn’t 100% last week, so I think it was Andre’s opportunity to go in there,”
Dickert said. “We’ll probably still lean a little bit heavier to Billy, but
sometimes getting both of them out there to see what we can do in some
short-yardage packages.”
Five
tight ends were in a competition for snaps during the preseason. Riviere held
down the No. 1 role throughout fall camp. Dollar missed a stretch of practice
in August with an injury. Moon Ashby, Cameron Johnson and Cooper Mathers
(injured) are no longer listed on WSU’s two-deep depth chart.
Three
true freshman skill players – Dollar, running back Jaylen Jenkins and receiver
Leyton Smithson – will not redshirt this year, Dickert said Monday.
“That
sets you up for playing a ton of football,” Dickert said. “That’s important.
Any time you can be a three-year starter at this level of football, there are
good things in your future. That’s the plan for Andre.”
Smithson
is taking steady reps as a reserve outside receiver. Jenkins has established
himself as the No. 2 tailback behind junior Nakia Watson. True freshman
Djouvensky Schlenbaker, who saw plenty of action with WSU’s first and second
units during spring ball and fall camp, has apparently fallen out of contention
for playing time. Spokane native Kannon Katzer is settled at third-string
running back.
“Right
now, he’s doing what a lot of true freshmen do and that is working on the scout
team and staying ready,” Dickert said of Schlenbaker. “He’s still learning the
offense and growing, too. It’ll mainly be those two guys (Watson and Jenkins),
but it’s also because Katzer has done a really good job and has earned that
third spot.”
WSU to be a host for 1997 Cougar team
Generally
considered the best team in program history, the 1997 Cougars will reunite in
Pullman this weekend to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their 10-win season
and Rose Bowl appearance.
The
’97 team is planning a pregame gathering and will be celebrated during
halftime. It’s uncertain how many members of the Pac-10 championship outfit
will be in attendance, but a school spokesman said the group will be large.
Dickert is hoping to arrange some meetings between current and former Cougars.
Mike Price, who coached the team from 1989 to 2002, is expected to speak to
WSU’s 2022 team on Friday evening.
“It’s
history, it’s Washington State history and there are so many guys that have
laid the foundation for what we have now,” Dickert said.
“To
do something that we all strive to do here – that’s winning the Pac-12 and
getting to a Rose Bowl – to have those guys do it and share the experience with
the players I think is really important.”
The
1997 Cougars opened their season with seven straight wins and concluded the
regular season with a 41-35 victory over No. 20 Washington. WSU claimed a share
of the Pac-10 title and earned a berth to the Rose Bowl. The Cougars fell to
Michigan 21-16. It appeared WSU’s offense would have a chance at a final play
from the Wolverines’ 26-yard line, but referees determined the clock had run
out before quarterback Ryan Leaf spiked the ball.
“I
swear Leaf spiked that ball (in time). We should have gotten another play,”
said Dickert, who recently sat down to watch a highlight reel of WSU’s 1997
team.
Leaf
came in third in Heisman voting. He earned Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year
honors and was named an All-American. He was flanked by a star-studded
receiving corps that played under the moniker Fab Five. WSU’s defense featured
stars in defensive tackle Leon Bender and linebacker Steve Gleason. Price
earned multiple coach of the year awards after leading the team to a top-10
finish in the national rankings.
WSU produces impressive viewership
numbers
The
Cougars’ game against Oregon drew 2.27 million viewers on Fox – a bigger TV
audience than any Pac-12 game this weekend, according to SuperWest Sports.
The
site has been tracking viewership data for West Coast college football teams
throughout the season. Oregon is the No. 1 most-watched Pac-12 team with a
total reported TV viewership of 11.05 million. WSU is second at 6.19 million.
The
Cougars’ Sept. 10 game against Wisconsin featured a TV audience of 3.9 million
viewers – ranking fourth among college football game of Week 2, per Stewart Mandel
of The Athletic. It helped that the game was a midday kickoff on Fox and
followed a marquee matchup between Alabama and Texas.
According
to Mandel, the Cougars regularly draw more viewers than over half of their
Pac-12 counterparts and other Power Conference programs such as Baylor,
Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
The
viewership numbers shine a favorable light on WSU amid talks of conference
realignment. Television audiences and media markets have been a major point of
discussion since USC and UCLA changed the landscape on June 30, when the Los
Angeles schools announced they will leave the Pac-12 in 2024 to join the Big
Ten – a more lucrative conference, in terms of media value.
“Fan
bases and brands are what’s meaningful in college football,” Dickert said
during the Pac-12’s media day in July. “Washington State is a brand that people
know and recognize. More importantly, our people watch us.
“Those
(TV viewership) numbers show the power of Washington State, our fan base and
the brand. Even though we’re not in a major market, people watch Washington
State. You don’t need a major market to have people watch you.”
WSU
will play at least two more nationally televised games this season. Fox will
broadcast an Oct. 8 game at USC. Fox Sports 1 will carry the Cougars’ Oct. 27
home game against Utah.
Jackson named semifinalist for national
award
WSU
edge rusher Brennan Jackson was selected as one of 156 semifinalists – 10 from
the Pac-12 – for the William V. Campbell Trophy, the National Football
Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced.
The
award recognizes “an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete
in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and
exemplary leadership,” per a release from WSU, which nominated the fifth-year
Cougar for the honor.
A
team captain, Jackson is tied for fourth in the Pac-12 with 6½ tackles for loss
– including two sacks – and ranks seventh in the conference in quarterback
pressure (11). The 6-foot-3, 263-pounder from Temecula, California, is fifth on
his team with 17 tackles.
In
the classroom, Jackson boasts a 3.89 gpa in his second year pursuing a master’s
degree in business administration. Jackson serves on the team’s leadership
council, WSU’s student-athlete advisory committee and is the secretary and
treasurer for the school’s Black Student-Athlete Association.
The
National Football Foundation will announce 12 to 14 finalists on Oct. 26. Each
will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF
National Scholar-Athlete Class.
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