Today began an intense, but exciting, three-day stretch for WSU. Tomorrow is the first two-a-day, and Saturday marks the first scrimmage.
In the first full-contact scrimmage of the season, linebackers Mike Ledgerwood and Myron Beck kicked things off in the defense's favor. On the first play, Ledgerwood tipped a pass, which was hauled in by Beck and taken in for a touchdown. Coach Sears was elated, yelling, "Way to set the tempo!" On the next play, Alex Hoffman-Ellis made his presence known, making his first full-pads tackle of the season.
Redshirt freshman cornerback Nolan Washington is also making a name for himself early in camp. He has been breaking up passes in skelly, scrimmage and drills, and today was no different.
Later in the scrimmage session, wide receiver Gino Simone caught a pass and was immediately drilled by white jerseys on both sides. But he bounced off and ran until the coaches blew the whistle. WSU then switched end zones, and sophomore fullback Jared Byers caught a touchdown pass. Sophomore running back Carl Winston scored on a 15-yard run the very next play.
Defensive tackles Bernard Wolfgramm and Brandon Rankin were a little nicked up, so they took a majority of the day off. Coach Wulff said after practice that they probably had a harder day working with Coach Lovat than they would have practicing.
Freshman offensive tackle John Fullington, who moved his way up to working with the twos yesterday, got some time with the first team this afternoon. Coach Wulff said after practice that he was one of the best offensive tackles on the West Coast last year, and that he has all the right ingredients in every way.
After practice Coach Wulff also addressed the WSU Football Blog's story on whether or not he has been working out. If you missed the story, check it out HERE, and then watch the video below. He starts out addressing tomorrow's two-a-day.
Also, I received some comments yesterday about getting more player interviews up on the blog. I tell you what...I am willing to do that, as long as you guys are willing to come up with some questions. I could easily come up with a few about thoughts on the season, etc. However, if there are a few things you want to know from some specific players, share them in the comment section below, and I will see what I can do tomorrow or this weekend.
The Cougars will be back on the field for the first practice at 8:30 a.m., and hit the field again at 3:30 p.m.
How is Skylar Stormo's broken hand? Can he block effectively during practice with it? Our TEs need to be productive this season.
How does Brandon Rankin plan to deal with the pressure of being my new favorite Cougar football player without having played a down of Pac-10 football?
On a more serious note, how about asking some of the offensive and defensive lineman what Morton and Eaton this year that wasn't present last year? More importantly, how will they help us win the all important battle in the trenches?
Joe, just wanna say you are doing an insane job with the blog! The highlights, the interviews, the photos - This is a Godsend for us Cougs who aren't able to follow the team up close and personal because of geographic restraints. I'm chompin at the bit every day waiting for your reports out of Pullman. Keep up the great work!
Thanks Joe.
Questions for the players: Who is your favorite WSU coach? Who do you learn the most from? Who is the most respected? Who is the team leader amongst the players? And maybe for the Freshman: Is WSU and Pullman everything you thought it would be?
Major props for the blog, Ive been chomping at the bit for this season to get here and getting at least a little taste of whats to come this year has been great. My major question would be how is C.J Mizell coming along after taking a year off, and how well he is adjusting.