The Cougars continued preparations for Idaho State Wednesday, working out for two hours in full pads...

A day after scrimmaging in Martin Stadium, the Cougars worked out in full pads for just under two hours on a hot and muggy Rogers Field, temperatures were in the mid-90's at the start of practice and were even hotter on the Rogers Field fieldturf...the biggest difference in practice today was that the final segments focused on game planning for Idaho State...today was also the first practice for the eight walk-ons who will be mainly used on scout teams each week...practices opened with special teams, one field holding punt coverage drills while the other focused on kickoff return...following an individual segment, the Cougs went through a 2-minute drill where the No. 1 offense squared off against the No. 2 defense and the No. 1 defense went against the No. 2 offense...early in the team session, safety Deone Bucannon picked off a Connor Halliday pass...the offense received a couple big plays as Tuel connected with Marquess Wilson for a long pass that put the No. 1 "O" inside the 10 but the defense buckeled down and forced an Andrew Furney field goal...the No. 2 "O" saw Marshall Lobbestael complete a long pass on a third down to Henry Eaddy before they settled for a field goal attempt, that missed wide left...following the team session, the Cougs broke into two fields and started working through the Idaho State game plan...tomorrow's practice is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. and will be followed by team picture day down in Martin Stadium...WSU will be holding his Cougar Fan Appreciation Day tomorrow in Martin Stadium from 12-1:30 p.m., admission is free and fans will have a chance to meet the football team along with the men's and women's basketball teams...GO COUGS!  

You can access the interview at the podcast page HERE

The Cougars returned to practice today, working out for two hours in full pads at Rogers Field after taking Monday off to focus on the first day of school...

Saturday saw the Cougars practice for just under two hours in full pads at Rogers Field...there was a welcomed sight to the start of today's practice as one of the first players out on the practice field this morning was cornerback Nolan Washington who had missed most of the week after tweaking his right hamstring, good to have one of team leaders and most entertaining Cougs back on to the field...we will also note that offensive lineman B.J. Guerra and defensive end Travis Long have been two of the first players out to practice each day throughout the fall camp, often leading the position warmups...

The Cougars worked out for just over two hours in full pads this afternoon...after the defense dominated Thursday's practices, the offense bounced back with a couple big plays today...the Cougs opened practice with a couple special teams segments with Andrew Furney connecting from 37, 42 and 47...the next two 10-minute segments focused on kickoff coverage and return...in the 2-minute drill, Jeff Tuel got the No. 1 offense off to a solid start, connecting with wideout Jared Karstetter for a big gain...a couple plays later is running back Marcus Mason getting around the outside before streaking past the defense for a score...maybe the highlight of the team sessions was quarterback Connor Halliday's long pass that went just over a covering DB's outstretched hand and right into Henry Eaddy's hands who made the catch in stride and cruised in for the score...the defense made a couple plays later in the session, picking off a Tuel pass and later receiving a "sack" from Steven Hoffart...Saturday's two-a-day has been changed to just one practice at 8:30 a.m....GO COUGS!

Following Monday's day off, the Cougs resumed fall camp Tuesday morning, practicing in full pads for two hours at Rogers Field...the opening segments focused on special teams, with kickers Andrew Furney connecting on a 47 yard field goal and Tyler McNannay hitting from 42...one special teams segment focused on downing punts inside the five yard line...the Cougs then spent a good amount of time with individual position coaches, really going through drills with a little more intensity and at a quicker pace...this second week of camp, the team is expected to hit a little bit more, tackle during teams sessions and practice a little bit closer to "game speed"...following the individual segments, the wide receivers and defensive backs went one-on-one on the east field while the lineman, linebackers and running backs matched up in the daily segment that focused strictly on running plays on the west field...the 11-on-11 team segment lasted the final 25 minutes with linebackers highlighting the "live" action...C.J. Mizell continues to turn in an impressive fall camp, pushing offensive lineman back into the running back on two occasions today, his second play saw him drive a young lineman back into RB Leon Brooks, knocking Brooks back before he (Mizell) ripped the ball away from Brooks and headed into the end zone for the score...the defensive players erupted at the  play, rushing downfield to celebrate with Mizell after one of the most exciting plays we have seen this camp...two young linebackers in redshirt-sophomore Darren Markle and freshman Darryl Monroe turned in a couple nice plays today, Monroe had a big hit on wideout Gino Simone after he caught a quick pass out in the flat, it was a nice read by Monroe who covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time...Markle made a similar play, getting outside in a hurry to meet a running back who was trying to get around the corner...a couple highlights from the offense was a long touchdown pass from Marshall Lobbestael to Bobby Ratliff, a long pass from Jeff Tuel to Isiah Barton that also went for a score and a long run by Rickey Galvin who made a couple nice cuts to break into the secondary for a big gain...among the crowd watching practice this morning was Cougar head baseball coach Donnie Marbut who has been out to a number of workouts during fall camp...tomorrow's practice is slated for 2:30 p.m. and will be held in Martin Stadium, with the last part of practice being a live scrimmage...GO COUGS!

The Cougars held their second two-a-day of fall camp Sunday, going full pads for just under two hours in the morning session before working out for 90 minutes in helmets and shoulder pads in the afternoon...the story of the morning session was defense as head coach Paul Wulff called it "the most complete practice for the defense so far this camp. From the time they took the field for stretching, through the individual session and through the last play of the team segment, it was a complete practice with great energy"...in the early segments, the defense rotated in groups that focused on stripping the ball, hitting the ground to recover fumbles and scooping up fumbles on the run...the offense walked through some redzone plays while the defense focused on fumbles...a later segment pitted the offensive and defensive lineman and linebackers in an 11-vs-11 drill that focused on running plays...this is where the defense began to shine, playing with a ton of energy, led by linebackers Alex Hoffman-Ellis, C.J. Mizell and safeties Tyree Toomer and Deone Bucannon who all could be heard pumping up the defense throughout the whole practice...on the east field, the wideouts and defensive backs squared off in one-on-one battles...during the final team segments, the No. 1 offense opened with Jeff Tuel touchdown passes to Marquess Wilson and Jared Karstetter...it was all defense from then on out as they forced the QB's to scramble and throw the ball way on a couple occasions, they broke up passes, they stuffed the run, they were there for the tackle as soon as a catch was made and even turned an interception into six points, which DB Damante Horton did late in practice...Mizell and Bucannon were seen (and heard) making big run stops with Mizell leading the yells with his defensive teammates after he came up with a "sack" and Bucannon later popped a running back pretty good, drawing some yells from the other defensive players...the offense finished the morning with a couple nice plays as wideout Kristoff Williams made a couple impressive catches that resulted in touchdowns, one being a sliding catch in traffic and the other coming in the back of the endzone that Tuel put just over the top of a leaping Bucannon before Williams snatched it for the score...more and more fans continued to come out to see the Cougs work through fall camp, among this morning's attendees was WSU President Elson S. Floyd who came out to watch the first hour of practice. He talked with a couple fans before speaking with coach Wulff for a couple minutes at the beginning of practice.

The Cougs focused on special teams In the afternoon session, kicking field goals for an extended period of time with Andrew Furney and Tyler McNannay each connecting from 47 yards out...after a couple sessions of special teams, the Cougars held a segment that pitted the offensive lineman against the  defensive lineman in a pass rushing drill...on the east field during that time, the Cougs held their skelly drill...later in the team session, CB Damante Horton continued his solid camp, picking off his second pass of the day...with WSU freshmen arriving on campus this weekend, there were a lot more fans watching practice this afternoon...once again  head men's basketball coach Ken Bone came out to watch practice for about 30 minutes...the Cougars will have Monday off, their first off day off of fall camp, then will resume camp Tuesday with two practices, the first at 8:30 a.m. and the second at 3:30 p.m....check back tomorrow for some behind-the-scenes footage of the team during their photoshoot...GO COUGS!

Saturday's practice saw the Cougars workout in full pads for just under two hours at Rogers Field...the opening segments focused on special teams, with kickers Andrew Furney and Tyler McNannay connecting on 42 yarders...there were a couple sessions set aside with the individual position coaches...later on, the Cougs used both fields, with the west field holding the linebackers and defensive lineman against the offensive lineman, tight ends and running backs with all of the plays focused on the running game...on the east field, the quarterbacks and wide receivers went 1-on-1 against the defensive backs...once again, the final 30 minutes was a team 11-on-11 session...the defense seemed to have the upper hand for most of the session, pressuring on the quarterback a couple times and receiving some blanket coverage from the defensive backs to keep the completions to minimal gains...the No. 1 offense did put together a couple nice plays later on as Jeff Tuel found Jared Karstetter who stetched high over his head to make the catch in traffic for a nice gain...towards the end of practice, Tuel avoided a blitzing linebacker, scrambled, then connected with Gino Simone of a long touchdown pass...freshman running back Marcus Mason provided a couple nice runs during the team session, showing off some nice moves before sidestepping one defender and bursting into the secondary on two occasions...fellow running  back Carl Winston added a nice over the shoulder catch during a "skelly" drill"...a good number of fans continue to make their way out to Rogers Field to check out the Cougs during fall camp, among the observers today was WSU head basketball Ken Bone...following practice, the slip-n-slide was again set up for the players to cool down and have some fun...the Cougars will practice twice tomorrow, going at 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m... GO COUGS!

Friday marked the first two-a-day for the Cougars, working out for just under two hours in full pads in the morning then for 60 minutes in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts later in the afternoon...first a couple highlights from the morning session...during the final 11-on-11 segment, linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis smothered running back Rickey Galvin with one of the biggest hits we have seen (or heard) during camp thus far, knocking Galvin back just as he got back to the line of scrimmage...defensive back Casey Locker made a pair of nice plays during a "skelly" workout, diving to pick off a Connor Halliday pass then making a leaping pass breakup of a long attempt from Jeff Tuel to Isiah Barton.

During the afternoon session, the Cougars went through a couple segments that focused on the 2-minute drill...wideout Marquess Wilson turned in two highlight-reel catches during one drive, jumping and reaching in front of the covering DB's face to snatch a Jeff Tuel pass for a big gain, bringing some "ooo's" and "ahhh's" from the offensive players...Wilson's second impressive catch came a couple plays later when Tuel's pass was tipped by the covering DB Daniel Simmons but the deflection went straight up and Wilson was able to gather in the ball and put a foot down in the endzone for the score before falling out of bounds...later in the drill, receivers Bennett Bontemps and Gino Simone made a couple nice catches on passes from QB Marshall Lobbestael...Bontempts made a diving catch on third down, diving to his left and getting his outstretched hands underneath the ball to extend the drive...Simone's catch came on the same drive, catching a pass in traffic before taking a couple steps to the endzone for a score...the Cougs closed their final practice of the day with a session of special teams before another session of 11-on-11...Saturday's practice will be in full pads and begins at 2:30...GO COUGS!

Thursday afternoon marked the first practice in full pads for the Cougars, they worked out for 90 minutes at Rogers Field, focusing on special teams, mainly getting around blocks while covering kicks for the first couple sessions before holding a couple sessions with individual position coaches and squaring off in a 51-play scrimmage with the No. 1 offense and defense battling for the first 14 plays...Jeff Tuel opened the scrimmage with a long pass to Jared Karstetter but the No. 1 offense was held out of the end zone after driving down inside five in each of its only two series, facing the No. 1 defense both times...the first three series had at least one big completion, including a nice catch by Marquess Wilson who leaped high in traffic to bring in a pass from Tuel before coming down near the goaline but was arguably ruled short of the end zone (the person doing the ruling was Cougar defensive coordinator Chris Ball, the offense disagreed but the deciding factor was coach Wulff by calling for a field goal)...the offense put points on the board in its first three possessions, getting two field goals from Furney (28 yds, 39 yds) and a 31 yarder from freshman Tyler McNannay...a couple highlights were a long pass from Marshall Lobbestael to Kristoff Williams, two touchdown passes from Connor Halliday to Bennett Bontemps, a nice catch by Gino Simone in traffic from Halliday, a huge blow up from defensive tackle Chas Sampson who blew through the offensive line and smothered a running back just as he took the handoff, a long pass from Lobbestael to freshmen wide out Henry Eaddy who got behind the defense and caught the ball in stride and scored easily, a couple loud smacks by freshman linebacker Chester Su'a during a pair of run plays...the two plays that stood out, mainly because of the celebration by the offensive players, came when redshirt-sophomore Jared Byers (who suffered a season-ending knee injury in last season's season-opener) caught a pass, headed up the sideline, made one tackler miss then carried two more defenders a few more yards before getting pushed down, drawing a loud cheer from the offensive players and a special moment for the veteran player coming back from injury...the other play was turned in by freshman wideout Dominque Williams who out-jumped DB Tracy Clark for a Halliday pass deep down the sideline and held on for the catch as he landed on his back, the offensive players erupted and Tuel, coming off the sideline, was the first to run downfield and congratulate the youngster...most of the scrimmage focused on the younger players getting a good number of reps in full pads and at game speed...Friday will be the first of five two-a-day practices for the Cougars this fall camp, the first practice is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. and the second slated for 3:30 p.m....GO COUGS!

Wednesday afternoon, the Cougars held a two-hour practice in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts on Rogers Field...special teams was the focus for the first couple sessions, as the Cougs focused on blocking kicks and getting off blocks before they went 11-on-11 with six or seven players who each took turns returning punts...kicker Andrew Furney continued his solid first week of camp, connecting on three straight field goals from 37 yards before capping his day with a 42-yarder that had plenty of leg...the Cougar defense played with a notable amount of increased intensity throughout the day, linebackers Alex Hoffman-Ellis and C.J. Mizell played with a ton of energy, making a couple big hits during an 11-on-11 session where the offense focused on its running plays, even when they weren't in the play, the two could still be heard from the opposite field as they chirped at the offense and/or backed the defense...in the day's final 11-on-11 session, the offense opened with a long pass from Jeff Tuel to Isiah Barton for a touchdown...wide receiver Kristoff Williams later had a nice diving catch that brought some yells from the offensive players and an applause from the attending Cougar fans...a couple speedy running backs in Rickey Galvin and newcomer Marcus Mason each broke off some long runs late in the segment...a couple other quick notes, both the offensive and defensive lines were the first groups out for early work and both took turns winning the battles during 11-on-11...youngters Darryl Monroe (LB), Henry Eaddy (WR), Chester Su'a (LB), Mason, Darryl Paulo (DE) and T.J. Polai (DT) each saw a good number of reps with their respective No. 2 units...following practice, the coaching staff had a slip-n-slide set up for the Cougs ...probably 15-20 players participated with coach Wulff leading the charge during one turn down the slide...tomorrow is the first practice with full pads and Friday will be the first two-a-day of the young season...GO COUGS!

Tuesday's practice was the first of the season with helmets, shoulder pads and shorts for the Cougars...as predicted, the intensity picked up with the addition of pads as the sound of pads popping  filled Rogers Field on another warm afternoon on the Palouse...early on the Cougs went through a couple 10-minute segments that focused on special teams, working on blocking kicks, getting off blocks and around defenders while covering kicks...midway through practice, the Cougars held 11-on-11 on both fields with the 1's and 2's facing off on the west field...a couple of receivers had solid afternoons in senior Jared Karstetter and sophomore Marquess Wilson...the 6-4 Karstetter made a number of nice catches in traffic during 11-on-11 sessions as well as during a "skelly" session while Wilson showed his improved strength and quickness by getting open in the flat, catching a pass from Jeff Tuel and then juking a defender before scampering into the end zone, bringing some "oooo's" and yells from the Cougar offense...later on the east field, freshmen wideout from Orlando, Fla. Isiah Myers took a pass from David Gilbertson, side stepped a couple defenders and headed up the sideline for the score that also drew some yells from the offensive players...the Cougar defense answered the offense's big plays with a couple big hits as Tyree Toomer popped Isiah Barton on a pass over the middle and newcomer Tana Pritchard provided a couple loud smacks from his linebacker position, hitting a running back after he came out of the backfield for a pass which brought the defensive players to provide some screams...along with Pritchard, a couple other youngsters made some plays with Darryl Paulo and T.J. Polai seeing a good number of reps on the No. 2 defensive line...fellow newcomer Chester also received some reps at linebacker on the No. 2 defense...two newcomers on the offensive end in wide receiver Dominque Williams and tight end Mansell Simmons made a couple nice catches in traffic during 11-on-11...the day ended with a couple field goal attempts (with a rushing defense) as Andrew Furney had his first 42-yard attempt blocked by Paulo before he connected from 42, 35, 42 and 47...tomorrow will be another day of helmets and shoulder pads before going full pads on Thursday...GO COUGS!

Cougar football just wrapped up its second practice of the 2011 season, again working out for just over two hours in shorts and helmets on Rogers Field...the first couple sessions of practice focused on field goals and punt coverage with sophomore Andrew Furney and freshman Tyler McNannay rotating every couple attempts...redshirt senior Dan Wagner highlighted the kicking game, launching a couple booming punts that sailed over the group of returners on numerous occasions...the rest of day practice was very similar to Sunday's workout, working through a couple 10-minute segments with individual position coaches before the lineman again squared off in 1-on-1 battles while the wide receivers and defensive backs  matched up on the other field...the day ended with 11-on-11 again taking place on both fields...practicing for the second straight day in helmets, the intensity picked up a little bit in the 1-on-1 battles and during 11-on-11 so tomorrow's practice in helmets and shoulder pads should dial up the intensity a little more...the Cougs will practice in shoulder pads and shorts on Tuesday and Wednesday before going full pads for the first time on Thursday...GO COUGS!

Cougar football kicked off the 2011 season with its first practice, holding a helmets-only workout that lasted a little over two hours Sunday afternoon...the Cougs were decked out in their new practice jersey's, each with the new crimson colors and lettering... the offensive players wore crimson and the defense wore white...junior quarterback Jeff Tuel provided a couple highlights during a two-minute drill early on, connecting on five consecutive passes to lead the offense down the field for the score...Logwone Mitz, Rickey Galvin, Carl Winston and Marcus Mason each saw a good number of reps at running back with the No. 1 and No. 2 offenses throughout the day...later in the day, the 100-or-so Cougar fans in attendance, drew their attention to the 1-on-1 battles that took place between the offensive and defensive linemen...the first day ended with 11-on-11 taking place on both fields...tomorrow's practice will also be helmets-only...GO COUGS!

Although the majority of the 2011-12 men's basketball squad was on campus this summer taking classes, two that weren't were the Australians, Brock Motum and Dexter Kernich-Drew. This week's photo features the duo from 'Down Under'. This photo was taken of the two during Creation, A Polynesian Journey, a show held at the Sheraton Princess at Wakiki which the team attended while at the Diamond Head Classic in December. If you look carefully you can see Klay Thompson (next to Brock) and Will DiIorio ducking out of the photo. A native of Brisbane, Australia, Motum will be looked upon heavily during his junior season. Last season he was fifth on the team with 7.6 points per game, adding 3.0 rebounds an outing. After redshirting last season, Kernich-Drew will look to pick up some of the scoring load at the guard position.