The
Cougars practiced for just over two hours in helmets and shoulder pads on
Rogers Field Thursday. The rain held off until the final 20 minutes of practice
when it really started to come down, making the post-practice media session a
little fun.
Coach
Mike Leach and the coaching staff continued to put the team through another up-tempo
practice that saw all players received a good number of reps. There were a
couple solid hits but nothing that stood out. Just as the defense won during
most of Tuesday's practice, the offense settled in and turned in most of the highlights.
Early
in the team session, the final segment of practice, Jeff Tuel connected with
Dominique Williams for a score. While that play was happening, Max Hersey caught
a long pass on the opposite field for a score. A couple plays later, Henry
Eaddy also got behind the defense for a long touchdown catch. Tuel finished
practice very well, spreading the ball to nearly every receiver from sideline
to sideline, hitting Blair Bomber in stride for a score before finding Bobby
Ratliff in traffic for another score. Marcus Mason capped his day with a long
scoring run, sprinting past a couple defenders before they could get a hand on
him.
The
defense started the team session well with Deone Bucannon corralling a tipped
pass for the INT. Damante Horton later made a great play, jumping a route to
make the pick and keep his feet inbounds on the play. Tyree Toomer made the hit
of the day, "de-cleating" Hersey as he came across the middle.There wasn't anything dirty about the play,
Toomer made a great read on the ball and collided with Hersey as he came across
for the catch, which he held on to and even flipped the ball back at Toomer
after he got back up.Nice play by the
freshman tight end who redshirted this past season.
WSU
will practice Saturday at 10:10 a.m. The first hour or so is expected to be a
practice before the team will head down to Martin Stadium for a scrimmage.
GO
COUGS!
Check
out the post-practice interviews with Coach Leach and Jeff Tuel by visiting
INSIDE COUGAR FOOTBALL
The Cougars worked out in shoulder pads for the
first time this spring, practicing for just over two hours on Rogers
Field Tuesday afternoon.
With
the addition of shoulder pads, there was a lot more energy throughout the field
today. Loud smacks could be heard from all over the field. The biggest smacks
came during a couple drills that occurred at the same time on two different
fields. The first couple and the loudest of the day came from linebacker Darryl
Monroe during a running game drill that featured the offensive line and running
back against the defensive line and linebackers. Just like what he did last
spring and fall, the young backer quickly stepped up to fill a running lane and
either blow up the pulling lineman or the running back.
On
the offensive field, there was 7-vs.-7 taking place and the biggest "pops" came
from a familiar name on the defensive side in safety Deone Bucannon. The junior
to be squared up a couple receivers coming over the middle on a few occasions,
bringing some yells from his defensive teammates. The defense turned in one of
its better days as a whole, popping a lot and even getting "pick-6" from
linebacker Cory Laufasa who has moved to the defensive side of the ball after
spending the past two seasons at fullback.
The
offense saw wideouts Bobby Ratliff and Andrei Lintz each turn in another good
practice. Both are catching everything in sight. Not to be overlooked but
Marquess Wilson and Kristoff Williams each had catches that went for scores.
The
Cougars will keep the pads on for Thursday's practice at 3:10 p.m.
GO
COUGS!
Check
out the post-practice interviews with Coach Leach and Andrei Lintz by clicking
HERE to visit INSIDE COUGAR FOOTBALL
The Cougars hosted the Pittsburg Panthers in the first game of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) presented by Zebra Pen tonight. The game was the first in a best-of-three series for the CBI title. The start of the game was controlled by Pitt as they jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, but WSU fought back to within one with 15:23 left in the half. With 14:46, Abe Lodwick hit a three that spurred a 10-2 run and gave the Cougs a 17-12 lead. However, the Panthers responded with a run of their own, giving themselves a 25-17 lead before coach Bone would call a timeout with 9:30 left in the half. The Cougars shot an impressive .632 (12-for-19) from the field in the first half and were able to keep pace with the Panthers. At the half, the score was 35-38 in favor of the Panthers. The Cougs returned from the locker room on a 10-4 run to give them a 45-42 lead with 16:09 left to play. The run forced a Pitt timeout to prevent a further run from WSU. The teams exchanged baskets for the next seven minutes, but a 3-pointer by Patrick Simon with 9:32 left pushed WSU's lead to eight. The shot spurred a 7-0 Coug run that put them up 60-48 with eight minutes left to play. The Panthers returned the favor with a 12-2 run to close the gap to three. The Cougars maintained their small lead, but were unable to extend it to more than six for the remainder of the game. With 2:08 left to play, Lodwick drained a three, giving them their first field goal in over six minutes. WSU continued to drain the clock, while converting on the offensive end as Reggie Moore knocked down a jumper with 1:09 left to build WSU's lead to five. However, the Panthers wouldn't go quietly, going in for a layup, while being fouled on the shot for a three-point play. With 18.6 seconds left, WSU lead by two, 67-65, and Pitt had the ball at midcourt. The Panthers controlled the ball until they attempted a shot with five seconds left, but the shot wouldn't fall. However, Pittsburg nabbed the offensive board and went back up for the shot, drawing a foul. Pittsburg's Talib Zanna knocked down the first free throw, but the second fell short and Abe Lodwick secured the rebound before being fouled. Lodwick stepped up for one-and-one at WSU's end, but failed to convert the shot allowing Pitt a rebound and a quick timeout with 3.5 to play. The Cougars then called a second-consecutive timeout directly after Pittsburg's. When play resumed, a Pitt player threw a half court lob to Tray Woodall who drove to the paint, hoping for an easy two points and one-point lead to end the game. Sophomore D.J. Shelton wasn't about to let the Cougs' lead slip away and he swatted the attempted layin right back to the floor. Beasley erupted, but Pitt regained possession after the block bounced out of bounds. With 0.8 seconds on the clock and facing a one-point deficit, Pitt made one last attempt for the win, but a deep jumper from the corner fell short and WSU held on to win its final home game of the season at Beasley Coliseum, 67-66.
Player of the Game: Abe Lodwick. The senior's final home game at Beasley Coliseum ended on a high note. Lodwick went 6-of-12 from the floor including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. He scored a team-high 16 points and added a team-high seven rebounds. The senior only turned the ball over once in his 31 minutes of play. Additionally, Lodwick is averaging 16.3 points per game in WSU's four CBI games. Congratulations to all the seniors in their final home game!
Play of the Game: Shelton's swat to seal the game. Pittsburg's Tray Woodall drove into the lane with one second left, hoping to give the Panthers a buzzer-beating victory, but the flash of hope died just as quickly as it had come. All six feet 10 inches of D.J. Shelton slid into the lane as Shelton elevated to smack the ball into the stands. The play sent the Beasley crowd into a roar, followed by a boisterous "You got swatted" chant that led into the ensuing timeout.
Turning Point: The final buzzer. While this game contained a number of runs by both teams, neither team could fully walk away with the game. With only four seconds left the Cougs grasped to a one-point lead. With some exceptional defensive efforts, the Cougs finally obtained a well-deserved victory.
Stat of the Game: 3-point shooting percentage. The Cougars shot a season high .600 (9-of-15) from beyond the arc. Abe Lodwick led the team, going 4-of-5 on the night. Lodwick now holds the record for 3-point percentage in a single season at .495 (47-of-95).
The Cougars are now 19-16 overall and will travel to Pittsburg, Pa. for the second game of the Championship. Should Pittsburg win, it would force a third game in the series. Game Two will take place at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) Wednesday night. The potential third game would be played Friday at 7 p.m. ET. Wednesday night's game can be seen on HDNet.
The
Cougars practiced at Rogers Field in helmets and shorts for two and a half
hours Saturday. Head Coach Mike Leach and his coaching staff continued to work
the Cougs through a fast-paced up-tempo practice.
There
were a number of individual segments that allowed each position coach to teach
the new terminology. There were segments that focused on on-on-one matchups
between the receivers and defensive backs and later went 7-vs.-7 while the
linemen squared off in the opposite end of the complex.
There
were a couple extra minutes put into special teams today, with the focus on
punt and kickoff coverage. New kicker Michael Bowlin punted the ball very well
in his first outing as a Coug to impress the attending fans and media members.
Special Teams coordinator Eric Russell also put the team through some kickoff
coverage drills.
Once
again, the highlight of the practice was the team segment held at the end of
the day. Both sides of the ball turned a couple nice plays as Tyree Toomer and
Chester Su'a each picked off passes. Su'a's INT came towards the end of
practice as he jumped an inside route to make the pick from his left outside
linebacker position. On the offensive side of the ball, Blair Bomber had a
number of catches in space and broke off some big runs. Towards the end of the
day, Jeff Tuel connected with Marquess Wilson over the middle for a long score.
Wilson, along with newcomer Hawaii transfer Drew Loftus made a couple nice
catches throughout the day.
Coach
Leach was very happy with the second day of practice. He said he implemented
another third of the offense today and is looking forward to putting pads on
next week.
The
Cougars are expected to put on shoulder pads for their next practice, Tuesday
at 3:10 p.m. at Rogers Field.
Check
out the post-practice interviews with coach Leach and Travis Long
by clicking HERE to visit INSIDE COUGAR FOOTBALL
Mike Leach talks with Marquess Wilson at practice. (Courtesy of Jason Krump)
PULLMAN, Wash - Washington State University
held its first spring practice under new head coach Mike Leach at Rogers Field Thursday
afternoon.
The
Cougars worked out in helmets and shorts on a warm sunny afternoon as Leach and
his new coaching staff had the team go through a number of drills throughout the
day.
Quarterbacks
Jeff Tuel and Connor Halliday split a majority of the reps on offense with both
players completing a number of passes including a couple long throws to Marquess
Wilson, Kristoff Williams and Brett McDonald. The Cougar offense worked through
a couple different passing drills that matched the receivers against the defensive
backs while the defense worked against the offense on the opposite field. Players
from both sides rotated between both fields so there wasn't a true "scout team"
on either field.
The
final 30 minutes pitted the offense, led by Tuel and Halliday, against the
defense that continued to shuffle players in and out throughout the day's final
segment. Wilson, Bobby Ratliff, Kristoff Williams and Dominique Williams each caught long touchdowns while McDonald,
who walked on last season and earned WSU Scout Team Offensive Player of the Year
honors, made a couple tough catches in traffic to bring some cheers from the coaching
staff and offensive players.
The
defense saw Tyree Toomer and Deone Bucannon each intercept passes but the play
of the day came at the end of the team session in the endzone as Eric Oertel,
playing as an outside linebacker, leaped high in the air to pick off a Halliday
pass. The highlight brought some loud yells from the defensive coaches and
players and even saw outside receivers coach Dennis Simmons come over to high
five Oertel after the play.
Leach
spoke with the team for a few minutes after practice before selecting Oertel as
the player to break the team down after the first spring's first practice.
The
Cougars will practice in helmets and shorts 10:10 a.m. Saturday at Rogers
Field.
The Washington State Cougars hosted the University of Wyoming Cowboys in a quarterfinal matchup of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) presented by Zebra Pen this evening at Beasley Coliseum. WSU returned to the Palouse after defeating the University of San Francisco in San Francisco in the opening round of the invitational. The game was highly physical and defensive and both teams struggled to score throughout the game. A 10-2 run by the Cougs in the middle of the first half put WSU up by seven with 7:02 left to play in the half. As the half came to a close, the Cougs extended their lead to as many as 10 and maintained a 26-21 advantage heading into halftime. Returning for the second half, WSU and Wyoming continued to trade buckets, but the Cougs continued to pull away and had an 11-point lead with 16:13 left to play. At the 11:45 mark, Mike Ladd sunk a free throw, spurring a 6-0 run by WSU that gave the Cougs a 15-point lead with 9:43 left to play. As the game continued and the game intensified, the two teams became more physical. With 4:49 left to play and the Cougars up 47-37, Wyoming's Larry Nance, Jr. committed a technical foul, ripping Brock Motum away from a rebound as the two went for the ball. Following the technical foul, Nance, Jr. received a second technical foul for verbal misconduct, ejecting him from the game and giving the Cougs four free throws in addition to a pair of shots for the original personal foul. The technicals spurred a second 6-0 run by the Cougs that put them up by 17 with 3:28 left in the game. The Cougs never looked back, extending their lead to 20 and closing the game on a 7-0 run, cruising to a 61-41 victory in the CBI quarterfinals.
Player of the Game: Abe Lodwick. The two stand-out performers for WSU this evening were Brock Motum and Abe Lodwick. Lodwick earns tonight's Player of the Game despite Motum posting 25 points. Lodwick earns the award for his efficient shooting and hustle. He scored a career-high 16 points, going 4-for-7 from behind the arc and 6-of-9 from the field. In addition, Lodwick pulled in seven rebounds and dished out four assists, one shy of his career high.
Play of the Game: Capers's posterizing jam and the foul. Tonight's Play of the Game came with 10:42 left to play in the first half. WSU's DaVonte'Lacy poked the ball free from a Wyoming guard and tossed the ball up to Marcus Capers who was on a fast break. Two Wyoming defenders stood between Capers and the hoop and rather than slowing down or driving around them, Capers went up and over the pair, drawing a foul as he slammed it home. Despite missing the free throw following the play, the dunk spurred a 10-2 run and put the Cougs up by seven with seven minutes left in the first half.
Turning Point: Double technical foul on Wyoming. This game was a physical, defensive battle the whole time. As the clock was ticking away, the game became more intense and the game got more physical. This all culminated in back-to-back technical fouls on Wyoming's Larry Nance, Jr. with 4:49 left to play in the game. Nance, Jr. received a personal foul during a scramble for a rebound. Nance, Jr. disagreed with the call and began arguing with the referee. This drew a technical foul, sending Nance, Jr. further into a discussion with the official, leading to a second technical foul, ejecting him from the game. The fouls and resulting free throw spurred a 6-0 run by WSU and put Wyoming down 17 with 3:28 left to play. The Cougs closed the game on a 7-0 run and posted a 61-41 victory over the Cowboys.
Stat of the Game: Second chance points. Throughout the game the Cougs managed to outrebound Wyoming 36-23. This led to a number of extra opportunities and 12 second chance points compared to only two put-back points for the Cowboys.
The Cougars are now 17-16 overall and will travel to Corvallis, Ore. to face the Oregon State Beavers Wednesday at 7 p.m. This marks the fourth time this season the Beavers and Cougars will meet and Wednesday night's game can be seen on HDNet. The matchup is one of two semifinals in the CBI and the winner will play Butler or Pittsburg in a best-of-three championship series to conclude the CBI.
Below is an image taken at the stroke of midnight today from The Cougar Football Project live webcam. In a wide-ranging interview, Director of Athletics Bill Moos discusses The Cougar Football Project, the two-year anniversary of his hiring at WSU; the increase of donors to the Cougar Athletic Fund and the Night With Cougar Football events; and the rebranding of Beasley Coliseum and last week's Camp Out at Beasley.
Listen to the "Cougar Calls With Bill Moos" show, coaches' news conferences, and interviews with coaches, student-athletes, and more at the WSUCougars.com Podcast Network Page HERE
