Enough about 2017, what are the strengths and weaknesses in 2018?

[YakiCoug]

Position by position ...

QB: Hilinski going into spring ball has to be considered the projected starter. Camm Cooper and Connor Neville would seem to be the odds-on favorites at backup. Highs/lows: Hilinski has considerable experience, and his mobility could keep defenses honest. No experienced backup.
WR: Tay Martin, Jamire Calvin, Renard Bell, and Dez Patmon return, as does JC transfer Easop Winston and Travell Harris, both redshirts. With gaping holes at the outside WR positions, is there any doubt Rodrick Fisher, Drue Jackson, and Kassidy Woods will see the field? The JC transfer, Calvin Jackson, appears ready but hasn't signed. Patrick Nunn appears headed for defense, but he'd bring much needed physicality outside. Highs/lows: Martin is the best WR prospect WSU has seen since Gabe Marks. Bell and Calvin now have experience to go with their quicks. Fisher and Jackson bring real speed to the field; Patmon has size but is slow, and all the freshmen will have growing pains.
RB: James Williams, Keith Harrington, and Max Borghi are clearly the guys here, unless one believes Caleb Perry and JC walk-on Solomon Cooer are more capable. Highs/lows: Williams, Harrington, and Borghi should form a good rotation, but the depth here is shallow.
OL: Losing O'Connell and Madison is big, but it's time to see if the depth WSU has built is ready to take hold. Osur-Myers filled in very well for O'Connell when they needed him. Robert Valencia's time is now. The same goes for Cedric Bigge-Duran and Christian Haangana. Abraham Lucas nearly had his redshirt torn off this season, and the guy will probably be close to 300 pounds by August. But he's largely an unknown, as are Liam Ryan, Alec Kuzmack, Josh Watson, and Nillson Gaisoa. Fred Mauigoa and Andre Dillard return at center and left tackle. The mystery men are a pair of huge walk-ons: Seth Yost and Vaughnden Handel, who apparently did not play football in high school, but is a very athletic former basketball player. Highs/lows: Lots of numbers here but some big ones to replace. It's a good thing Hilinski and Cooper are mobile.
Kicker/punter: Be afraid. Be very afraid.
DL: If Mata'afa returns, and Lolohea and Crowder equal or exceed Ekuale and McBroom, and Nick Begg discovers pizza and the weight room, a disaster will be averted. Jesus Echevarria, a former All -State d-lineman and Seattle Times red chip selection from ArchBishop Murphy, is a 6-2, 338-pound walk-on. There appears to be talent and numbers at d-end/rush end (Oguayo, Moore, Vinyard, Hendry, a JC transfer who redshirted, Will Rodgers, Dallas Hobbs, Christian Mejia). Highs/lows: Too many unknowns here. Spring ball will provide some answers, especially if this guy, Kaifa Feaomoengalu Tapa, is back on the roster. Yes, he is still listed as a student in the WSU directory.
LB: Pelluer's return can't hurt, but there appears to be depth here we haven't seen in quite some time, particularly with the arrival of Kendrick Catis, a 6-1, 230-pound ILB from the JC ranks with great vision, strength, and acceleration. Jahad Woods, Dillon Sherman, and Justus Rogers are undersized but they gained considerable experience due to injuries in 2017. Logan Tago, Chima Onyeukwu and little-used Greg Hoyd return, as does Willie Taylor, a redshirt frosh who consistently has turned heads in practice. Dominick Silvels, Fa'avea Fa'avae, Cole Dubots, who has run the 100 meters in 10.54 seconds, all will be redshirt freshman. 2018 signee Patrick Nunn could end up at linebacker. Dymund Richardson, a JC transfer, was a late addition to the 2017 recruiting class and brings size and speed. .Highs/lows: Some good depth and added speed here.
DB: Jalen Thompson, Marcus Strong, Darrien Molton, Sean Harper, George Hicks III, Josh Talbot, Isaiah Love, Skyler Thomas, Deion Singleton, Hunter Dale, and Damien Lee all return. Barring injury, 2018 safety signee Halid Djibril isn't going to redshirt. This group needs him. I won't be surprised to see Patrick Nunn at safety. Nunn and Djibril bring much needed physicality to the safety positions. I suspect that D'Angelo McKenzie, a 2018 early signee who chose WSU over Notre Dame, will push for PT somewhere in the d-backfield. Highs/lows: WSU appears to finally have a good mix of experience, depth, and some talented youth. The downside? If the d-line sucks, everything behind it will too. We've already seen this picture, guys, so hold on to yer hats. NOTE: Mata'afa is going pro...

 

[Tx64]

Position by position ...

QB: Hilinski going into spring ball has to be considered the projected starter. Camm Cooper and Connor Neville would seem to be the odds-on favorites at backup. Highs/lows: Hilinski has considerable experience, and his mobility could keep defenses honest. No experienced backup.
WR: Tay Martin, Jamire Calvin, Renard Bell, and Dez Patmon return, as does JC transfer Easop Winston and Travell Harris, both redshirts. With gaping holes at the outside WR positions, is there any doubt Rodrick Fisher, Drue Jackson, and Kassidy Woods will see the field? The JC transfer, Calvin Jackson, appears ready but hasn't signed. Patrick Nunn appears headed for defense, but he'd bring much needed physicality outside. Highs/lows: Martin is the best WR prospect WSU has seen since Gabe Marks. Bell and Calvin now have experience to go with their quicks. Fisher and Jackson bring real speed to the field; Patmon has size but is slow, and all the freshmen will have growing pains.
RB: James Williams, Keith Harrington, and Max Borghi are clearly the guys here, unless one believes Caleb Perry and JC walk-on Solomon Cooer are more capable. Highs/lows: Williams, Harrington, and Borghi should form a good rotation, but the depth here is shallow.
OL: Losing O'Connell and Madison is big, but it's time to see if the depth WSU has built is ready to take hold. Osur-Myers filled in very well for O'Connell when they needed him. Robert Valencia's time is now. The same goes for Cedric Bigge-Duran and Christian Haangana. Abraham Lucas nearly had his redshirt torn off this season, and the guy will probably be close to 300 pounds by August. But he's largely an unknown, as are Liam Ryan, Alec Kuzmack, Josh Watson, and Nillson Gaisoa. Fred Mauigoa and Andre Dillard return at center and left tackle. The mystery men are a pair of huge walk-ons: Seth Yost and Vaughnden Handel, who apparently did not play football in high school, but is a very athletic former basketball player. Highs/lows: Lots of numbers here but some big ones to replace. It's a good thing Hilinski and Cooper are mobile.
Kicker/punter: Be afraid. Be very afraid.
DL: If Mata'afa returns, and Lolohea and Crowder equal or exceed Ekuale and McBroom, and Nick Begg discovers pizza and the weight room, a disaster will be averted. Jesus Echevarria, a former All -State d-lineman and Seattle Times red chip selection from ArchBishop Murphy, is a 6-2, 338-pound walk-on. There appears to be talent and numbers at d-end/rush end (Oguayo, Moore, Vinyard, Hendry, a JC transfer who redshirted, Will Rodgers, Dallas Hobbs, Christian Mejia). Highs/lows: Too many unknowns here. Spring ball will provide some answers, especially if this guy, Kaifa Feaomoengalu Tapa, is back on the roster. Yes, he is still listed as a student in the WSU directory.
LB: Pelluer's return can't hurt, but there appears to be depth here we haven't seen in quite some time. Jahad Woods, Dillon Sherman, and Justus Rogers are undersized but they gained considerable experience due to injuries in 2017. Logan Tago, Chima Onyeukwu and little-used Greg Hoyd return, as does Willie Taylor, a redshirt frosh who consistently has turned heads in practice. Dominick Silvels, Fa'avea Fa'avae, Cole Dubots, who has run the 100 meters in 10.54 seconds, all will be redshirt freshman. 2018 signee Patrick Nunn could end up at linebacker. Dymund Richardson, a JC transfer, was a late addition to the 2017 recruiting class. .Highs/lows: Some good depth and added speed here.
DB: Jalen Thompson, Marcus Strong, Darrien Molton, Sean Harper, George Hicks III, Josh Talbot, Isaiah Love, Skyler Thomas, Deion Singleton, Hunter Dale, and Damien Lee all return. Barring injury, 2018 safety signee Halid Djibril isn't going to redshirt. This group needs him. I won't be surprised to see Patrick Nunn at safety. Nunn and Djibril bring much needed physicality to the safety positions. I suspect that D'Angelo McKenzie, a 2018 early signee who chose WSU over Notre Dame, will push for PT somewhere in the d-backfield. Highs/lows: WSU appears to finally have a good mix of experience, depth, and some talented youth. The downside? If the d-line sucks, everything behind it will too. We've already seen this picture, guys, so hold on to yer hats.

Brandon Gray WR from Detroit is 6' 5" brings height as well. He may be a little light to play next year. He looks great though.

 

[kougkurt]

Caleb Perry. The speedster from little Kings HS. I wonder how he performed in TNF

 

[SaveFerris]

Caleb Perry. The speedster from little Kings HS. I wonder how he performed in TNF

Believe he was injured all year but hopefully gets the spring.

 

[froropmkr72]

Believe he was injured all year but hopefully gets the spring.

Tapa still in school. That's interesting. Dubots might be 208 or so by fall ball.

 

[kayak15]

Tapa still in school. That's interesting. Dubots might be 208 or so by fall ball.

If Tapa could return to good graces academically then that would be huge. No pun intended.

 

[YakiCoug]

Brandon Gray WR from Detroit is 6' 5" brings height as well. He may be a little light to play next year. He looks great though.

Gray does look good in his clips, so I wouldn't rule him out.

 

[ElComanche]

Good run down on the positions. I truly believe that the team will be better next year. However,Hercules has to come back for the defense to be better. The young linemen and linebackers will be bigger and stronger next year. The two jucos Gatis LB, and Pono Lolohea DL will help tremendously next year. I truly welcome a new Qb whoever that will be. There will no longer be an indecisive statue back there.The offense will improve greatly just because the offense will not be so predictable. Perhaps the new contract will roust leach out of his fugue like state.

 

[kayak15]

Pretty good and reasonable analysis, Yaki. I am not worried by any lack of depth with the running backs. Three capable ones is more than enough. Our questionable areas are on the lines. Can they insert three new ones to replace the departures on the O-line and can they find some beef for the middle of our D-line? If so, we're good. If not,.......?

 

[cr8zyncalif]

The only piece of the pie relying primarily on "if's, ands and buts" is the DL. If that shakes out OK, then we are fine. If not, then it is a 7, maybe 8 win season.

 

[YakiCoug]

The only piece of the pie relying primarily on "if's, ands and buts" is the DL. If that shakes out OK, then we are fine. If not, then it is a 7, maybe 8 win season.

With Hercules' announcement that he's going pro, you better hope Ahmir Crowder's explosiveness is as good as Manning, Gesser, and others say it is.

 

[COUGinNCW]

The OL is a big question mark to me as well. Replacing 3 starters including an All-American and a tackle that has a good chance of making an NFL roster will be no small feat.

 

[Cougston]

As this bowl season for the P12 has shown, the lines are pretty doggone important! Not only are we replacing a bunch of people on the line, we need some nasty people on the line. Speed is important, but we have to be tougher. The secondary needs to get better, statistically I don't think they were bad, but still felt like they were way out position too may times. The offense, well I don't know, it was just not in synch at all this year. If the opposing defenses are going to rush 3 and drop 8 you better be able to run the ball with success. No reason not to get 4 or 5 yards a pop in that situation and wear your opponent down. Do that enough and they will have to come up and respect the run and then you open up your passing lanes down field. But I feel like I'm probably beating a dead horse on that issue.

 

[kayak15]

You're not beating a dead horse as I see it, Cougston. The issue is alive and still wiggling. The offense had its problems this year in large part due to a lack of a running game. Captain Obvious here. But why the failure to run? I see the 2017 season as similar to Leach's first two years. We didn't run, not because we did not want to, but because we did not have the O-line to do so. Salmonson struggled and Mauigoa apparently did not have the strength to deal with nose tackles effectively. We have no tight end to help Madison so that area is out. There are now two choices for consistent gains by running. Behind Dillard and O'Connell or around the edge. If we choose to run outside we might as well use quick passes to the RBs. If I were the DC looking at this I would have my guys shut down the Dillard-O'Connell area and watch for the quick screens. Cougs running through the right side of the line is a gamble and will fail more times than it succeeds. With the limitations the Cougs are dependent almost 100% on passing. Rush three and double team the receivers and that will have problems too. This is probably too simplistic but I feel that in general explains our weakened offense last year.

So what do we do about it? Captain Obvious again. Assemble an O-line that does not have these failings. Replace Cody, Salmonson and Madison with a trio who will enable us to effectively run the ball. We should get some idea as to how well this is accomplished in Spring camp and Summer camp. The O-line depth is light years above what CML and staff had to deal with in their initial campaigns. It is possible that next year's O-line will be more effective despite losing O'Connell and Madison and will lead to a better ground game. We shall see and hope that this is the case. Maybe we can finally put that lame horse out of its misery.