SB Nation - Kevin Norrell

A great take on Norrell

Nuss — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:19:30 -0000

I tire of some of Cougfan's stuff sometimes because of the rah-rah nature of a lot of it -- Are you a news site or a booster site? Make up your mind! -- but this piece by Barry Bolton on Kevin Norrell's dismissal is exceptional and worth a read. It's the kind of piece you should pass on to those who aren't WSU fans and are wondering just what they heck is going on in Pullman.

My favorite passage:

Norrell has been in Pullman more than a year now, and he's his own man. And he has a choice to make now.

He can grow up, stick his nose in the books, earn back the trust of his teammates and coaches and go on to greater heights. Or he can play the victim, put on the martyr's hat and leave, loudly beating a path out of town, as some former Cougars have under Wulff after their actions lost them the privilege of playing for and at Washington State.

If it's the former, no one will root for him harder than me; most everyone needs a second chance at some point in their life and this could be, when he looks back, the major positive turning point in his life. If it's the latter, that's a shame. Not for Wazzu. For Kevin Norrell.

I could not agree more. Well done, Cougfan.

Norrell done for the year

Nuss — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:03:25 -0000

Updated 10:13 p.m.

Well, that didn't take long. Paul Wulff announced on his radio show tonight that the team unity council has decided to suspend wide receiver Kevin Norrell after his run-in with the law over Labor Day weekend.

Here's the skinny from Grippi:

After talking with some players, it’s obvious Norrell’s actions – missing a game because he was sick, then instead of being home recuperating and getting well for Hawaii, being out at 3 a.m. – has caused a lot of friction with his teammates – no matter what he was doing. The time of the incident alone is hard for his teammates to get over.

Norrell had put in the work over the offseason, was doing things on the field he had not been capable of doing last year and was expected to be a big contributor this season. That’s another reason his teammates feel betrayed, and makes it tough for them to understand.

It sounds as if the door has been left open for Norrell to make amends and rejoin the team, and he does have a redshirt available after playing last year as a true freshman.

It might seem like a double standard with all the things Xavier Hicks and others have done, and it also might seem odd that a final decision was made before the legal system ran its course. After all, he's only been charged. But the key here is trust. This team has been preaching trust and accountability ever since last season ended, and this was a pretty big breach of it. That seems to be Norrell's biggest sin in all of this.

And, oh by the way: Grippi's post also includes a practice report. Well worth the read.

EDIT 10:13 p.m.: There's one more paragraph worth noting in this story by Grippi, which apparently is first running on The Seattle Times site:

The decision means Norrell, who played in 13 games and caught 11 passes as a true freshman, will not be allowed to practice or play this season. The situation will be re-evaluated at the end of the semester, according to a WSU spokesman.

Final scrimmage recap

Grady. — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 04:02:34 -0000

Martin Stadium, with the team running sprints after the scrimmage

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EDIT #2 (9/1) - Sooo.... after talking it over with WSU's media relation folks, I decided to take the video down for good. There's no set-in-stone rule on this sort of thing, but because the shots are wide-angle, they could potentially give opponents unnecessary insights to formations and such. Now, the reality is that I don't think anything from practice was particularly new or unusual with respect to Wulff's schemes, but we'd rather not take the chance of ticking off the coaching staff of the team we root for. So - no video. Don't worry; you're not missing anything Earth shattering.

EDIT (8/30): I'm taking down the video until we get official word/OK from WSU, because we really should have asked them in the first place -Grady

It's difficult to get excited about a team with low expectations. After all, WSU is expected to finish at the bottom of the Pac-10 conference. The Cougs are coming off a historically rough 2-11 season - one without much hope or a major talent influx to look forward to.

Still, all it takes sometimes is an exceptional performance by an individual to get a fan excited about their team again.

Meet Gino Simone.

Can I get a do-over on my wide receiver preview? My hope for a Simone redshirt was completely misplaced. Gino is a phenomenal wide receiver, and he can help the team immensely. Right now. Despite the lack of height (he's 5'11"), Simone runs routes like a pro and has the hands to match. He caught the longest pass of the evening, which was the first play from scrimmage - 41 yards from the arm of QB Kevin Lopina. He ran a gorgeous crossing route for another catch, one of four total on the day. He caught the scrimmage's only passing touchdown, a 7 yard reception. He would have had the game's only 2-point conversion completion had a flag not snuffed it out.

Jeshua Anderson didn't play and still needs to rest up for the opener, but never fear. Pac-10 play will tell us if it's for real, but today, Gino Simone played like a number one receiver. I'm excited.

Now, let's break down the rest of the scrimmage by the winners and losers.

Winners

Kevin Lopina

Wulff has been taking the stance all position races are even. Still, when it comes to quarterback, Lopina is the favorite, and he did little to prove otherwise Friday. Kevin looked at home in the offense, staying accurate (9 for 11) and comfortable throughout the scrimmage. He utilized the speed of his receivers, Simone included, and was able to move the ball despite a tough day for the running game. He was a little fortunate; Jared Karstetter made a spectacular adjustment to an underthrown ball for a long completion early on. Lopina also gave up 10 to 15 easy rushing yards on a rollout in favor of throwing to a fully-covered receiver. It almost cost him an interception. Still, Lopina was accurate enough to keep his place atop the currently invisible quarterback depth chart.

Reid Forrest/The Kicking Game

It's painful for me to say it, but our best shot at a first-team all Pac-10 selection this year may just be our punter. Once again, Forrest looked phenomenal, averaging around 50 yards per punt and downing two kicks inside the ten yard line. The first of those was a beautiful ball that touched down at the ten and bounced laterally to safety. The second, well, the second was just insane. 62 yards. Too bad our return man has a case of the dropsies.

Nico Grasu also looked like his usual clutch self, hitting 2 PATs and a 31-yard field goal.

Wide Receivers

Aside from Simone, the rest of the receiving corps also had a banner day. I mentioned Karstetter's 37-yard catch, and Kevin Norrell also looked comparable at times to a former Cougar #4 (Brandon Gibson). Randy Johnson (no, not that one) caught a couple balls as well. Some of it was the quarterback play; a lot of it was the receivers getting good separation off the line and hauling the ball in when it came their way.

Defensive Line

Another potentially sketchy unit for 2009 showed glimmers of hope in the scrimmage. There was really no running game for the crimson or white teams (although we'll talk about the RB situation later), and pressure was applied to the quarterback fairly consistently. Travis Long and Kevin Kooyman each recorded a sack, and with the Lobbestael offense backed up against the goal line they almost earned a safety (the refs - yes, there were refs - got a little generous there). This was the kind of performance that gives us hope we won't be run over yet again in 2009.

Linebackers

Andy Mattingly looked like his old freshman self again, with a mammoth hit and good pursuit of the ball. The other linebackers did well aiding in run protection and swarming to the ball carrier. Pass defense was a little rough at times, but with the quarterbacks and receivers on it would've been difficult for them to stop it.

Xavier Hicks

Came off the end untouched to block a Dan Wagner punt attempt. It was an exciting play, but extremely scary to witness our special teams melting down like that just before the regular season.

---

Losers

Marshall Lobbestael

How can someone who played well have a bad day? When he didn't play well enough to clearly snatch the starter's job away from Kevin Lopina. Ocho Rojo was solid throughout and threw strikes to his wide receivers. However, he did sail the ball over a couple receivers' heads and struggled a little on his sideline routes. When it came to throwing it down the middle, however, Lobbestael was dead on.

If only we could put Lobbestael's arm on Lopina's body, with Alex Brink's brain. Then we'd have something special.

Running Backs

This is a little misleading. While there was virtually no run game for the Cougars in the scrimmage today, the Big Three (Tardy, Montgomery, MItz) were all sidelined. So don't read too much into it. Arthur Burns, Carl Winston and Leon Brooks ran for a total of 26 yards. Not great. Winston did score the other of the scrimmage's two touchdowns, following that Hicks blocked punt.

Offensive Line

If the D-Line looked good, it only makes sense that they made the O-Line look overwhelmed. And so they did. Pass protection was decent, but the number of "sacks" (remember, no tackling of the QB) were a little too high for comfort. Also, the lack of rushing support in clear rushing situations around the goal line was a little disheartening. Still, with the key running backs out, the O-line provided enough protection for the quarterbacks to move the ball downfield. A couple rough QB-center exchanges are cause for concern - fortunately it's still just practice.

The Return Game

There really wasn't much to get excited about in the punt/kick return game, save for one decent punt return after Forrest had to kick it out of his own endzone. The kick returns should have/could have been better considering that most of the kickoffs were line drives - something that could cause us some trouble in the regular season. Still, I feel there was enough experimenting by the coaches going on in special teams that the right group of blockers may not have emerged yet.

Defensive Backs

No interceptions and a lot of accuracy from the quarterbacks do not bode well for the corners and safeties. They covered the deep ball fairly well, but were sometimes a little too tight with their men and risking pass interference. They had all sorts of trouble tracking Gino Simone and the other wideouts, and with the run game under wraps it would've been nice to see an interception or two. I did love Hicks' blocked punt, however.

Dan Wagner

I have to be careful here, as I don't like to be mean to 18-23 year old players doing the best they can (and a heck of a lot better than I could). So, allow me to say the one positive thing about Wagner's day: he didn't throw an interception. However, he did misfire on a wide open receiver down the field that would have easily been a touchdown. He also had that punt blocked, but that was hardly his fault.

Jeff Tuel didn't make an appearance; I am still very afraid of injuries forcing us to burn his redshirt.

Overall, a solid scrimmage and a good performance by the Cougs on both sides of the ball. I'll leave you with the only huddle from the scrimmage, at the end:

UNIT PREVIEW: Wide Receivers

Grady. — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:14:24 -0000

With any luck, Jeshua Anderson will make the transition from jumping hurdles to hurdling defensive backs in 2009

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Unit Overview

Wide receiver: the position of pride for Cougar Football for the better part of this decade. We've seen Jason Hill catch his way into the WSU record books and the NFL. Michael Bumpus was an electric receiver and return man. Brandon Gibson was a bright spot in Doba's final year, hauling in a wide open Apple Cup-winning TD. Devard Darling, Nakoa McElrath... the list of notable wideouts in crimson and gray over the past several years is extensive. Even your not-so-big-names like Scott Lunde and Trandon Harvey had their moments of glory (bubble screens still count).

That all changed for the Cougar receiving corps in 2008, which, like every other unit on the WSU football team, had a down year. Even with the most talented player on offense being a receiver (Gibson), the Cougars ranked 114th nationally in yards per pass attempt with 5.3. Some of that fault lies with the quarterback position (and all the injuries it suffered), but some of it does not. Wazzu only hauled in six passing touchdowns all season. For comparison's sake, Jason Hill averaged 12.5 touchdowns during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Oh yeah, and the Cougars also had a total of 13 games last season to post that meager number.

Now, it's 2009, and Brandon Gibson is gone. The best remaining receiver is Jeshua Anderson, more of a track star than football star (not that there's anything wrong with that), and the rest of the crew is young. Really young. Fortunately, there are glimmers of hope all over the practice field this fall. Grippi reported an exceptional 62 straight receptions without a drop during a drill last week. Two of the CougCenter Elite Eight, our favorite prospects from the incoming recruiting class, were wide receivers: Gino Simone, and Johnny Forzani. The 5'11" Simone is already receiving high praise in practice for his abilities, as is the unofficial "pleasant surprise" award winner Kevin Norrell. Jared Karstetter, the talented kid out of Spokane, is looking good after making last year's catch of the year in the Apple Cup. You know which one I'm talking about.

As for tight end, Devin Frischknect is gone, but Tony Thompson appears poised for a breakout Senior year. Hopefully the whole group of TE's is prepared to block; Lopina/Lobbestael/etc. may need the extra protection. And if all else fails: we go to Skylar Stormo - because with a name like Stormo, he has to be some kind of a super hero.

Plus, you can bet all the wideouts have hit the weight room hard in the offseason, as we all know what the real secret to building muscle is.

Depth Chart

X 85 ** [11] Jeshua Anderson (6-2, 188, Jr.)
2 * [4] Daniel Blackledge (6-1, 182, Jr.)
80 [dnp] Johnny Forzani (6-1, 195, #Jr.)

F 4 * [6] Kevin Norrell (5-9, 199, So.)
12 [dnp] Jeffrey Solomon (6-0, 196, #Jr.)
81 * [0] Easton Johnson (5-11, 202, #Jr.)

TE 14 ** [1] Tony Thompson (6-2, 241, #Sr.)
83 [dnp] Zach Tatman (6-5, 245, #Sr.)
40 [dnp] Skylar Stormo (6-4, 253, #Fr.)
87 [dnp] Andrei Lintz (6-5, 251, #Fr.)
41 * [0] Aaron Gehring (6-5, 249, #Jr.)

Z 84 * [3] Jared Karstetter (6-4, 203, So.)
12 [dnp] Jeffrey Solomon (6-0, 196, #Jr.)
37 [dnp] Randy Johnson (6-5, 222, #Jr.)
42 [0] Andrew Kreutz (5-11, 208, #Jr.)

Key Player

Jeshua Anderson, of course. Ocho Speedo has done a lot for the Cougars in his first two years at WSU, as a lightning-fast option behind Brandon Gibson. Now, he has to adjust to being the guy, the number one option for the Cougars at wide receiver. Can he take pressure off his young and inexperienced teammates? Can he handle the physical pressure of the opponent's number one defensive back? Do we have a quarterback capable of hitting him with the deep ball in stride? All these question marks make for added pressure on Anderson. And as we've mentioned earlier, this could be Jeshua's final season in crimson, as he follows his dream of becoming a professional track and field star.

Biggest Question Mark

Health. While Blackledge made a triumphant return to practice last week, Anderson, Forzani and Jeffrey Solomon are all nursing injuries. However, all are expected to be available for the starter against Stanford on September 5th. Still - can the wideouts stay healthy all year? If Anderson or another key receiver goes down, who picks up the slack? There are a lot of candidates, and depth has certainly improved from 2008, but all the backups are largely new or untested.

Best Case

Opponents are mesmerized by Anderson's blazing fast speed, allowing Karstetter, Blackledge and Norrell to be effective number 2 and 3 options. The Cougar passing game comes alive and manages a more respectable 7.5 yards per passing attempt. They even score quite a few touchdowns along the way. The crew as a whole stays healthy, and ~~one or both of Forzani and~~ Simone gets to comfortably redshirt. Jeffrey Solomon and Randy Johnson (no, not that one) provide some added depth.

Worst Case

Jeshua gets hurt, or is just plain ineffective, leaving the Cougars without a reliable #1 target. The rest of the crew is average at best, and the receiving corps struggles every bit as much as last year. Tony Thompson doesn't have that breakout year we're expecting/hoping for, and the TE's fail in both the catching game and the blocking game.

Likely Case

Jeshua is a mildly effective, speedy lead receiver. Fortunately Blackledge, Norrell and Karstetter pick up some of the slack, and the result is a balanced if not exceptional pass attack. Forzani ~~has to burn his redshirt~~ doesn't have the opportunity to redshirt anyway, but adds some depth. Thompson is a great bonus option for us at Tight End, and even does some good blocking for the revamped Cougar running game. While the Cougars don't dominate everyone with their passing, they make some plays and a marked improvement from last year. WSU manages about 6.5 yards per pass attempt and finds the endzone 15 times - just getting beyond Jason Hill territory.

Poll

Poll time. Who's your favorite of the non-Jeshua receivers?

Norrell

12 votes

Blackledge

20 votes

Karstetter

73 votes

Forzani

17 votes

Solomon

1 votes

Other

23 votes

146 votes | Poll has closed