SB Nation - Joe Eppele

Hoping for good football news already? You're outta luck!

Nuss — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:06:57 -0000

EDIT, 7:37 p.m. - Jones arrest
EDIT, 9:29 p.m. - Grippi confirms all but the Jones arrest

I think we all were hoping that we could put the 2009 football season in the rearview mirror as quickly as possible and start focusing on why 2010 has the potential to be better.

Well, the news coming out of Pullman today isn't exactly inspiring confidence at this point. Cougfan.com is reporting three different pieces of news which don't bode well for the future of the program. All are premium content, which I don't have access to, so I'll pass along details when Grippi's report hits SportsLink, but suffice to say that the headlines tell the story.

Safety Eric Block, who has fought a generally losing battle with ulcerative colitis over the past two years, will no longer play football. Block was expected to challenge for a starting safety spot next year. EDIT, 9:29: Grippi confirms and Bud Withers has more here. Basically, when he doesn't play football, he's more or less OK.
Offensive lineman Joe Eppele, who hails from British Columbia, is returning to Canada to pursue a career in the CFL. While he wasn't expected to battle for a starting job, this cuts into the offensive line depth. And if anyone knows how important that is, it's us. EDIT, 9:29: Grippi reports Eppele has just a few credits to finish up his degree in the spring. As a native Canadian, he'll be highly thought of in the CFL draft.
Offensive lineman Kevin Freitag has been slow to recover from toe surgery and it's raising some major concerns. Again, there's the potential that we could be losing a guy expected to potentially provide depth. EDIT, 9:29: Freitag has never played at WSU, and Grippi says he probably never will because the issues with his foot just aren't getting better.

EDIT, 7:37 p.m.: I suppose we also should throw in the apparent arrest of cornerback Brandon Jones for fourth degree domestic violence on Monday. Unbelievable.

I guess we can just hold onto the good news that James Montgomery is looking awfully good to come back next year. But at this point, I'm waiting to hear that he's suffered a debilitating pinky injury that will cause him to end his football career.

AUDIO: CougCenter Podcast, Episode 16 - Football Wrap

Nuss — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:21:08 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

Is there a chance these sorts of scenes could be fewer and farther in between next year? We think so.

Browse more photos »

Before we put this football season completely in the rearview mirror, just one last order of business: The final football podcast until August. We briefly look back at this train wreck of a season, but spend most of our time looking to the future and discussing just what it is that this team needs to do to take a step forward next season and in 2011.

As usual you can listen to the audio via the player below, or visit our podcast page for myriad subscription options. You can also find us in the iTunes directory under keyword "CougCenter." The advantage of subscribing? Besides having the audio directly delivered to your player of choice, I often upload the audio to the podcast site before posting it here -- this podcast was uploaded last night, so those of you with subscriptions have had access to this for the better part of 12 hours.

Also, be on the lookout for our next podcast, coming at you on Wednesday. We'll focus specifically on hoops, debriefing the Great Alaska Shootout and previewing the matchups with Gonzaga and Kansas State.

Poll

Your expectation for wins next year?

Two or fewer

64 votes

Three or four

123 votes

Five or more

16 votes

203 votes | Poll has closed

AUDIO: Paul Wulff press conference, 11-24-09

Nuss — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:48:01 -0000

Paul Wulff's weekly Tuesday teleconference with reporters -- Apple Cup style. Lots of genuflecting, which I'm pretty sure I don't like. But if there's one thing I admire about Wulff, it's that he is absolutely resolute. Pretty remarkable considering what we've been through the past two years.

One item of note that came up: Wulff called Jeff Tuel's chances of playing "remote." Bummer.

Additionally, one reporter made what I can only assume was a joke when he asked a question about the Cougs' substitution patterns on defense. Only nobody laughed until Jim Moore asked Wulff if he had any trick plays in the plan for this weekend. Apparently, asking a coach about their gameplan is dumb. Who knew?

Offensive line gets a little help

Nuss — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:32:09 -0000

Given how bad the offensive line was on Saturday, any shred of good news becomes really, really awesome news heading into this weekend's homecoming matchup with Arizona State. Today's really, really awesome news:

Paul Wulff said junior Brian Danaher, who suffered a concussion Sept. 26 at USC, will be able to start at guard against ASU.

Never has a fan base been so excited for a backup guard to start.

It would make sense for Danaher to start on the left side, since Wulff said Zack Williams is still a no go for another week and Joe Eppele has been starting on the right side. And while nobody's going to confuse Danaher for an all-Pac-10 offensive lineman, this is still extremely welcome news since he's replacing a true freshman who just isn't ready to really contribute.

How not ready to contribute? Take a look at these two pictures and you tell me which guy looks like he can move a pile, or stay in front of a 290-pound defensive tackle:

Alex Reitnouer might yet prove to be an excellent offensive lineman, but when you look more like our backup quarterback than our backup guard ... well, that's a problem.

I'm assuming Wulff made the announcement during his weekly teleconference, which you'll be able to listen to in its entirety as soon as the WSU sports information department passes it along to us. It's usually been around 5 or 6 p.m., so be looking for that.

Injuries, injuries, injuries

Nuss — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:12:11 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Jeff Tuel couldn't escape this one last Saturday. Will he fare much better this weekend behind yet another patchwork offensive line?

Browse more photos »

Coming into the season, here is what the two-deep looked like on the offensive line:

Left Tackle	Left Guard	Center	Right Guard	Right Tackle
Steven Ayers (#So.)	Zack Williams (#Jr.)	Kenny Alfred (#Sr.)	B.J. Guerra (#So.)	Micah Hannam (#Jr.)
Tyson Pencer (#Fr.)	Brian Danaher (#Jr.)	Andrew Roxas (Jr.)	Brian Danaher (#Jr.)	Joe Eppele (#Jr.)

Here's what it looks like now:

Left Tackle	Left Guard	Center	Right Guard	Right Tackle
Tyson Pencer (#Fr.)	Alex Reitnouer (Fr.)	Kenny Alfred (#Sr.)	Joe Eppele (#Jr.)	Micah Hannam (#Jr.)
Joe Eppele (#Jr.)	Reed Lesuma (#Sr.)	Chris Prummer (#So.)	Reed Lesuma (#Sr.)	Joe Eppele (#Jr.)

Obvious things I'll go ahead and point out:

Only two starters are left from the projected starting five -- the same two guys who made it through all of last year.
Of the 10 players on the original two-deep, only four are healthy enough to play this weekend.
There are three players on this week's two-deep who didn't even appear on the original two-deep. One of them will be starting.
That one player is a true freshman, who will teaming with a redshirt freshman to make up the left side of the line. That's Jeff Tuel's blindside, in case you were wondering.
There are nine different players on the original two-deep; there are only seven different players on the current two-deep. Meaning, if this line suffers more than two injuries at any point in the game, Paul Wulff will be turning to either true freshman Tim Hodgdon (whom they still hope to redshirt) or redshirt freshman Michael Pfeiff.

And we thought the injuries last year were bad.

What does all this mean for Saturday? It means we're going to have an awfully, awfully tough time scoring points. It seems like it's been beaten to death, but the fact that Cal -- with its awesome offensive line and Jahvid Best carrying the ball -- could only score three points against this unit doesn't bode well for the Cougs.

I honestly thought the Cougs had a chance to keep this game closer than most people thought, figuring the Ducks will be suffering the inevitable let down. But that was when Danaher was starting at left guard. While the change of one guy might not seem like much, when you go from a guy who made eight starts last season to a guy who was still in high school and rated a two-star recruit last season -- at a position where physical maturity is at a premium ... that's a big, big difference. That's not even taking into account that communication is going to be doubly difficult in the Autzen atmosphere.

Truly, I'm afraid what we're going to see offensively on Saturday is going to resemble last year in a lot of ways. Want to know the biggest reason why our passing game was so horrific last year? Because the offensive line could not block five-on-four, at least one tight end and one running back were kept in to block on almost all obvious passing plays. (Which, of course, was most of the plays.) That meant we were sending just two or three receivers out into patterns against seven defenders. It becomes a vicious cycle where you can't pass if you can't protect the quarterback, but you also can't pass if you protect the quarterback too much.

And you wonder why Brandon Gibson had 10 fewer receptions and 500 fewer yards than he did the year before. It wasn't Gibson.

There's a chance that Paul Wulff and Todd Sturdy don't do that as much on Saturday, since Tuel obviously isn't the stationary target that Marshall Lobbestael is and Kevin Lopina became as his injuries mounted last year. You'll likely see just a running back protector in early in a hope to give Tuel a chance to throw the ball to a guy who's actually open, but if he's successful, expect Oregon to ramp up the pressure by bringing extra guys. And unless Tuel can elude the rush and make them pay with a big gain or two, the Ducks will be relentless.

While I want, want, WANT to believe that this game can be closer than expected, I'm coming around to the idea that it's probably going to be ugly, simply because of the matchup factor.

I still think the defense will turn in a yeoman's effort, but I'm extremely concerned about the big plays -- especially against a spread offense predicated on misdirection and confusion. If the offense struggles like I think it's probably going to, the defense is probably going to feel the need to make something happen. That's death against an offense that requires assignment-sound defense to stop it.

Unless things such as poor decision making, poor discipline or unforced turnovers rear their heads tomorrow, if it turns out to be a blowout, don't lose faith.

If you'd like to hear Paul Wulff talk about the injuries at length, listen to his Thursday press conference via the player below. It's distributed via our podcast; you can find subscription options at our podcast page.

UNIT PREVIEW: Offensive Line

Nuss — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:00:12 -0000

Kenny Alfred has been the rock of the WSU offensive line for three years, and if this unit is going to significantly outperform expectations, it's got to start with Alfred being better than he's ever been. (via media.scout.com)

View full size photo »

Welcome to the first of CougCenter's unit previews for the upcoming season! Over the next couple of weeks, you'll see us take a deeper look into each of the seven groups of players that hold the keys to WSU's potential success this season.

First up: The big fellas up front -- on the offensive side.

Overview

They say that success in football starts up front, so perhaps no unit was the posterchild of WSU problems in 2008 than the offensive line. Seven -- SEVEN! -- different combinations started for the Cougs in 13 games, and only three times did the same unit start back-to-back games. Only two guys -- Kenny Alfred and Micah Hannam -- started every game, and even both of those guys were banged up all year to the extent that each needed surgery in the offseason.

And there was the crux of the issue. The offensive line was never really given any chance to succeed because of injuries up and down the line starting in August and never really stopping throughout the season. The result (predictably) was a unit that looked completely discombobulated for the majority of the season, repeatedly failing to open any kind of hole for the running attack and occasionally allowing defensive players free shots at decapitating their quarterbacks. The line was, in a word ... miserable.

But this year represents new hope. Besides having virtually every player return, save for mountainous left tackle Vaughn Lesuma, the boys look stronger, fitter, and more prepared to deal with the rigors of the Pac-10 after an intense offseason with strength and conditioning coach Darin Lovat. While the strength gains can be seen across the entire roster, perhaps nowhere will it benefit the Cougars more than on their lines. That, combined with the possibility of continuity that just wasn't there in 2008, represent real hope that this unit can improve exponentially from the disaster of a year ago and lead the turnaround charge.

Depth Chart

Pos.	1st String	2nd String	3rd String
LT	Steven Ayers (6-4, 315, #So.)	Tyson Pencer (6-6, 297, #Fr.)	Alex Reitnouer (6-5, 240, Fr.)
LG	Zack Williams (6-4, 293, #Jr.)	Brian Danaher (6-3, 284, #Jr.)	Tim Hodgdon (6-3, 285, Fr.)
C	Kenny Alfred (6-2, 300, #Sr.)	Andrew Roxas (6-1, 306, Jr.)	Chris Prummer (6-1, 269, #So.)
RG	B.J. Guerra (6-3, 311, #So.)	Brian Danaher (6-3, 284, #Jr.)	Kevin Freitag (6-3, 301, #So.)
RT	Micah Hannam (6-4, 284, #Jr.) OR	Joe Eppele (6-8, 306, #Jr.)	Reed Lesuma (6-4, 311, #Sr.)

Key Player

It's tough to pick one guy as the key to this unit -- after all, cohesion is so important -- but if we've got to pick one, it's got to be Alfred. He's one of the precious few legitimate NFL prospects on this roster, and as the center he is essentially the quarterback of the offensive line. Yes, he started every game last year, but he was hardly the Alfred we grew to love from the moment he stepped into the lineup as a redshirt freshman three years ago. An effective Alfred, fully recovered from offseason surgery and playing at his peak, is a rock in the middle of this line that the rest of the guys can build from.

Biggest Question Mark

This one is easy: Can they stay healthy enough for the five best players to see enough snaps together to be able to compete in the Pac-10 slate? The great offensive lines in the history of WSU football seemed to be those that were greater than the sum of their parts, and this is one of those units that seems to fit that mold. They need to be on the same page from day one and put all that "learning" they did last year to good use immediately, and the only way that's going to happen is if the vast majority of them can stay healthy through camp. After all, there is no soft landing for these guys in the first week of the season, so they've got to be ready to do some damage immediately. So far, so good, as there have been no reports of significant injuries five days into camp.

Best Case Scenario

Their newfound strength really does make a huge difference, and the guys make it out of camp with just the normal nicks and bruises. Five guys elevate their play to stand out among the rest, flashing a chemistry that Paul Wulff could only have hoped for. Once the season starts, the linemen discover that the strength gains not only help with durability, but with their physicality in the trenches as well. The Cougs' stable of talented running backs find lanes that only appeared for moments last year, and WSU becomes this year's Stanford, riding a strong running game to go from laughingstock to up-and-comer in the conference. Additionally, the quarterback that makes it out of camp starts every game, spending more time on his feet than on is back or running for his life, and the passing game is able to emerge as a nice compliment to the rushing attack. The offense becomes middle of the pack in the conference.

Worst Case Scenario

The strength gains look pretty on the practice field, but when the time comes to pop pads with Stanford, they look overmatched once again. Chalking it up to the first game of the year, the unit rebounds a bit against Hawaii and SMU. But it doesn't take long to see that bigger biceps can't mask the fact that a lot of these guys just aren't Pac-10 caliber, and the punishment starts taking its toll. As the Pac-10 season wears on, injuries start creeping in and the lineup shuffle begins. The line deteriorates, the running backs look like they did last year, and Jeff Tuel is starting by the end of the season because Marshall Lobbestael had to have a leg amputated after a compound fracture, Kevin Lopina's head was disassociated from his body and JT Levenseller decided he'd rather quit the team than put himself in that kind of peril.

Likely Scenario

The strength gains are real, and they result in a tangible difference come September. Nobody's going to confuse these guys with USC or Oregon up front, but they're doing things they weren't doing a year ago. There are still some injuries, sure, but they're a lot fewer and farther in between, and there's enough continuity at the majority of the positions that these guys begin to find their way. The running game is good enough to keep the Cougs in more games than everyone thought by eating clock and keeping the defense on the sidelines, and the best quarterback is able to start 90 percent of the games because he's not getting killed. More than that, there's real hope for 2010, as every guy is scheduled to return except for the graduating Alfred, and if they improve as much from this year to next as they did in the last 12 months, this unit could become a real strength, rather than liability.

Poll

What's closest to what actually happens this year? CougCenter's ...

Best Case Scenario?

17 votes

Worst Case Scenario?

17 votes

Likely Scenario?

89 votes

123 votes | Poll has closed

Finally, some more good football news

Nuss — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:45:05 -0000

We're a couple of days late on this, but for all the bad football news in the past 12 months -- both on and off the field -- this is a piece of news that deserves some recognition.

The Cougs tied for the Pac-10 lead with 15 players on the conference all-academic teams. That's up from 12 in 2007.

Congratulations, guys. Believe it or not, the reason we all go to college is to get an education. (Although, we really won't be sad if we have all these all-academic selections and win a bunch of games next year, OK?)

List of selections after the jump. I cannot believe how many offensive linemen are on that list. Smarts are supposed to be a big part of playing on the line, so that's got to count for something next year, doesn't it?

First Team
- Chima Nwachukwu, S/CB
- Matt Mullennix, DE
Second Team
- Matt Eichelberger, DT
- Joe Eppele, OL
- Adam Hineline, DT
- Micah Hannam, OL
Honorable Mention
- Kenny Alfred, OL
- Steven Ayers, OL
- Daniel Blackledge, WR
- Brian Danaher, OL
- Devin Frischknecht, TE
- Hallston Higgins, LB
- Kevin Kooyman, DE
- Vaughn Lesuma, OL
- Ben Woodard, TE