SB Nation - Daniel Blackledge

SECOND QUARTER GRADES: Receivers

Grady. — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:22:23 -0000

Washington State wide receiver Johnny Forzani, left, catches a Jeff Tuel pass while ~~defended~~ getting facemask-punched by Arizona State cornerback Josh Jordan (23) during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009, at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. Forzani ran the pass in for a 99-yard touchdown, the longest passing play from scrimmage in Washington State history. It was his only catch of the game. Arizona State won 27-14. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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Second Quarter Grade: C+

First Quarter Grade: B-

Stats:

	Name	Yr	Pos	G	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Rec./G	Yards/G
1	Jared Karstetter	SO	WR	6	18	251	13.94	3	3.0	41.8
2	Daniel Blackledge	JR	WR	6	20	189	9.45	1	3.3	31.5
3	Gino Simone	FR	WR	5	17	157	9.24	0	3.4	31.4
4	Johnny Forzani	JR	WR	5	3	149	49.67	1	0.6	29.8
5	Jeffrey Solomon	JR	WR	6	12	130	10.83	0	2.0	21.7
6	Jeshua Anderson	JR	WR	2	4	66	16.50	0	2.0	33.0
7	James Montgomery	JR	RB	4	7	62	8.86	0	1.8	15.5
8	Tony Thompson	SR	TE	6	6	53	8.83	0	1.0	8.8
9	Dwight Tardy	SR	RB	6	10	44	4.40	0	1.7	7.3
10	Logwone Mitz	SO	RB	6	4	26	6.50	0	0.7	4.3
11	Skylar Stormo	FR	TE	6	2	19	9.50	0	0.3	3.2
12	Carl Winston	FR	RB	2	1	-3	-3.00	0	0.5	-1.5
	Total			6	104	1143	10.99	5	17.3	190.5

Explanation:

From pleasant surprise of the season in the first quarter, to ho-hum group in the second, the receiving corps has been serviceable if not remarkable. Karstetter is still the clear #1 receiver, but has cooled off with only seven receptions in the last three games. That doesn't bode well for WSU in the second half, since this group is neither experienced nor deep. Nevertheless, there's some serious flashes of talent out of this group. Johnny Forzani for 99 yards anyone? How about Gino Simone, who has caught 13 balls in the last three games? That's more than our supposed top two receivers in Blackledge and Karstetter have over the same period of time. There's a lot of hope here, if you're OK with having some patience.

Outside of Forzani's ridiculous 49.67 yards per reception average, these aren't wideout numbers that are going to blow anyone away. A lot of it isn't the receiving corps' fault, frankly. The offensive line is getting blown up, giving the quarterbacks less time to make reads and find open targets. Then there's the issue of the quarterbacks themselves - the wideouts have had to adjust to three different starters, most recently a freshman just getting his feet wet in NCAA play. That's not a recipe for 300-yard or 5 touchdown passing games. Issues like the Simone concussion and the Anderson sport change have maligned the group as well.

That's not to say the pass-catchers don't deserve some of the credit (blame) for the anemic offense so far. There isn't a single wideout that can be consistently counted on to take over a game or make that key catch on third and long. At least not yet: Karstetter and Simone seem to be the most likely candidates for standout WR of the future, but the future is a long way off. For now, we can at least enjoy watching this group improve and mature in front of our own eyes. Essentially everyone except for TE Tony Thompson will be back next season; and two of our top three receivers for longer than that. So, like so many positions on the Cougar football team, the receivers are young, talented, and have the potential to be an incredible group going forward.

How to improve the grade: Touchdowns, please. The Forzani touchdown was a remnant of our past, where receivers could break a tackle or two and go for the big strike. This group needs more of that - it's one thing to have the ability to score passing touchdowns in the red zone, it's another to be a threat from anywhere on the field. A little more depth would be nice to see as well. While I like seeing the running backs involved in short passes to the flats, it would be nice to see some of the guys further down the WR depth chart get some reps. What do we have to lose? (well, other than games, which we're probably going to anyway)

Poll

Your call. Grade for the receivers?

A

1 votes

B

5 votes

C

7 votes

D

3 votes

F

2 votes

Incomplete

0 votes

18 votes | Poll has closed

Arizona State 27, Washington State 14

Grady. — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:44:03 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Washington State head coach Paul Wulff, left, warmly embraces the most hated man in Idaho, Dennis Erickson, after an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009, at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. Arizona State won 27-14. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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A few steps forward. A few steps back.

In the end, this game played out the way most of us expected. Two anemic offenses and one stellar defense giving us an ugly game, but also a closer game than we're used to seeing. As one would expect, the stellar defense won out. ASU was too much to handle, with Vontaze Burfict, Mike Nixon, and co. dominating this game from the opening snap. The Cougs faced one of the best rushing defenses in the country, and boy did it show - between numerous tackles for losses, broken plays and sacks, the Cougars ended up with negative 54 yards rushing. Negative 54.

The Cougars had their opportunities in the first half, but failed to capitalize. Reid Forrest's fake punt conversion for a first down brought some life to the offense, but no points following a Jeff Tuel interception. ASU had three turnovers in the first 30 minutes, but the Cougars couldn't convert even one of those into a score. Tuel struggled under pressure: the Devils had six sacks in the first half, and forced their fair share of hurries and bad decisions which led to Tuel's two picks. Marshall Lobbestael brought some brief stability to the Cougar offense in relief, but a fumble by Daniel Blackledge - on a catch that should have resulted in a first down deep in ASU territory - ended the threat. ASU sealed the half by running their two-minute offense to perfection. The result was a 13-0 halftime deficit that had to make the Cougars feel like banging their heads against a wall.

The second half saw improvement, but not immediately. ASU made a huge gain on a reverse to set up a nine yard touchdown run that left WSU back against the ropes. It took some turnovers - the Cougs forced six total - and the re-emergence of Jeff Tuel to get the Cougs back into it. Andy Mattingly's interception deep in ASU territory was the big break Wazzu needed. It set up Tuel's first TD, which wasn't exactly a thing of beauty. Intended for Daniel Blackledge - who was, at least in this writer's opinion, being interfered with - the ball came up short and into the opportunistic hands of Jared Karstetter, who made a beautiful adjustment for the six. That fired up both sides of the ball, and the Cougars were back in business down 19-7.

Then, the blunder. For most of the game, Reid Forrest had been rolling out to make rugby style kicks, like he used to do at the start of his career. Earlier in the game, though, he found a seam and was able to convert a first down that gave the Cougars some much-needed momentum. Yet again, in the second half, it looked for a moment like Forrest had a seam to the outside. But Arizona State wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. They stayed at home, and Forrest booted the ball out of desperation past the line of scrimmage. The result was a penalty that gave ASU exceptional field position. Field position that was converted into a Cameron Marshall TD run and a way-too-easy two-point conversion. 27-7.

Still, the Cougs weren't done. Although for a moment it looked like things were getting worse. A kickoff was fumbled out of bounds at the five, followed up immediately by a near-safety (and another play for a loss). That's when Wulff made a bold play call that would re-write the WSU record books. Jeff Tuel stepped back in his own end zone, and fired off a bullet to Johnny Forzani in single coverage. Forzani broke free, and the rest, literally, was history. 99 yards later Tuel had converted his first huge play as a Cougar. 27-14 after the PAT from Grasu.

But the ASU defense didn't bend from there, stuffing the Cougar offense on their remaining drives in the game. ASU's running game awoke to run out the clock, and that was it.

The Cougs had forced six turnovers, but committed four of their own. They made big plays on defense, but failed to prevent the struggling ASU quarterbacks from reaching the end zone. The Cougar offense was horrible: 181 total yards, numerous losses and penalties, but also 99 on one play and two passing touchdowns from our QB of the future. It was a game with a lot of positives, but a lot of negatives as well.

The best thing I can say is that this game definitely gives us something to build on. The defense made key plays, tackled well and only let one big play - the reverse - burn them. The offense struggled in the first half but Jeff Tuel's benching woke him up to the tune of two passing touchdowns and a play that cements his place in the WSU record book (as well as the NCAA, since you can't have a longer pass play than 99 yards).

Player of the Game: Louis Bland. It's tempting to go with Tuel, or Karstetter, but the only fireworks from the offense came in the second half. The Cougar defense came to play the whole game, and with Bland's eight tackles, one interception, one tackle for loss, one sack, and one forced fumble, he was the anchor of a revitalized squad. I understand the ASU offense is bad, but you don't force six turnovers by accident. Bland, Mattingly, Long and the defensive backfield kept both the run and pass in check for the majority of this game, with only receiver Kyle Williams burning us for big numbers. I saw numerous plays today that would have been big gains or touchdowns last year. Now, the defense is covering their gaps, running down ball carriers, and keeping things in front of them. It's a noticeable improvement, and credit Bland as the centerpiece today.

Unsung hero: Jared Karstetter. The adjustment he made to catch the third quarter touchdown was huge. Furthermore, he continues to be the security blanket for the quarterbacks that Jeshua Anderson couldn't be. Tonight, he grabbed four balls for forty-five yards and made himself an available target for Jeff Tuel throughout the game. Now if only Tuel had the pass protection to get it to him.

Play of the Game: The longest pass play in school history, Jeff Tuel to Johnny Forzani for 99 yards and a TD. I always feel better about the Paul Wulff era when I remember that it's mostly his recruits making the big plays and giving us some hope for the future.

B.S. Call of the Game: Oh, there were many. Mostly against us, but a couple against ASU too. There were many penalties in general, deserved or not. But the offensive pass interference call on Daniel Blackledge was completely nonsensical. Not to mention a momentum killer.

It was over when... Cameron Marshall ran 10 yards for an ASU touchdown with 12:25 to play; following the botched fake punt.

Stat of the Game: WSU forced six turnovers. And we still lost. Probably because of the four turnovers of our own, making for ten (!) total. Although, that -54 rushing yards stat still makes me cringe.

If you haven't voted in Nuss' poll below yet, do it. My vote is that it was a positive step in the right direction, but I'm interested to know what the rest of Coug Nation thinks. Of course you're always welcome to expand on your thoughts in the comments.

Enjoy the bye week - only six days until Midnight Mayhem.

FIRST QUARTER GRADES: Wide Receivers

Grady. — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:00:24 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Washington State receiver Jared Karstetter and receiver Daniel Blackledge hug it out, bitch, after Karstetter caught a touchdown pass to bring the game to within one point with 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against SMU Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009 at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. Washington State won 30-27 in overtime. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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GRADE: B-

STATISTICS:

	Name	Yr	Pos	G	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Rec./G	Yards/G
1	Jared Karstetter	SO	WR	3	11	186	16.91	2	3.7	62.0
2	Daniel Blackledge	JR	WR	3	11	119	10.82	1	3.7	39.7
3	Jeffrey Solomon	JR	WR	3	10	110	11.00	0	3.3	36.7
4	Jeshua Anderson	JR	WR	2	4	66	16.50	0	2.0	33.0
5	James Montgomery	JR	RB	3	7	62	8.86	0	2.3	20.7
6	Tony Thompson	SR	TE	3	4	51	12.75	0	1.3	17.0
7	Johnny Forzani	JR	WR	2	2	50	25.00	0	1.0	25.0
8	Dwight Tardy	SR	RB	3	7	32	4.57	0	2.3	10.7
9	Gino Simone	FR	WR	2	4	24	6.00	0	2.0	12.0
10	Skylar Stormo	FR	TE	3	1	11	11.00	0	0.3	3.7
11	Logwone Mitz	SO	RB	3	2	2	1.00	0	0.7	0.7
	Total			3	63	713	11.32	3	21.0	237.7
	Opponents			3	78	1106	14.18	6	26.0	368.7

EXPLANATION:

This is a grade largely based on the fact this group is exceeding expectations. Before the season, it was Jeshua Anderson and a group of unproven, young wideouts. Now it's some great young receivers, and no Anderson - and the Cougar passing game looks like it may actually be able to reclaim some of its lost glory. The passing game has been largely carrying a struggling Cougar offense; accounting for both Washington State offensive touchdowns against SMU, and outshining the rushing game in yards per attempt by a solid 5.9 to 3.5 margin. Granted, the passing game will almost always beat out the running game in yards per play, but we certainly expected more out of our running game, especially before the injury to Montgomery.

Jared Karstetter is asserting himself as a true #1 receiver, something Jeshua Anderson couldn't even do before he decided to hang up the football cleats for good. That 16.91 yards per catch average is phenomenal - even if he only touches the ball 3-4 times per game. One common theme this year is that the ball is being spread around the whole receiving corps (and sometimes the running backs) - with seven players averaging more than two catches per game. That kind of variety has helped the Cougars take advantage of linebacker mismatches and has kept the QBs away from throwing at the opponents' best corner. There seems to be a quality trio developing in Karstetter, Daniel Blackledge and Jeffrey Solomon. That's good because it takes some of the pressure off of the man who will someday lead this receiving corps: currently concussed freshman Gino Simone.

We also got a wonderful debut out of junior Johnny Forzani Saturday against SMU: two catches for fifty yards. Look for him to get the ball more as the season wears on and his injury troubles (hopefully) slide away. Also encouraging is the occasionally spectacular catching ability of tight end Tony Thompson - although the TE position is likely to be utilized much less often than the wideouts. Maybe the Legend of Stormo can help change our lack of depth there.

HOW TO GET THE GRADE UP: Simple: More catches. More yards. WSU has had a good yard per play average in the passing game, and now just need to utilize it more and move the ball down the field. The main piece of bad news for the WSU receiving corps is that they haven't shown consistency. When your top receiver only catches 3.7 balls a game, there's some instability, and a lack of a go-to guy on third and long. The Cougars would also be well served if they keep avoiding the dropsies. Karstetter had a bad one in the endzone against SMU, but made up for it with the catch that gave Wazzu the chance to tie.

It's been a decent run for the receiving corps so far, but the question remains: can they keep it up against the rest of the Pac-10?

Poll

Los Receivers?

A

3 votes

B

22 votes

C

24 votes

D

6 votes

F

0 votes

55 votes | Poll has closed

Washington State 30, SMU 27

Grady. — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:23:03 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Washington State kicker Nico Grasu (18) is clutch and clutch is everything. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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For a program that needed a win in the worst way, Nico Grasu delivered.

Again.

Three games removed from his game winner in the 2008 Apple Cup, Grasu hit a 39 yard field goal in overtime to guide Washington State (1-2) over Southern Methodist (2-1), in the first ever meeting between the schools.

WSU had looked dead in the water earlier, with SMU jumping out to a 17-0 lead on touchdowns by Terrance Wilkerson and Zach Line. The Cougars finally showed some signs of life late in the first half, with Daniel Blackledge catching a three yard touchdown reception from Marshall Lobbestael with :30 seconds remaining.

It was the first start of the year for the sophomore Lobbestael, who completed 24 of 52 passes, netting two touchdowns and two interceptions. Despite struggling for three quarters, Lobbestael got a lift from the Cougar defense until he came through on the final possession of regulation.

With the Cougars trailing 27-13 late in the third, Alex Hoffman-Ellis took an interception from Mustang quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell 52 yards back to the end zone. It sparked a Cougar rally capped by teammate Myron Beck's 67 yard interception return for a touchdown.

That set up the final drive of regulation, with Lobbestael taking the Cougars 80 yards for the tying touchdown with 28 seconds remaining. Jared Karstetter caught the ball in the back of the en dzone on a dart from Lobbestael. The Cougar prevent defense held SMU's potent offense in the final thirty seconds, and the game headed to overtime.

Despite a career day by Bo Levi Mitchell - 40 of 57 passing for 424 yards and two touchdowns - it was his fourth and final interception that cost the Mustangs the game. Chima Nwachukwu picked off a touch pass in the end zone on the first play of overtime to give the Cougars the opportunity to win. WSU struggled to advance the ball on their possession, but gained five yards to set up the game game winning field goal by Grasu.

Player of the Game: Jared Karstetter. Fresh off the football retirement of Jeshua Anderson, Karstetter took the weight of the weakened receiver corps on his shoulders and caught five balls for 63 yards and the game tying touchdown. Karstetter dropped a touchdown earlier in the first half - just prior to the Blackledge TD - but we'll forgive him for that. Cougar players don't have much experience in the end zone lately.

Unsung Hero: Marshall Lobbestael: Even in the midst of calls from the fans for Lopina and/or Tuel, the Lobster regrouped and led the game tying drive with under two minutes to play. While he struggled with accuracy and only averaged 4.6 yards per completion, he threw for two touchdowns and called the signals for both the game-tying and the game-winning drives. Even though the performance wasn't stellar, credit Wulff for sticking with a quarterback and allowing him to dig himself out of his own hole. And, honestly, his first interception wasn't his fault as he got hit as he threw.

Key to the Game: Not to self-promote, but I did say the key matchup would be the Cougar pass defense versus SMU signal caller Bo Levi Mitchell. It was. In the first three quarters, Mitchell torched the Cougar D on four scoring drives, including two passing touchdowns en route to a 24-7 lead. In the final 16:16 plus overtime, Mitchell was torched for four interceptions; two for touchdowns, and another by Brandon Jones preventing the Mustangs from taking a two possession lead with 4:48 to play.

B.S. Call of the Game: Our newest feature - inspired by one of the worst calls I have ever seen in my life. See, what we watched today was a game of "American Football", or "Football" in the slang the kids use. In said game, players run and catch the ball and are "tackled" by defenders. Sometimes, the quarterback floats the ball up in such a way that it hangs their receiver out to dry, with the result being a rather brutal "tackle", by the one (or in this case two) defensive backs that hit him. So, even though the hit by the two Cougar defensive backs was cleaner than the shine left on your dishes from a box of Mr. Sparkle, some "officials" decided to throw a flag for a personal foul. This despite the fact it occurred on a key third and long, on a drive that could have resulted in SMU taking a two possession lead with under five minutes to play. Fortunately, Brandon Jones led the rejuvenated Cougar defense with a diving interception to erase our memory of the earlier penalty.

Play of the Game: The hyphenated pick six by Alex Hoffman-Ellis was a brilliant play, but let's be honest. No one in that stadium believed we had a shot until Myron Beck took the ball two-thirds of the length of the field on an interception return to bring the Cougars within 27-20. Yes, I know Grasu won it, but he wouldn't have had to had he not missed a chip shot earlier in the game.

It was over when... The Clutchiest Kicker in the World, Nico Grasu, hit the 39 yarder to win it.

Stat of the Game: Paul Wulff is 2-0 in games decided by less than 14 points. In all others... 1-13.

THE AFTERNOON PAPER: Is it all starting to slowly crumble - already?

Nuss — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:26:48 -0000

If you've read our position previews, you've seen one common theme pop up over and over again: Health will be paramount to this team's chances for any kind of respectability this season. We all know the Cougs simply don't possess the depth to compete if even a few of their top players miss game time.

So, while camp got off to a good start on the injury front, a good number of question marks have started to creep in. It's not all doom and gloom -- the team has yet to suffer a catastrophic injury that requires surgery or such, which is good -- but it's enough that, with just about a week to go until Stanford, I'm starting to get a little nervous.

The most significant injury of camp came yesterday, when it was discovered that the sprained ankle starting cornerback Brandon Jones suffered on Tuesday could sideline him anywhere from one to three weeks. Jones had established himself as the team's best corner in camp.

No, the injury's not devastating -- Chima Nwachukwu, who obviously has a lot of starting experience at corner, slides into Jones' spot, and the team seems to feel comfortable with Tyree Toomer or LeAndre Daniels filling in for Nwachukwu at safety. And it's not like Stanford is likely to chuck it 40 times next weekend with a freshman quarterback and Toby Gerhart in the backfield.

But it's part of a growing list of nicks and bruises -- which looks worse when put together as below -- that could either cause players to miss game time or limit their effectiveness. These are just the guys who figured to get significant playing time against Stanford:

Running back James Montgomery sprained a knee last Friday, and I believe he's still out of practice, as I can't find an update on his prognosis. (EDIT: Per Grippi, he is indeed still sitting out practice, doing some light jogging on the side.)
Wide receiver Jeshua Anderson has been battling a hamstring injury for a couple of weeks now, and has only recently resumed straight-line running activities. He appears on target for the Stanford game, but if you remember back to track season, a hamstring was bothering him then, too. I don't know if it's the same leg or not, but one has to wonder if this is going to be a chronic issue with the team's most experienced receiver.
Wide receiver Daniel Blackledge, who had been the best receiver in camp early on after a strong offseason, has only recently returned uninhibited to practice after suffering a leg injury.
Other receivers still not at full speed include Johnny Forzani (foot) and Jeffrey Solomon (back).
Linebacker Andy Mattingly has only recently returned to full practice after suffering a groin injury. By all accounts, the team is just taking it slowly with him, but muscle injuries such as this always possess the potential for re-aggravation. (See Anderson, Jeshua.)
Starting middle linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis has been suffering through a foot problem that kept him on the sidelines for the last week. He's returned to limited practice now that a more serious injury has been ruled out, and could be ready for Stanford.
Running back Marcus Richmond -- a versatile back who generally serves as the team's full back when it needs one (he threw the block that sprung Logwone Mitz in the Apple Cup) -- appears to be out for "a while" (Grippi's words), also with a sprained ankle. Not sure if he's on the same timetable as Jones.
Starting right tackle Micah Hannam has flu-like symptoms. And since we've all been there with the flue and know that it can take up to a week or more to recover, there's certainly a possibility that Hannam won't be at peak effectiveness for Stanford.

It's not like any of this is completely unexpected -- injuries are going to happen, it's a fact of football -- and again, I'm as thankful as anyone that none of these are catastrophic and don't figure to have long-term effects. But if even half of these injuries have effects that carry over into Stanford (or beyond), it's going to make an already uphill climb even steeper. We need these guys to be as close to 100 percent as possible to have a shot at the Cardinal.

Here's the best of the rest of the day's Cougar news from around the Web:

Mattingly told Ted Miller at ESPN.com that the Cougs will surprise people in the Pac-10. (No surprise there.)
Jim Moore's unemployment checks must be running out, because that slacker churned out two columns in two days: one on reasons to be optimistic about the direction of the team (for the P-I) and one on guard B.J. Guerra (for Cougfan.com).
The San Francisco Chronicle has this preview of Stanford, which has to include the best written line of training camp. Bonus points to the reader who finds it and posts it in the comments.
Speaking of Stanford, San Jose Mercury News college football writer takes umbrage with Jim Harbaugh's new $50,000 bathroom.
The Sporting News has a "Best of the Pac-10" list, and guess what? The Cougs actually had one mention! (A darn good choice, if you ask me.)
Miller ranked each school in terms of its running backs unit. WSU checked in at No. 7. Seems fair to me, although it's not a stretch to see that ranking being higher by the end of the season.

We'll be back later.

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

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