Steven Ayers leaves the football team
Ayers leaves due to repeated concussions. Even though he was a backup, this moves us from perilously thin to "please nobody get hurt" at guard. Zack Williams, the walking game of operation, is manning the other guard spot and we really need some depth on the line.
about 2 years ago
Brian Floyd
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Too bad
i knew and competed against Steven when I was in high school. I lined up against him in football, wrestled him in the winter and threw against him during track. He is a superb athlete, its unfortunate he was never able to put it together in college and now never will. Truly one of the nicest guys I know and a great competitor.
by Fightfightfight on Apr 27, 2010 11:48 PM PDT reply actions
Further confirms my thought that our results aren't going to be much better this year
The defense might be vastly improved, but unless the offense can actually move the ball a bit, it won’t much matter in the end. And I just don’t have a lot of confidence that the offense is going to be that much better this year.
I wish Steven the best
At least he’s leaving for health reasons instead of academic and or criminal activities.
Can't blame the guy
for walking away for this reason. not worth the risks in my opinion.
good luck Steven
Gosh Darn It!
I wish we focused the majority of our recruiting O-Line and D-Line, because the game is won in the trenches. Although, a argument to my own statement is that is Wulff tries to bring in long and tall athletes that could potentially turn into linemen once they are in college and gain some size as well as get into the strength and conditioning program. That is why he recruits a lot of TE type of players, because we can’t get the highly recruited HS lineman. Getting a good lineman in football is probably like Bone trying to find a good big man, they are hard to get.
We are way to thin on the O-Line, which I still find surprising since our coach is a former offensive lineman—you would think this would be Wulff’s recruiting emphasis, since he is a former offensive lineman. Maybe, Moos can help get some more help on the line, since he is a former O-Lineman. I am a little nervous about next season because of our O-Line, but I am going to try and remain optimistic, because as we no longer Coug It, we “Cougar it” as Moos says.
member of CougCenter since 9/2/08
It's not for lack of trying.
Those quality big uglies are heavily recruited by EVERYONE. 6-5 280, mean, athletic and strong don’t grow on trees.
Ayers is a big hit. I hope the guys “Do work, Son!” (in the words of Big Black) all summer, because they’ve got to 1) figure it out, and 2) stay healthy for us to have any significant chance.
by TiltingRight on Apr 29, 2010 1:33 PM PDT up reply actions
Sucks for sure
but I don’t believe he was one of our best guards. Guerra and WIlliams are both better when healthy and I like Pencer at guard more than tackle. Hurts losing some depth, but not a huge deal.
Klay Thompson is my man crush
by crimson and gray on Apr 28, 2010 11:30 AM PDT reply actions
It's the depth that bothers me
Williams is walking a fine line between being able to play and sitting due to injuries, in my opinion. That shoulder is going to be a problem, I think, and watching the Spring game started to confirm that. At that point, we have Pencer and Hannam, converted tackles, and really not many other bodies outside of reshuffling the line. We’re really at a point where if anyone goes down, we’re in trouble.
by Brian Floyd on Apr 28, 2010 11:34 AM PDT up reply actions
He rushed back to play in the spring game.
I guess the optimist in me just thinks he will rest it for awhile and let it actually get healthy.
Klay Thompson is my man crush
by crimson and gray on Apr 28, 2010 11:40 AM PDT up reply actions
It didn't look good when he first went out
I don’t know what it was, but he did come back a couple series later. Considering the recurrence of his injuries and knowing how bad shoulders are (I’ve ripped mine out), I feel like it’s going to be nagging.
by Brian Floyd on Apr 28, 2010 11:44 AM PDT up reply actions
Party pooper :P
Klay Thompson is my man crush
by crimson and gray on Apr 28, 2010 11:53 AM PDT up reply actions
Still feels like we are a couple years away
Things are getting better but depth is still so thin for both lines. I thought going into next year that the offensive line depth was close but Ayer’s is now out, Williams is hurt, and there are rumors Pencer is on the bubble academically. Backup plans are all very young.
Same deal at d-tackle. Rankin moves inside to d-tackle with Turpin done and now there are more rumors of Wofgramm on the academic bubble. With Turpin and Wolfgramm (if healthy) you have 2 guys who could probably hold their own at d-tackle with Rankin moved all over the line. Laurenzie, Spitz, and Clayton would provide depth. Without those 2 seniors Rankin moves inside period and that “depth” would really need to step up.
I don’t remember an “era” with so much consistent annual attrition. Way too much to manage.
Josh Luapo is probably gone, too
There appears to be academic problems with few guys. Hold your breath for the next two weeks.
The bubble is getting heavy
Turpin (gone), Wolfgramm (bubble), Luapo (big bubble), Ayers (gone). None of the above were all-pac 10 types but all would have had significant roles next year. There have been some rumors about Andre Barrington. Not a big loss for next year but a potentially very big loss down the line even with Markle, Burns, and hopefully Mizell coming in.
Injuries happen but passing what amounts to 24 credits a year really shouldn’t be be that tough. I know these guys have much bigger demands on their time than the “average” student but we can’t afford these kind of academic losses. Hopefully the rumors don’t come true.
Add Pencer to that list, too
All of these names plus a few injury concerns is what I had in mind when i thought of depth.
Yup, I gotta believe
WSU is still in the market for a couple jc’s for 2010.
Luapo and Turpin
would be a brutal blow to the DT slot. Gotta hope Josh can drag the grades up. His girth is much needed on 1st and 2nd down. Laurenzi had a good spring and is 300 lbs.’ but a rotation of that size player is much needed on running downs. JC’s often have grade issues- and Luapo and Wolfgramm have been no exception.
Regarding Ayers and the O-line; the loss of he and Dannaher to concussions hurts some, but Zach W and BJ Guerra and Pencer and Hammen is a decent nucleus with which to start. Roxas needs to stay healthy- but a rotation wherein the Cougs can plug in players for a few reps this season will be a first for the Wulff era. They moved Micah all along the line this spring to give him a taste as a plugger. Jacobsen and Gonzales looked quite god at both OT slots and they seem to feel that Valenzuela and Prescott have good futures. But yes, socal Coug dreaming of depth here too…
If you can't Go Cougs... don't go.
What's up with the O-Line and concussions
It seems like LBs, RBs, SSs, WRs and QBs are the one’s who should be having concussion problems. Does bumping helmets at the line of scrimmage have as much impact as getting lit up over the middle by a defender? I heard some people are just more prone to concussions.
member of CougCenter since 9/2/08
I read this a while ago
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/10/19/091019fa_fact_gladwell
kind of long, but a really good read. the stuff about the UNC lineman is crazy
I was read some of the article
That is crazy that lineman taking elbows to the helmet can cause such an impact. Who would have thought? We all think about the helmet to helmet hits when it comes to concussions.
member of CougCenter since 9/2/08
With lineman
nearly every snap involves a helmet to helmet collision. It happens all the time. While these are generally not concussion-inducing blows, an awkwardly turned head or an unexpected hit can often turn into a concussion.
by Fightfightfight on Apr 28, 2010 9:53 PM PDT up reply actions
I remember talking about this article
with a friend who played rugby for years. You don’t see nearly as many concussions in rugby as football, because without the pads and helmets, you don’t run full speed at each other. Lots of cracked or broken collarbones and ribs (relative to football), but with those, you KNOW you can’t play, whereas coming back from a concussion too soon is way easier because “it’s all in your head.”
Could be that the best solution isn’t BETTER helmets and pads, but none at all.
by TiltingRight on Apr 29, 2010 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions
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