Good morning Coug fans. We’re almost to the dog days of summer, which means news about our Washington State Cougars will be hard to find, though that could all change with one Mike Leach tweet, of course.
Today, let’s talk about something Mike Leach won’t be tweeting about: injuries to his football players. As you know, Leach isn’t too keen on the idea of disclosing who’s injured. Instead, he tells the world that everybody is happy and healthy and doing everything the coaching staff has asked them to do.
Revealing injuries is a topic that can be debated from now until the world ends. Leach isn’t the only football coach who feels this way. Stanford’s David Shaw has also been outspoken on the idea of revealing injuries. But Leach is an outspoken guy, so of course the media will turn to him when this topic crops up, as it seems to do every fall.
Which brings me to this: An NCAA working group is expected to propose a national “player availability report.” This is all according to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd.
Dodd reports that the proposal could become a new rule implemented in time for the upcoming football season. Coaches would be required to provide a report of players who are “available,” “possible” and “unavailable.” It’s not an injury report, you see. Just an availability report.
(It’s an injury report)
The report wouldn’t disclose what the injury is, only that a player is or isn’t available—or possibly available.
Now what do you think Mike Leach thinks of all this? He hasn’t been asked yet, but should this become a rule, I can’t wait for the first depth chart of the season to be accompanied by an availability report that lists each and every player as “possible.” That would be so Leach, and I’d love it.
The proposed rule came from the NCAA’s Gambling Working Group. It’s all in an effort to try and avoid corruption. Good luck!
Leach has always pointed to two things in justifying his practice of being coy about injuries: it’d give his opponents an advantage (duh), and privacy laws. Dodd’s report touches on the privacy issue, and with WSU being a public school, there may be something to that. I’m no legal expert, but if you are, please feel free to chime in.
If this becomes a rule, get ready for Leach to go off and make a mockery of the whole thing. He wouldn’t be Mike Leach if he acted otherwise.
Tennis falls in the NCAA Tournament
Tough match today but future is bright for Washington State Tennis. Cougars end season at 19-11 and now focus on NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/EUxnxQtwoB
— WSU COUGAR TENNIS (@WSUCOUGARTENNIS) May 3, 2019
Cougar Comeback Falls Short against No. 19 Miami - Washington State University Athletics
Cougars season ends at 19-11 with seventh trip to NCAA Championship in school history.
Football
Pac-12 to stay status quo on football scheduling, but even a change wouldn’t solve its problems - CBSSports.com
Nine conference games is the least of the Pac-12’s worries
College football top 25 rankings: It gets better for Clemson post-spring, Florida and Texas rise - CBSSports.com
With spring practice in the books, let’s take a look at Dennis Dodd’s adjusted top 25.
Post-spring college football power rankings | ESPN.com
Which teams have moved up or down the Top 25 since spring football concluded? Our latest rankings start with the defending champ still in the top spot.
The future head coach on each Top 25 team | ESPN.com
”.....redshirt freshman Cammon Cooper should have a chance to be successful should he pursue coaching -- his father also played quarterback in college. Cooper also played in an Air Raid system in high school.”
Backs like Tigers’ Thomas not lost in Leach’s Washington State offense | Friday Night Ohio
”....while passing the ball is Leach’s teams’ bread-and-butter, that doesn’t mean they don’t remember that value of the running back position.”
NCAA working group to propose first standardized national injury report for college sports - CBSSports.com
If adopted, the injury reports would begin with the 2019 season.
Basketball
Australian point guard Ryan Rapp flips from USF to Washington State | The Spokesman-Review
WSU abandoned the Australian pipeline during Ernie Kent’s five years at the helm, but it was a popular pit stop on the recruiting trail for former Cougar coaches Ken Bone and Tony Bennett.
WSU Athletics
Washington State spring game raises more than $80,000 for Cougar Health Fund, generates conversation around mental health | The Spokesman-Review
The 2019 Crimson and Gray Game was a fine preview trailer for the 5,059 fans that attended, but it was also much more than a football showcase.
Lake City three-sport star Bridget Rieken ready to take next step at Washington State | The Spokesman-Review
Bridget Rieken could have gone Division I in any of the three sports she plays at Lake City. But the opportunity to play in the Pac-12 and stay relatively close at home to Washington State was one too great to pass up.