As promised, here is our oral breakdown of the Cougs' 2010 recruiting class. We give our general impressions of the class, talk about the impact that C.J. Mizell might have as soon as next year, assess the losses of Asante Cleveland and Maxx Forde, and try to identify a handful of players who might contribute this coming season.

As usual, you can listen to the audio via the player below, or visit our podcast page for myriad ways to subscribe to all of our audio, including Ken Bone's weekly press conferences. You can also find us in the iTunes directory under keyword "CougCenter," or simply click this link. 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.

As an added bonus, here's some signing day audio from KJR-950's Ian Furness! Enjoy.

WSU recruiting coordinator Rich Rasmussen

Scout.com's West Coast analyst Brandon Huffman

It's time for the second annual CougCenter Elite Eight - odd considering it seems like just two weeks ago Nuss and I joined forces to bring you a SBN Cougar blog. I'm happy to report the first edition was a success. Sure, it's easy in some ways to figure out who the top players are in a recruiting class, but it's not an exact science. Which is precisely why the recruiting services can rarely ever come to an agreement on a player.

Last year's Elite Eight included Jeff Tuel, Gino Simone, Travis Long and Johnny Forzani. Those guys turned out to be pretty decent. It also included some guys whom the jury is admittedly still out on. Brandon Rankin is the JC All-American at DE who, assuming he works hard in the classroom, can make an impact once he steps on the field. Nolan Washington and Andre Barrington are two other players poised to be defensive contributors soon, if not immediately. Darren Markle is a threat to make the two-deep this year at linebacker. I'm hoping they all pan out, but it's possible they might not. It's all part of the development process.

The one thing we can do here, and we hope it's appreciated, is provide the meta-analysis of the Cougar recruiting class. What I mean by that is we seek out all the reports and ratings from ESPN, Scout, Rivals, etc. and mix them into a creamy goulash of quick information on your WSU commitments for this season. Since we aren't out actively scouting players (outside of watching YouTube videos of them), the only thing we can really do is compile the opinions of the scouts out there and provide insights on the players we think will break out for the Cougars in the next few years.

The 2010 Elite Eight was a two-part process. The first four were easy. The final four, not so much. It speaks volumes about this class that we have so many guys bunched so closely together in the middle of the class. It's that seemingly endless list of three-star players that make this group so hard to figure out. Some will rise to the top, some may never be heard from in a crimson uniform. However the depth this class exhibits makes it extremely unlikely to fail. Credit Paul Wulff.

The fun of signing day is that the possibilities are endless, and all laid out in front of us. On to the Eight:

Connor Halliday - QB - Unlike the others on this list, Halliday is a player that I hope earns a redshirt. What I mean by that is that he isn't somehow forced to play due to freakish and untimely injuries to Jeff Tuel and Marshall Lobbestael (knocks on wood really loudly). It's incredibly enticing to see a future where the Cougs get three years of Tuel's services and two of Halliday's. Regardless of how Tuel/Lobbestael shake out, the QB picture looks very bright for potentially the next five years. And that's exciting. Halliday isn't mobile, but he's fundamentally sound as a pocket passer and had good command of the offense he ran at Ferris. There's work to be done, for sure, but he hopefully won't have to be thrown into the fire the way Tuel and Lobbestael were as freshmen.

Aaron Dunn - TE - Dunn came back from a knee injury in 2008 and emerged as an elite tight end prospect, with great blocking skills and the ability to make some plays in the passing game. If he can pack on some size he may find himself shifting to the offensive or defensive line. That's unlikely, at least in my opinion, given our lack of depth at TE, but it speaks volumes about just how good of a blocker he is. Nevertheless, at 6'6" he is physically imposing and one of the true athletes out of this class. He's another great addition to the Cougar family out of Spokane.

C.J. Mizell - LB - Mizell is the coup of this recruiting class, as you've no doubt heard. Once headed to Florida State (he is from Tallahassee after all), the academic stars didn't align for Mizell, and out of college football purgatory the Cougs seem to have found themselves the defensive star of this class. He instantly became the highest rated player by ESPN when he sent in his LOI Wednesday, and he provides a level of talent and athleticism that can make him an immediate contributor. He's relentless attacking the ball, and scouts like how quick he is from sideline to sideline. If the Cougar defense needs something in the future, it's a dominating linebacker to build around. Mizell is just that.

Jake Rodgers - TE - Let's go ahead and complete the Spokane trio with Rodgers, a two-way player in high school at tight end and defensive end. While TE is a good fit for him, the Cougs may need him more on the defensive line, and quite frankly he could do some serious damage there given some time. He's the rare Cougar recruit that already looks like a Pac-10 player, and he's a good blocker, like Dunn. He played alongside current Cougar basketballer Anthony Brown at Shadle Park, so from that you can get a good idea of his athleticism and versatility. Whichever side of the ball he ends up on, expect him to make an impact.

Deone Bucannon - S - Bucannon is an excellent safety prospect. He changes direction on a dime and has a quick burst of speed that he can use to chase down a receiver or attack on the blitz. At 6'1.5", 180, he will help remedy the lack of size WSU has in the defensive backfield right away. The question is whether or not he can develop into an elite pass defender. Time and experience will sort that out; but the odds are in Bucannon's favor.

Damante Horton - CB - Wulff continues to find depth for the secondary, and Horton is a skilled player who also logged time at running back and wideout in high school. He was able to do that because he has a good burst of speed and athleticism. But he's also adept at pass coverage, and can match up well against receivers regardless of their speed or size. If he plays well in fall camp he may be able to work himself into the rotation; if not, a redshirt will help him develop into an even better player by the time he's a Senior.

Bobby Ratliff - WR - Ratliff headlines a deep group of wide receivers in this class. When you hear recruiting services throw out terms like 'sleeper' and 'underrated', you know the Cougars may have stolen one from the major programs in college football. Ratliff has excellent hands and the ability to create yards after the catch. His elusiveness makes him a good option for the slot receiver right off the bat; I wouldn't expect him to redshirt in 2010 because of that.

Rickey Galvin - RB - I was on the fence about Galvin, but after recording the signing day podcast, Nuss has pushed me onto his side. The comparisons to Quizz Rodgers exist because of his height and weight - 5'8", 172. He is quick and elusive, but don't expect Jacquizz 2.0 here. At least not right off the bat. What he can do immediately is help us in kickoff and punt returns, where quick cuts can make the difference between no return and a 30 yard swing in field position. Cal may be kicking themselves for not snatching him right out of their own backyard. It will be interesting to see how he performs catching and carrying the ball - if he can hang on to the ball like Quizz does, we may have found ourselves a star.

You know how you know you're getting presents for Christmas, and most of the time you have a general idea what you're going to be getting? And then the day comes, and most of what you get is what you expected.

But you know that really cool thing -- the one thing you really wanted? You've opened all your gifts, and you didn't get it. While you're incredibly thankful for what you did get, you're having a hard time concealing your modest disappointment.

Then, all of a sudden, your parent/wife/significant other says, "Actually, I have one more gift for you." And when you open it, it's way cooler than the thing you thought you wanted? I mean, in a perfect world, you'd have both, but since you can't have both, you're pretty damn excited about the thing that you did get because given a choice between the two things, you'd choose the thing you actually got?

Yeah, that's how I feel right now.

In all, the Cougs picked up 22 letters of intent today. Two guys backed out, but all the other verbal commits, including one enormous surprise, ended up putting their names on the dotted line. It's a class that Paul Wulff called one of the best -- if not the best -- to come through here in the last 25 years.

Sure, losing Asante Cleveland to Miami hurt -- of all the positions on the field, tight end is undoubtedly the most talent depleted of them all. But picking up C.J. Mizell likely will prove to be bigger in the long run. Athletic, pass catching tight ends are nice, but you can scheme around it if you have enough talented receivers, and we seemed to pick up a bunch today.

But a difference-making linebacker? He can have a dramatic impact on just about every play. And that's exactly what Mizell is.

"CJ has a lot of range, plays with a bit of a mean streak," defensive coordinator Chris Ball said. "He has nature instincts and a good football IQ. He will bring a lot of athleticism and toughness to our team."

Said Wulff: "He is talented and one of those players that makes everyone around him better."

Of course, Mizell's arrival was a circuitous one. He originally committed to Florida State last year, but couldn't qualify academically. He also had a couple of "incidents." But Wulff says he checks out just fine and has his academics in order. He should be on campus for summer term -- this is not another Brandon Rankin case where we're going to have to patiently wait.

In the end, Scout.com ranked the class as the 39th best in the country, beating last year's 43rd ranking. It's the highest Scout.com ranking since 2004, when the Cougs were 21st. This class doesn't have as many top end talents (Michael Bumpus, Jerome Harrison, etc.) as that one did, but the balance in this class is incredible. If three or four of these guys end up beating their projections and most of the rest simply live up to expectations, this class should have no trouble outperforming that 2004 class (on the whole).

There's not a lot of freely available commentary out there on the class, but Cougfan.com did have a premium article that was teased with their West Coast analyst Brandon Huffman saying, "With his second chance at a full recruiting class, Paul Wulff has put together one of the best Washington State has seen."

High praise.

If you're curious where the class ranks with the other services, Rivals has them at 89th. EIGHTY NINTH. I'm no recruiting expert, but that seems awfully absurd. In two years of tracking this stuff pretty closely, I've learned that Rivals is really only worth a crap if you're in Texas or SEC country. They seem to be woefully under-researched, and I place little stock in their class rankings because there are always so many guys they haven't even evaluated or ranked.

For whatever reason, ESPN doesn't do team rankings past their top 25.

Wulff said he expects to add at least one more player to the class -- a JC wide receiver whose paper work wasn't quite in order. He sounded pretty excited about him. Additionally, he said they'd like to add another defensive lineman. However, for those of you with visions of Julious Moore dancing in your head, it sounded like he wanted to add another JC kid.

With that, here are other places where you can get more information on the class:

• The official release from the WSU sports information department, complete with player bios and coach comments.
• Grippi's story for the Spokeman-Review, complete with web-only notes. This is a must-read. (If yo u like generic, lame stories, you can find the AP's here.)
  
• Sean Hawkins at WSU Football Blog transcribed virtually all of Wulff's press conference today, which is nothing short of an awesome effort. I've requested the audio from the SID, but haven't heard back on it yet. I think you can watch a replay of it here -- just click on the "Free Events" tab. I think you have to register first.
• Recruiting coordinator Rich Rasmussen conducted a chat, the transcript of which you can find here.

And don't forget -- we'll have a signing day podcast and Grady's second annual Elite Eight coming your way tomorrow. There's a pretty big basketball game, too ...

Welcome to Signing Day 2010 at CougCenter! This is your one-stop shop for everything related to Washington State University's 2010 football recruiting class.

Immediately below this, you'll find our Cover It Live news stream, where we'll be passing along news as it breaks. The beauty of it, of course, is that you never have to refresh the page to get new news -- it's live updating. That feature will be limited to updates by myself, Craig and Grady as we scour the web for information, but if you have a specific question, you can submit it there -- we'll answer them as time and our relative expertise allows. Cover it Live also has some cool features with polls and such, so be on the lookout for that stuff throughout the day.

After the jump, we've got a massive table in which we've compiled everything we could find on each verbal commit. That's your resource for rankings, evaluations and video. As the day goes on, we'll change each guy's LOI status. (Many thanks to Tomahawk Nation for doing the heavy lifting with the HTML.)

And then, of course, the best part for you -- the comment area. Talk away. (By the way, if you haven't been using the comment hot keys to scroll through the comments, I suggest you learn them -- like pressing "Z" to scroll to the next comment, or "Shift-A" to clear all the unread comments if you've been away for a while and don't want to catch up. It'll be a godsend today with all the comments we'll be getting.)

Also, be sure to follow all of the days news around the country at SBNation's story stream on the main site. Everything that's of interest from around the country will be gathered there.

When the dust settles this evening, we'll have a recap post on the rankings at the end of the day, as well as pull together all the commentary we can find on the Cougs' recruiting class. Enjoy!

Continue reading this post »

A team experiences its worst season in school history, and it decides that the best course of action is to fire ...

The offensive line coach?

Hardly the sweeping changes some were hoping for, the Cougs do end up making a change on the football coaching staff by firing offensive line coach Harold Etheridge. (WSU officially says his "contract will not be renewed," but why mince words?)

More interesting to me is that Vince Grippi says there aren't expected to be any more staff changes, which means it looks like Paul Wulff is still hitching is wagon to offensive coordinator Todd Sturdy, for better or worse.

I have mixed emotions. On the one hand, I think there clearly were bigger problems on offense than the line; but on the other hand, I think some make a legitimate argument when they say the offensive coordinator can't do much if he has to only call plays that can develop in two seconds.

I guess we're going to find out if Sturdy really can do the job. I hope for Wulff's sake that he's right.

Cougfan.com has put together this blatantly speculative list of potential candidates; however, Grippi says Keith Gilbertson is not going to be a candidate, and that Jim Michalczik is probably too expensive. Personally, I'd love to see it be Jason McEndoo, a guy who it appears was a candidate for the job back when Wulff was hired, but seemed to step out of turn when he said he was coming, only to be rebuffed.

Any tie to our successful years is a good one.

There have been a handful of stories circulating that wrap up the football season, most of them based on Paul Wulff's season-ending press conference with reporters. Here's the audio for you.

Most interesting to me? Two things:

1. He is absolutely, undeniably convinced that the team will be vastly improved next year. Given his frank honesty from day one about what our expectations should be, this gives me a lot of hope. I don't get the vibe that he's just saying it in some kind of sales pitch. I think he really believes it.
2. He refuses to say that there won't be changes on the coaching staff. That leads me to believe that there is/are going to be change(s) -- ones that he doesn't want to talk about in the media until they're handled behind closed doors.

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.

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.

This game also happened yesterday.

Cougars vs Huskies Recap

Player of the Game: Reid Forrest. Our over-utilized punter had 7 boots for 277 yards, a long of 50 and 3 kicks downed inside the 20.

Unsung Hero: Xavier Hicks. Picked off Golden Boy Jake Locker and returned it 13 yards.

It was over when... Washington RB Chris Polk dove into the end zone to make it 20-0 with 6:11 to go in the third.

Play of the Game: Well, we didn't score, so... the Hicks INT.

Stat of the Game: The Cougars were unable to get any closer to the end zone than the Huskies' 33 yard line.