You probably should get used to the idea that this is the last season you'll see Jeshua Anderson in a Cougar uniform.
That's because, according to freelancer Howie Stalwick, Anderson seriously considered turning pro in track after once again dominating the NCAA in the 400-meter hurdles. In fact, Anderson didn't finalize his decision to come back to the football team until just a few weeks ago.
To what do we have to thank Anderson's return to our immensely inexperienced wide receiver corps?
Anderson ... admitted "that would have been a hard decision" whether to return if he had qualified for the World Track and Field Championships in the 400 hurdles. The top three finishers at the USA Track nationals qualified; Anderson came in fifth.
He said his goal is to compete professionally in both track and football, but let's be real here: While Anderson has been a nice playmaker at times on the football field, he's nowhere near NFL material. On the other hand, he's proven to be one of the elite track athletes at the NCAA level in just his first two years of college. If college athletics is the training ground for professional athletics, Anderson has very little left to prove. The best move for him and his future is to turn pro in track following the end of football season, never to return to WSU.
So, while Anderson said "It’s a blessing to be back here at school and to see your teammates happy for you to be coming back," and that he's "happy to be here and have a great season," let's call it what it is -- Anderson's final year in crimson and gray.
Elsewhere, there's nothing like the opening day of practice to bring out the microwaves and pretty faces for an appearance! Here's some video from day one via some of our Eastern Washington television outlets. You can find additional video here from KREM2, which they don't let people embed (join the 21st century already, guys ...) and also here from KXLY, which does allow embedding, but for some reason SBN's interface won't allow me to embed both the video from KNDU and KXLY. (Probably something to do with the fact that they both use the same player interface.)
Before you watch the video, let's play a little game. Two very distinct thoughts came to mind after watching this video. I'll post them after the jump. You do the same in the comments after watching the video to see how closely they matched up.
- Kevin Lopina didn't throw an interception! Hooray! (What's that? There were no defenders? You're such a downer ...)
- I'm more convinced than ever that I would not want Andy Mattingly to hit me over the head with a frying pan.