Take it away, Craig:
We may be 2/3rds of the way to @KyleRancourt's hope of saying "LOL U MAD SMU" cougcenter.com/2012/1/13/2704…
— Craig Powers (@TheCraigPowers) January 16, 2012
With the commitment of LB Kache Palacio (via CougFan), we're a Robert Lewis commitment away from a custom U MAD, BRO? Mike Leach/June Jones picture. I talked about Palacio already here, but I'll expand on the evaluation after the jump.
Palacio was a DE in high school, but he's coming to WSU as an OLB. With Mike Breke's 3-4, a pass rushing 'tweener is essential. Palacio is more well rounded than the other LB/DE who visited this weekend (Jeremiah Allison), but he's still pretty raw. I do believe, however, that he can become an all-conference performer before his time in Pullman is up.
According to Scout, he cancelled his official visit to UCLA next weekend, and is telling other schools he's not interested. While this sounds great on the surface, remember, nothing should ever surprise you in the weeks leading up to signing day.
Since he spent most of his career with his hand in the dirt, Palacio will have to work on his coverage skills. He's already fairly good sized for a LB (6'2, 225), and I could see him putting on 15-20 pounds once he hits the weight room. I think in terms of football, he still has a lot to learn. He did stuff in high school by simply being a better athlete than the other kids. I'm confident the coaches will help him become more fundamentally sound (not that he isn't already), and realize his potential. He already has fairly good instincts, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him play a decent amount in 2012.
I really like Palacio, if for no other reason than Milt Palacio played for the Sonics for about 10 minutes.
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