Football! Real, live football! It's finally time for some football! Fooooootbaaaaallll!
Or, in normal people's terms, fall camp has arrived. That, of course, means the season is just around the corner. The offseason is basically in the rear-view mirror and the Washington State Cougars will step onto the field in Pullman for the home-stretch, preparing for the season-opener against BYU.
And on Thursday, the football-less summer will come to an end. Sure it's just practice. And sure, fall camp is really about staying healthy above all else. But dammit, it's actual action and real things to talk about.
On Wednesday, Washington State released its fall camp schedule. As noted earlier, Mike Leach will not be holding two-a-days, instead opting to use long, single practices during camp. The rest of the day will be devoted to film sessions, weight training and walkthroughs.
Schedule is after the jump.
Thur., Aug. 2 2:45 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 3 2:45 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 4 2:45 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 5 2:45 p.m.
Mon., Aug. 6 2:45 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 7 2:45 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 8 2:45 p.m.
Thur., Aug. 9 2:45 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 10 2:45 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 11 4 p.m. (Scrimmage)
Sun., Aug. 12 No Practice
Mon., Aug. 13 2:45 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 14 2:45 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 15 9:15 a.m.
Thur., Aug. 16 1:15 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 17 2:45 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 18 No Practice
Sun., Aug. 19 2:30 p.m.
Mon., Aug. 20 3:30 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 21 3:30 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 22 3:30 p.m.
Thur., Aug. 23 3:30 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 24 8 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 25 No Practice
Sun., Aug. 26 3:30 p.m.
Mon., Aug. 27 3:30 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 28 3:30 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 29 Leave for BYU
Thur., Aug. 30 WSU at BYU
Of note, the practices will be closed to everyone after Aug. 18. Leach doesn't want distractions at eye-level, so blacking out the Rogers Field fence and keeping practices closed as the season nears is a way to, in his opinion, keep the team focused.
So, as the season-opener draws near, you'll likely see plenty of people perched on top of the library. Closed practices are something new for Washington State and that's just fine. Practice is practice, and once you've seen one you've probably seen them all -- especially with Leach, whose practices are structured basically down to the second and really don't change much at all.
Additionally, the team will be in shorts and helmets for the first two days with shoulder pads piled on for the third. Full padded practices will begin on Aug. 7.
But consider yourself warned.