Fall camp Day 2 roundup

Another day, another fall practice, let's get to it.

Quick notes:

• The big news of the day was the word Destiny Vaeao is now playing BUCK linebacker. He ran with the first team on Saturday, after playing defensive end last season.
• With Vaeao playing BUCK, WSU can now run out a defensive front featuring Vaeao (6'4, 290), Toni Pole (6'1, 302), Ioane Gauta (6'3, 285) and Xavier Cooper (6'4, 303). That is a lot of size.
• Why the move? For one, Mike Breske said Vaeao does a good job of setting the edge, a key to playing that role. That doesn't mean he'll be the only one playing BUCK, Ivan McLennan and Kache Palacio will also be in the mix.
• Mike Leach seemed pleased once again with both effort and execution. It means next to nothing this early, but it's better than the alternative.
• Keep an eye on freshman cornerback Daquawn Brown. According to Christian Caple, Brown spent a good chunk of time running with the second team. That would be ahead of Rahmel Dockery and Alex Jackson.

Blurb of the day:

Gabe Marks dominated headlines in spring football, consistently standing out for his playmaking ability. That trend has continued in fall camp as Christian wrote:

Gabe Marks probably had the most productive day of any offensive player, again continuing his dominance in the 1-on-1 drill, and again exchanging words with defensive backs after a good number of his catches.

"He's got a really good attitude, and has really since late last season," Leach said. "He wants virtually every ball and he can't quite figure out why we throw it to anybody else but him, and he wants every ball. Disappointed when he doesn't get it. That's one thing, sometimes practices drag on and somebody gets tired and they don't want the ball anymore. Gabe always wants the ball. As many balls as we gave Gabe, which was a lot, Gabe thinks we should have given him all of them still, which is an incredible quality to have. And then with that, that being the case, he's steadily developed his skills and just improved and improved."

Injury report:

Chester Su'a and Matt Meyer remain absent while Christian reported Dockery, Paris Taylor, Tyler Baker and Darius Lemora were among the players riding exercise bikes.

Tweet of the day:

Watch the interview with Mike Breske below and look for the highlights of Bucannon. He looks like a tank.

Asked Breske about Bucannon's size. He said linebacker coaches wanted to take him, but Breske said "no way." Not sure if he was kidding.

— Christian Caple (@ChristianCaple) August 4, 2013

Quotable:

"It takes a different personality to play defense," Darryl Monroe said after practice. "You have to come out excited, you can't be scared. You have to know that you're the man and I feel like all 11 of us, all 22, all 33, the whole defense we know that we're the big brothers on this team so we act like it. We fly around, we make plays. It's our job to intimidate the opposing offense."

Darryl Monroe is the best.

Videos:

Monroe, Mike Breske and Mike Leach are today's interviews from WSU Athletics. If you enjoy wide receiver discussion, Leach's interview is for you.

Today's schedule:

WSU will be back at it on Sunday with practice scheduled to start at 3 p.m. PT. The Cougars are expected to wear helmets, shoulder pads and shorts. We're moving closer to full pads, which means we're moving closer to actual games.

Links:

Vaeao’s destiny unfolding - Spokesman.com - Aug. 4, 2013
LEWISTON – The earliest and most interesting position change so far in Washington State’s preseason football camp spawned from a conversation two weeks ago between defensive coordinator Mike Breske and WSU strength and conditioning coach Jason Loscalzo.

Five things to look for at WSU camp - Spokesman.com - Aug. 4, 2013

1 QUARTERBACK: Might as well start here and get it over with. It seems safe to say now that this is Connor Halliday’s job to lose, since Mike Leach has said repeatedly that Halliday would be the starter if the season started today. As it stands now, “today” isn’t all that far away from “August 31,” which is when the Cougars do have to play a game. And Halliday’s experience seems to give him an edge over Austin Apodaca, who has received plenty of adulation from Leach for his performance in the spring.

Fullington back with WSU's starting offensive unit | The Columbian
John Fullington, a three-year starter on Washington State's offensive line, suffered in silence when he spent much of spring practice on the second team.

Cougars’ quest for football wins begins with less drama | Cougar Football | The Seattle Times
If we are indeed a product of all our experiences, then it’s probably inevitable that you can’t assess the 2013 Washington State football team without revisiting the events of 2012. Here, we’ll let Connor Halliday do it.

Cougar Defense Highlights Day Two of Preseason Camp - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
The Washington State University football team continued preseason camp with a two-hour practice in helmets and shorts Saturday afternoon.

Day 2: WSU offense gets going a bit - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Aug. 3, 2013
FROM LEWISTON — Another day of camp is in the books for Washington State. There were a few more highlights on the offensive side of the ball this time. Details follow.