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A year ago it seemed like WSU was going to be in real trouble at the cornerback position. The most experienced and accomplished player of the group, Daquawn Brown, had left the program and the team was left with a bunch of unproven young players to fill the void. What a difference a year makes.
Now there is so much talent at the position that the coaches felt comfortable moving Charleston White (the most experienced cornerback of a year ago) to safety this spring. No. 1 cornerback Darrien Molten is a probable honors candidate for next season after being named a freshman All-American by a few publications. The unheralded recruit came out of nowhere last year to excel as a true freshman.
Marcellus Pippins was the other starter at cornerback last year and had a terrific sophomore season. He intercepted three passes and batted away another nine. The level of depth is so strong right now that senior Treshon Broughton is a back-up with starter ablility. Broughton came late last year as a heralded junior college transfer. He didn't have a lot of time to get acclimated and is now showing his stuff after having some time in Alex Grinch's defense.
The other guys who have emerged are first-year player Deion Singleton and senior walk-on Willie Roach. Singleton was a highly recruited player out of Pasco who is finally getting a chance to earn some playing time after sitting out last year for academic reasons and Roach is another in-state walk-on who has steadily worked his way up the depth chart a la John Thompson.
In addition the squad has Kirkland Parker who can swing between nickel and corner and was very solid in his first year last season. White and freshman Jalen Thompson are other guys who are playing safety right now who could come back to the outside as needed. The fact that Thompson (who we're told the coaches are over the moon for) is over at the safety position speaks volumes for how confident the defensive staff is in the corners. Don't sleep on touted freshman D'Jimon Jones, Marcus Strong and Skyler Thomas as well. The athleticism that Jones shows on this dunk should really get Cougar fans excited.
.@wsucougfb commit & Fed Way QB, Hoop G, 6'10" high jumper D'jimon Jones is an ATHHHH-LEEETE !!! https://t.co/0jwMZlZrbh
— UnderTheRadar NW (@UTRNorthwest) March 30, 2016
Overall, this is the best group we have had back there since the start of the Bill Doba era. It's so great to finally have a team that we can get excited about not just the starters, but the entire two-deep as well.
Football
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The transcript of this morning's WSU football chat.
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