Cammon Cooper shows off at Elite 11

Cammon Cooper, WSU’s quarterback commit in the 2018 class, had what looks to have been a very nice weekend at the Elite 11 finals in Southern California.

The Elite 11 finals feature the top 25 quarterback recruits in the 2018 class, a group that will be narrowed down to 11 based on their performance this weekend. That final group, which will compete at The Opening Finals, will be announced today around 8 a.m. PT.

Cooper, who is rated as a 4-star prospect by both Scout and Rivals, was in good shape after the first day, ranking in the top 11. For those of you who don’t follow recruiting, this is some pretty heady company for the WSU commit:

All the major recruiting services were in attendance, and there were no shortage of thoughts on Cooper’s performance early on, starting with SB Nation’s Bud Elliott:

The competition then moved on to some Pro Day drills on Saturday evening. Scout.com had Cooper ranked in their top 10 in Saturday’s drills, saying, “The southpaw ripped it throughout his workout. Cooper showed nice touch on boundary passes, loft when he had to, great spin and led his receivers throughout his session.”

And, from SB Nation:

Unfortunately, despite what sounded like a solid performance, Cooper fell out of the top 11 of the competition’s standings heading into the final day. However, Sunday is when Cooper really had his chance to shine — in 7-on-7 team play.

Here’s what 247 had to say:

Washington State commit Cammon Cooper saved his best performance of the week for the final day. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound prospect completed 17 of 20 passes for five touchdowns. The Lehi (Utah) product took command of the offense and picked apart the defense during his session.

I’m no expert, but 85% completion with five touchdowns and zero interceptions seems pretty good. Scout also was impressed:

Want to see one of those TDs into a tight window? Fast forward to the 0:20 mark on this video to witness an absolutely breathtaking pass from Cooper:

And another touchdown:

SB Nation seemed less impressed, giving off the impression that they’re mostly concerned with arm strength and not much else:

I don’t doubt that Cooper’s arm wasn’t as strong as his competitors’. But, as we know, the arm only has to be “good enough” to successfully run the Air Raid (hi there, Luke Falk!); great accuracy and the ability to zip intermediate balls with anticipation are the paramount skills. In that regard, Cooper appears to be well off — perhaps better off than any of Mike Leach’s quarterback recruits at WSU.

Lastly, each quarterback made a video diagramming their favorite play. Here’s Cooper’s:

I’m glad he likes that play — it’s an Air Raid staple, one that River Cracraft annihilated defenses with for four years.

Also, finishing the video with, “I’m Cammon Cooper. Go Cougs”? Music to my ears.

Duke Washington remembered

WSU lost a legend recently with the death of Washington. I highly recommend reading both of these pieces from Washington’s memorial service.

Cougar friends and family celebrate the life of our Jackie Robinson: Duke Washington - Cougfan.com
SEATTLE — In 1997, as the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s Major League Baseball debut, I set out on a modest journey: to find "The Jackie Robinson of Cougar Football." Calls to Dick Fry and Keith Lincoln led me to three names. And so began my friendship with Duke Washington, the pioneering WSU hall of famer whose life was celebrated today in Seattle at a memorial gathering of family, friends, old teammates and a contingent representing Washington State athletics and Cougar football. Duke was 84.

WSU legend, race pioneer Duke Washington celebrated in Seattle - seattlepi.com
In their own way, each tale depicts the life of the Washington State Cougar football legend and long-time Seattle Public Schools employee who is known as a pioneer of the integration of college football.