WSU fall camp roundup: A fun, loose atmosphere in Lewiston

Through eight days of camp, Washington State football feels a lot more fun this year. You have Jamal Morrow and Gerard Wicks mobbin’ a golf cart recklessly in the background of player interviews, Mike Leach tweeting hilarious videos throughout the night, and generally positive reviews from all of the coaching staff following camp practices.

Leach has been relatively laid back throughout the first week of practices, giving off the vibe that this is a confident, yet pretty relaxed group as the make their way back to Pullman in preparations for the opener against Montana State on September 2.

They’ll have one more practice in Lewiston at 2 p.m. today before the team packs up their bags early and heads back to Pullman for the first open scrimmage of fall camp in Martin Stadium at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow. With five games at home to start the season, Leach felt it was time.

“It’s just a good transition time, middle of the day,” Leach told the Spokesman Review following yesterday’s practice. “And then also we’ll be playing on that surface for five straight games to start out, so that helps.”

Notable

• In the camp report above, Leach told Matt Chazanow that he thought practice was a little sluggish, with the defense outplaying the offense. This doesn’t come off as too surprising as the team is reaching that point in camp where bodies are getting tired. Getting back home and into the comforts of their own beds should help a bit.
• One of the more notable position battles in camp has been at nickelback, where Kirkland Parker and Hunter Dale continue to battle for reps. In his practice report, Lawson noted that Parker, who has been running with the one’s in recent days, had the better day, but that he expects the competition to run its course throughout camp.
• The receivers continue to dominate the headlines with Jamire Calvin, Tavares Martin Jr., Isaiah Johnson-Mack and Davontavean Martin getting most of the pub thus far. While I’m extremely encouraged with what we’ve seen thus far from those guys, I’m really excited to see what a healthy CJ Dimry can do both vertically and in between the 20s.
• On the injury front, Theo Lawson of the Spokesman Review reports that Robert Lewis was back at practice after being limited since last weekend with an apparent illness.
• After spending a week covering the team in Lewiston, Stefanie Loh of the Seattle Times took her first crack at projecting the offensive depth chart week one vs. Montana State. The offensive line is pretty much set in stone, as is quarterback and running back (though, Gerard Wicks, Jamal Morrow, James Williams and Keith Harrington are still battling for reps).
  
  At receiver, Loh projected Martin Jr. (X), Lewis (Y), Sweet (H) and Johnson-Mack (Z) to be the starting four. She projects that Dimry and “Tay” Martin will back up Martin Jr., Calvin and Renard Bell to back up Lewis, Easop Winston and Travell Harris behind Sweet, and Dezmon Patmon to round out the second unit behind Johnson-Mack.

• Brian Anderson, resident football smart person here at CougCenter, sees it a little differently, however. Brian expects Sweet and Winston to man the Y and Calvin and Bell at H. Anyway, we should get a better idea of the receiving groups tomorrow evening.

Practice Videos

Interviews