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Theo Lawson gives his All-Camp team as the Cougars season gets closer

With classes starting on Monday, the Cougars now have another thing on their plate.

Oregon v Washington State Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images

Theo Lawson of the Spokesman-Review has been covering the Washington State football team all throughout fall camp, and on Monday camp officially ended with the start of classes. Lawson took a look at the five players who made the biggest impact the past couple of weeks. The award list includes two offensive and defensive players as well as one special teams player.

On the offensive side of the ball, redshirt-sophomore running back James Williams and sophomore receiver Isaiah Johnson-Mack are listed as the “All-Camp” award winners. Lawson says that Williams “has been a step or two ahead of the other three (runningbacks) since returning to Pullman.” In the two scrimmages since returning, Williams has scored four of the five touchdowns by running backs and has tallied 146 yards on 9 carries. Last season he led the Cougars on the ground with 584 yards on 102 carries and was second on the team with 6 touchdowns.

Fans of Pac-12 football all know about the man who previously wore the #9 jersey, Gabe Marks, and Cougar fans are about to find out what the next man to wear #9 can do. Isaiah Johnson-Mack hauled in six catches for 83 yards in the first scrimmage including a nice catch over the middle where he continued up field by making the defense miss for 25 yards.

Johnson-Mack had the 6th most receptions on the team with 35 and was 8th with 246 receiving yards last season. There will be a lot more passes to go around as 142 of the Cougars receptions went to Marks and River Cracraft who both graduated.

On the other side of the ball Lawson has nose tackle Daniel Ekaule and Will linebacker Isaac Dotson, both redshirt seniors, as the award winners. Ekuale tallied 23 total tackles last season and 22 the year before. Although not being completely disruptive in the backfield during his time in Pullman, Lawson says he has been one of the most active during fall camp. He also mentions that Ekuale has been thriving under new defensive line coach, Jeff Phelps.

Isaac Dotson finally found his home at Will backer last season and looks to improve on what are already impressive numbers. Dotson was all over the field in camp and has gained attention from the coaches and teammates the past couple of weeks recording a sack in the scrimmage and a fumble recovery last week.

The final piece to Lawson’s All-Camp list is kicker Erik Powell. The senior kicker made 5 of 6 field goals between the two scrimmages and missed a 47-yard try. Last season he made 9 of 15 field goal attempts.

Lawson also lists another 5 players as honorable mention.

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