There are position battles other than the one at quarterback to keep an eye on

Good morning Coug fans, and danke to PJ for filling in yesterday while I checked an item off my Wishlist and ensured I wouldn’t live a Life Wasted. Now that my Friday night is in the Rearviewmirror, it’s time to get back to Cougar football.

The quarterback position has rightfully taken much of the attention through one week of practices. It looks like Gardner Minshew and Trey Tinsley will be the top two. Now that the QB position is nearly settled, I say we take a look at a couple of other position battles.

The running back position right now features junior James Williams, senior Keith Harrington and true freshman Max Borghi. Let’s assume Williams is the no. 1 guy, but comments from Mike Leach after Friday’s scrimmage and a pre-scrimmage report from The Spokesman-Review’s Theo Lawson indicate that Borghi should see plenty of playing time this season.

Here’s Lawson before the scrimmage:

“It’s probably only a matter of time before Borghi clamps down the feature back role – be it later this season or at some point when his position mates graduate – but I’d predict all three players are repped equally, just like the QBs.”

The Cougs used three running backs the past two seasons so there’s no reason to believe that won’t continue.

Another intriguing position, to me at least, is along the defensive line. Both Nnamdi Oguayo and Derek Moore have missed practice, although there seems to be some belief that they’ll return soon. Former walk-on Taylor Comfort is battling junior college transfer Pono Lolohea at the nose tackle position, and then there’s Will Rodgers III, whom Lawson called “a Swiss Army knife.”

Rodgers is a sophomore and has some experience, though not a ton, so we’ll see how he progresses. The Cougs lost three guys from last year’s defensive line and definitely have some holes to plug.

What position battles, besides quarterback, interest you?

WSU coaches work on their day off

Yesterday was the first day new students could move into the dorms—yes, school starts in eight days—and while WSU had the day off from the football field, that didn’t mean some of the coaches weren’t working.

Some assistants joined WSU administration and staff in helping new students unpack their bags:

And those coaches who didn’t help with move-in got a lesson in wheat farming—fitting now that harvest in in full force on the Palouse.

Football

Washington State athletics seeking financial stability, fundraising growth under first-year AD Pat Chun | The Spokesman-Review
Some might say these are precarious times for an AD in Pullman. On one hand, Chun has a desire to finish the job his predecessor Bill Moos started, and continue to move the Cougars’ athletic facilities into the modern age. On the other, he’s dealing with a massive financial shortfall that rivals any in the country.

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