HCA: Gardner Minshew II named Lombardi Award finalist

Gardner Minshew has already won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award this year and on Monday it was announced he could possibly finish off his time at Washington State with another award, the Lombardi award. Joining six other athletes from around the country, Minshew could help the Pac-12 win this award in back-to-back years after Stanford’s Bryce Love won it last year.

The Lombardi award is handed out yearly to the best college football player based on their skill, knowledge, and disposition. The award takes into consideration their awareness, decisiveness, focus, inspiration, performance, accountability, and their ability to leverage team strengths.

The award had previously been limited to the best lineman or linebacker but that changed in 2016 and since then Love is the only offensive player to win the award.

Minshew had a phenomenal season leading the Cougars to a school best 11-2 record and an Alamo Bowl victory while throwing for 4,779 yards and 38 touchdowns with only 9 interceptions on the year. As hard as it is to believe, his numbers in the fourth quarter are even more eye popping. He led the Cougars on three fourth quarter game winning drives and completed 92 of 127 passes for 1,169 yards and 13 touchdowns while throwing no interceptions.

Minshew will join Ugo Amadi (S, Oregon), Julian Love (CB, Notre Dame), Kyler Murray (QB, Oklahoma), Dalton Risner (OT, Kansas State), Jonah Williams (OT, Alabama), and Christian Wilkins (DT, Clemson) on Friday, January 25th in Houston, Texas for the award ceremony.

Last season, Hercules Mata’afa had been named one of the 21 finalists before the list was cut down to seven.

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Football:

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Mike Leach, Michael Baumgartner tease football and war leadership course at Washington State University | The Spokesman-Review
The head football coach at WSU tweeted what appeared to be fully realized syllabus Sunday night for the course, which he first teased in late November. Michael Baumgartner, the former state senator and current Spokane County treasurer, confirmed he’d been working with Leach on the course layout and believed the course would bring a fresh perspective to the study of nontraditional warfare, and how to counter it.

Lombardi Award Finalists announced

Lombardi Honors is proud to announce the “Lombardi 7” Finalists for the 2018 Lombardi Award. The Lombardi is presented to an NCAA Division 1 football player, regardless of position, based on Performance and Leadership honed by Character and Resiliency.

Soccer:

Soccer to Host its Annual Winter Soccer Academy - Washington State University Athletics
The academy begins Feb. 11 and runs through March.

Basketball:

Cougars Add Midseason Transfer Chance Moore - Washington State University Athletics
Moore will be eligible to play next December.

Rowing:

WSU Rowing Encourages Students to Join the Team - Washington State University Athletics
WSU Rowing is searching for driven young women to continue their athletic career by joining the team.

Spirit Squad:

WSU Spirit Squads Head to Nationals for Sixth-Straight Year - Washington State University Athletics
WSU Cheer and Crimson Girls will hold a national showcase performance, Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. at Bohler Gym. Admission is free to come preview the national routines.