Quarterback position battle not yet settled after Washington State holds first scrimmage

With just three more Saturdays without your Washington State Cougars playing an actual football game, the fog should start to lift on some position battles in the coming days. But after the team’s first scrimmage of the preseason, one of those position battles doesn’t seem too clear quite yet: the quarterbacks.

Here are the stats from the three guys competing for the starting position:

• Trey Tinsley: 9/15, 136 yards, 2 TDs
• Gage Gubrud: 8/11, 100 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
• Anthony Gordon: 8/15, 92 yards, 1 TD

We weren’t there, so make sure you read scrimmage reports from Theo Lawson of The Spokesman-Review and Jackson Gardner of CougFan. You can also read the team’s own report, which includes all the stats.

Something notable, at least to me: The first three series, according to CougFan, went to Anthony Gordon, Trey Tinsley and Cammon Cooper. Does that mean the coaches know what they have in Gubrud and wanted to see if the other guys could close in on him? Am I reading too much into this? I’m probably reading too much into this.

Despite the one interception, Lawson gave Gubrud the slight edge. Rodrick Fisher was another standout. Fisher finished with five catches for 68 yards and two touchdowns. Fisher is competing with Tay Martin and Calvin Jackson Jr. at the X receiver position. Speaking of Tay Martin, he finished with three catches for 44 yards. This is notable because, according to practice reports, the coaches yanked Martin from practice on Thursday.

The scrimmage pitted the ones vs. the twos at times, so take that for what it’s worth. In all, 17 different players caught passes and nine different players ran the ball, though three of those nine were quarterbacks. Max Borghi had a 33-yard touchdown run, which reminded me that we haven’t heard much about Borghi this preseason, which might be a good thing.

Also a good thing: The kickers were perfect on seven attempts.

Something to keep an eye on: Brandon Arconado, the one-time walk-on, has taken advantage of the reps he’s getting at the inside receiver position with Jamire Calvin sidelined. Perhaps Arconado would be in the rotation anyway, but as someone we always read about but only saw on the field during garbage time, he’s definitely made some noise this preseason. Arconado had three catches for 46 yards and a touchdown Friday.

Dezmon Patmon led all receives with four catches for 85 yards.

On the other side of the ball, Tyrese Ross seemed to make the safety position battle more interesting. The redshirt freshman had six tackles to lead the team. The defensive line also had six sacks and suddenly looks like it might have a little depth.

Here are the highlights. Pay attention to Renard Bell wiping out after a Kassidy Woods touchdown at about the 1:52 mark.

Ryan Leaf shares a great story (LANGUAGE WARNING)

Links

Cougars Hold First Fall Scrimmage - Washington State University Athletics
WSU scrimmage in Martin Stadium Friday evening.

The good and the bad from WSU's first fall camp scrimmage
Full stats, notable notes and observations from Scrimmage 1

Gage Gubrud impressive under the lights ... and four other takeaways from Washington State’s first scrimmage | The Spokesman-Review
We evaluate the play of the quarterbacks and list four other takeaways from Washington State’s first preseason scrimmage.

NFL Draft Summer Scouting: High-upside underclassmen center prospects lead group of interior linemen – The Athletic
Frederick Mauigoa makes the list.

College football bowl projections: Is Alabama-Clemson V inevitable in the 2020 College Football Playoff? - CBSSports.com
One prognosticator has WSU up against Iowa in the Redbox Bowl.

ASU Football Opponent Primer: Washington State Cougars - House of Sparky
Cougs and Devils

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