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One of the biggest questions outside of quarterback heading into this season on offense was who was going to be on the opposite end of those passes. The receiving position has been highly touted the past few years but we have yet to see a lot of the young guys play. According to Colton Clark of the Spokesman Review, Rolovich said there are 10 receivers that he feels “confident going into a game” with.
Last season, Renard Bell, Travell Harris, and Jamire Calvin finished the season as the only receivers to catch double-digit passes. Of those three, Harris will be the only one on the field this season as it was announced last month that Bell tore his ACL and Calvin left the program to join Mike Leach at Mississippi State. As Kevin Dudley pointed out yesterday in the offensive breakdown, Harris has not been all that active during practices so far. Lucas Bacon, who finished fourth on the team in receptions last year also transferred out of the program leaving just four receivers this season who caught a pass last season.
The Cougars will look to rotate through plenty of receivers this season as they work to find out who will be hauling in the bulk of passes. Calvin Jackson Jr., a grad student, looks to excel in his third season with the Cougars. He finished with just two receptions in his one game played last season. Before that, he hauled in 10 receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown in his three games during the 2019 season.
Rolovich’s 10 receivers that he mentioned include junior inside receivers Lincoln Victor (transfer) and Drake Owen (walk-on) as well as sophomore Joey Hobert who had 3 receptions for 31 yards last season. Newcomers C.J. Moore (transfer) and De’Zhaun Stribling (freshman) joined Donovan Ollie as guys he mentioned for the outside receiver position. Walk-on junior Mitchell Quinn and Brandon Gray were also mentioned by Rolovich. Jackson Jr. and Harris round out the group of 10.
With the quarterback situation still up in the air, the receiving group has just as many questions yet to be answered. With the amount of new names we will see this season and with a new offense that has yet to flourish, who will step up as the go-to receiver that we have become so accustomed to?
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Football:
Washington State growing confident in options at receiver
Nick Rolovich was asked how many wide receivers he intends to play this season, and though he hasn’t settled on an exact number yet, the second-year Washington State football coach rattled off the names of 10 pass-catchers he feels “confident going into a game” with.
Episode 2: Ryan Leaf on Pac-12 picks, Nick Rolovich
Leaf also addressed the news cycle his alma mater has been in, with Washington State coach Nick Rolovich’s responses to questions about the university’s vaccine mandate for employees.
The Pac-12 is facing a series of momentous strategic and structural decisions this year as the college sports landscape undergoes massive transformation.
Basketball:
Can ‘Moneyball’ Work in College Hoops? Under Kyle Smith, Washington State Is the Ultimate Test
Pullman is one of the hardest places to win in the sport. After Smith’s success with an analytics-driven approach at Saint Mary’s, Columbia and San Francisco, there are early signs it can carry over to the highest level.