Hot Cougar Action: Recapping media day

Mike Leach, Jeff Tuel, Travis Long and Elliott Bosch met the media on Monday and you may be surprised to hear this, but they were asked about Marquess Wilson's statement.

Leach once again emphatically denied the allegations. When asked if it was possible for some actions to be misconstrued, Leach said, "no, no, no. Next question." The players were also asked about the situation and while Tuel and Long shied away from the questions, Bosch shed some light on what went on at halftime against Utah.

WSU athletics posted videos of Tuel, Long and Leach, but not Bosch. Instead, his comments come from Bud Withers of the Seattle Times.

Monday, center Elliott Bosch described a scene involving assistant coach Paul Volero.

"Coach Volero came up, he had the O-line and the D-line come up, he was just trying to get us fired up," Bosch said. "He grabbed some guys by the chestplate. He wanted to take a look in their eyes and see if they really wanted to be here, if they were here for the right reasons, if they wanted to win. That's all he was doing."

Bill Moos has apparently already looked into it and wasn't alarmed with what he found.

Moos said he investigated the incident and said, "I came away from it feeling that there was no intentional grabbing a player and throwing him around. It was more of a motivational, slap on the pads, the breastplate of the pads, that kind of thing. In my day, that was not uncommon."

This will likely not be the last time we hear about Utah halftime as it seems to be the incident Wilson was referring to when he said physical abuse occurred. The three available videos can be watched in full below.

WSU Football: Mike Leach Press Conference Nov. 12 (via WSUCougarAthletics)

WSU Football: Jeff Tuel Press Conference Nov. 12 (via WSUCougarAthletics)

WSU Football: Travis Long Press Conference Nov. 12 (via WSUCougarAthletics)

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Football

Marquess Wilson situation beginning to boil at WSU | WSU Cougars - The News Tribune
PULLMAN – Connor Halliday came off the bench to throw five touchdown passes in one of the most stirring comeback attempts in Washington State football history, but standout wide receiver Marquess Wilson managed to steal the spotlight Saturday night without playing a single down.

Leach supportive of investigations - Spokesman.com - Nov. 13, 2012
PULLMAN – His confidence never wavering, his tone slightly irritated, Washington State coach Mike Leach again on Monday denied any and all claims of abuse made by former receiver Marquess Wilson.

Leach in turmoil - College Sports - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington news, weather and sports
PULLMAN – Washington State athletic director Bill Moos expressed strong support for football coach Mike Leach on Monday in the wake of school and Pacific-12 Conference investigations into charges of abusive actions by WSU coaches.

Mike Leach denies charge, Washington State players say claim of abuse hasn't affected them on field | Cougar Football | The Seattle Times
Washington State center Elliott Bosch said an assistant coach "was just trying to get us fired up" during a halftime scene in the Cougars' loss at Utah. Receiver Marquess Wilson, who quit the day after the loss at Utah, accused WSU coaches of "physical, emotional and verbal abuse."

ASU Football Opponent First Look: Washington State Cougars - House of Sparky
Being in the midst of a four-game losing streak is pretty terrible. It can dash division title dreams (check), demoralize a fanbase (check), and ignite a possible quarterback controversy (check). But not matter how bad things get for the Arizona State Sun Devils, they can rest safely knowing one thing. At least they're not Washington State. Oh, the poor Cougars.

Football Recruiting

Weekend Rewind: West - On The Trail Blog - ESPN
The Washington State Cougars had four high school standouts on campus for official visits.

Basketball

Motum says Cougars 'Let our foot off the gas' Against EWU - KHQ Right Now - News and Weather for Spokane and North Idaho |
Yes, The Cougars beat the Eagles. Yes, Brock Motum had another big game. So did DaVonte Lacy. Even still, Washington State feels it has plenty of work to do.