WSU shifts into regular season mode

WSU shifted to the schedule it will operate under during the regular season. Games are close!

Quick notes:

• In his blog post, Christian gave a rundown of the potential travel squad based on who was wearing crimson helmets during Sunday's practice. You can see the full list here.
• I count nine scholarship true freshman on the projected list. That doesn't mean they will necessarily play -- as many will travel as a precaution -- but it gives a rough idea.
• Gerard Wicks is not among the freshman, so it appears WSU's running back rotation will be a combination of Teondray Caldwell, Marcus Mason, Jeremiah Laufasa, Theron West and Leon Brooks.
• True freshman Isaac Dotson, who moved from QB roughly a week ago, is on the list. Safety is a major area of need in the 2014 recruiting class.

Quoatable:

Darryl Monroe on WSU's linebackers, via Christian's feature:

"I want them to look at us and be like, this group of young men are very aggressive, relentless, and play with a ‘bad' attitude - aka, a chip on our shoulders," Monroe said. "Oh, and that we hustle, and run to the ball. That's No. 1. These boys run to the ball."

Blurb of the day:

Great stuff from Logan Mayes on the Apple Cup, via Bud Withers:

"I tried to shove it in that (same) gap with Junior in there, and Coach Joe (Salave'a, defensive-line coach) had told me, ‘No, you shouldn't do that, you've got to keep going and find air,'" said Mayes, recalling the practice.

So Mayes found air. He plunged through the A gap on the other side, got brushed briefly by an offensive guard, and took Price down, thinking he had a sack. He looked up and saw Pole running with the ball, and thought the game was over.

"Bruns, man, he should have run track," Mayes said.

Injury report:

Casey Locker and Damante Horton took part in practice, which was no contact. We'll see if they are on the field when players are in pads, but it's at least positive news.

Today's schedule:

The Cougars are off today, just as they will be on Mondays during the season.

Football links:

WSU does light work on Day 16 - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Aug. 18, 2013
It was a standard, in-season Sunday night practice for Washington State tonight — that is to say, they didn't wear pads — not even shoulder pads — just jerseys, shorts and helmets, and did mostly scout and special-teams work. We do have a few notes, so read on.

Nine months later, Cougars still drawing inspiration from Apple Cup win | Cougars | The Seattle Times
On the oppressive days of fall football camp, nobody at Washington State is consumed with the startling events of a cloudy Friday afternoon last November. There are too many pressing priorities, including a daunting opener at Auburn in 12 days.

WSU football position review: Linebackers - Spokesman.com - Aug. 18, 2013
There is one major difference between the group of Washington State linebackers who will play this season, and the group that started in 2012.