Connor Halliday talks weight, facilities and more

When it comes to player interviews, Connor Halliday is one of the more insightful and candid players to come through Pullman in recent years. He doesn't rely on typical cliches to answer questions and gives very honest answers. That can ruffle some feathers at times -- like when he said Auburn would be a top five team if it had a quarterback -- but personally I appreciate it.

I bring this up because the ESPN Pac-12 blog posted a Q&A with the Cougar quarterback on Monday. Halliday covered a few topics, including his receivers, the offensive line and the new football operations building. Halliday also noted his weight is up to 200 pounds, up from the 180 pounds he played at last season. How much of an impact that will have next season remains to be seen, but the added weight could help him if he takes hits early in the season playing behind and inexperienced offensive line. Speaking of that offensive line ...

Washington State lost so many contributors on the offensive line after last season, what has that position group's progress been like this spring?

Halliday: It has been great. They're really young, but they're really talented. I think that's one thing people don't quite see yet. Everyone asks me about how they're doing because they're young, but they're the most talented group that I've ever played with. They're going to have some shortcomings because of inexperience, but they've worked their butts off and I think the sky is the limit for this offense the next couple years. I wish I was a little younger because we've got everybody coming back at receiver [in 2015] other than Vince [Mayle], and then everyone on the O-line will be back. Whoever is playing quarterback the next couple years will be given the keys to a pretty nice car.

I'm probably reading way too much into it, but I found it interesting that Halliday said "whoever is playing quarterback" in the future instead of specifically signalling out Tyler Bruggman. That is a little change from last year when Halliday said, "once Tyler figures out this offense and gets comfortable and gets not being home sick and all that stuff, Tyler is going to be a heck of a quarterback. Tyler could be a superstar here, so watch out for Mr. Bruggman."

When it comes to the new facility, Halliday said he was surprised by how nice it is.

What part of the build was most surprising to you?

Halliday: The locker room. If you took out the actual lockers in that building, you could probably run 80-yard sprints in it. I've been in some nice things when I was being recruited and this is the nicest thing I've ever seen. When this was being built everyone kept saying that and I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, it'll be nice but this is Pullman, Washington, it's not going to be something crazy.' I never thought in a million years that something like that would be built here in Pullman.

You can find the full nine-question interview right here.

Football:

Coaches top state salary list - Spin Control - Spokesman.com - June 16, 2014
Second on the list is Washington State University football head coach Mike Leach at $2.3 million, followed by UW head basketball coach Lorenzo Romar at $1.9 million, WSU head basket coach Ken Bone at $870,143 and UW assistant football coach Justin Wilcox at $799,259. Athletic salaries are paid from ticket sales and other income, not from the state's general fund.  But the state reports salaries for all state employees, regardless of the source of money.

Best wins between World Cups for Pac-12 North teams - ESPN
There weren’t many to choose from in 2010 and 2011. Last season, the Cougs’ defense pulled out a 10-7 win over No. 25 USC at the Coliseum. But the crown jewel of the Mike Leach era to date has to be the 31-28 overtime Apple Cup victory over Washington in 2012.

Q&A: Washington State Cougars quarterback Connor Halliday - ESPN
Halliday: Busy. This is my fourth summer, so it’s a lot of the same stuff -- a lot of running, a lot of lifting, and we throw 7-on-7 three days a week. I lead that, and it has gone well. I think we’ve had a great offseason since the bowl game.

Volleyball:

Volleyball Will Be Televised 13 Times in 2014 - Washington State University Official Athletic Site

The Washington State University volleyball program will have 13 matches televised in 2014, the Pac-12 Networks and Pac-12 Conference announced Monday.