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Last week, we took a look at the defensive members of Mike Leach's first recruiting class. This week we examine the offensive recruits. Leach said he was simply "looking for good football players" on signing day. Did he succeed? Let's take a look.
QB Austin Apodaca: A holdover from Paul Wulff's recruiting class, Apodaca transferred to a junior college before landing at New Mexico.
WR Brett Bartolone: After a stellar freshman year in which he was named All Pac-12 honorable mention, Bartolone struggled with injuries before retiring this fall.
P Michael Bowlin: JUCO transfer started two years for the Cougars averaging 40.6 yards per punt.
RB Teondray Caldwell: Caldwell was an All-Pac 12 honorable mention kick returner as a freshman. He had a less successful sophomore year and left the program after an ill-fated move to safety last season.
OL Denzell Dotson: Left the program after his freshman year.
OL Sam Flor: The redshirt junior was listed as a backup center after spring practice.
OL Sam Jones: Promising junior college lineman was not able to qualify academically.
WR Robert Lewis: The redshirt sophomore (grayshirted after signing) goes into this season as the starting H receiver. Could end up being a three year starter.
WR Gabe Marks: Redshirt junior heads into the season as a potential all-conference performer.
OL Eduardo Middleton: Heads into the season as the starting right guard as a redshirt junior.
OL Alex Mitchell: Never enrolled at WSU.
OL Niu Sale: Redshirted for one season before leaving the program.
OL BJ Salmonson: After grayshirting the sophomore is still pretty far down the depth chart.
OL Pierson Villarrubia: Transferred to SE Louisiana after his redshirt year.
RB Theron West: Junior college player was a solid special teams player who is most remembered for his performance in the New Mexico Bowl.
Overall I'd say that the offensive class was not overly successful. The offensive line class is the biggest failure, with only one player (Middleton) being a real contributor, out of the eight recruited. The only position Leach really hit on was the wide receivers. All three of those recruits were contributors at some point.
How do you guys think this class turned out relative to expectations?
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Football
Pac-12's fourth-year coaches see gains made - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA have exceeded expectations under Rich Rodriguez, Todd Graham and Jim Mora, while Washington State has lagged behind.
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Mike Leach told reporters after WSU's fifth practice that they have filed an appeal to let Kyrin Priester play immediately. If it is successful, Priester could make an immediate impact.
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Here is the transcript from our 11 a.m. WSU chat.
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The University of Washington beat Washington State University in last year’s Apple Cup, and Husky head coach Chris Petersen’s team finished with a better record than Mike Leach’s Cougars.
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The heat can be overwhelming, even if you're just outside for just a minute. So imagine playing football in full pads, which is what the WSU Cougars are doing right now in triple digit heat in Lewiston, Idaho. It takes a team just to make sure these guys stay hydrated and healthy and the athletic trainers and nutritionists take the hot days seriously because they know a dehydration injury could spell disaster down the road.
Smallest Cougar plays big - Spokesman.com - Aug. 12, 2015
Washington State’s smallest offensive player made the biggest play of the 2014 season. And he didn’t even have the football.
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Washington State football continued fall practice with its first practice in full pads Wednesday afternoon, working out for two hours at Sacajawea Junior High School.
Basketball:
Pac-12 Basketball Previews: Washington and Washington State - The Ralphie Report
Worst Case Scenario: It is revealed that DaVonte Lacy was the heart and soul of the team. Josh Hawkinson, despite his best efforts, cannot will his team to victory. Iroegbu remains an average player, and so does the rest of team. The freshmen turn out to be busts, and WSU struggles to get 10 wins.