Well as I wrote previously I was in Arizona over the weekend and stayed through Wednesday so I was a little out of touch this past week with the Pac Ten.
We heard about the tragedy at Virginia Tech one morning when we are at the clubhouse getting ready to golf. What a terrible thing, words can't describe the horror, and senseless loss of such an incident. We send our prayers out to the students, staff, and families of Virginia Tech.
One thing I noticed is that there is lot of excitement concerning Arizona State football, and Dennis Erickson while I was in Scottsdale. Lots of people wearing new ASU gear which is always a good sign for a program that just made a change in leadership. Erickson was much more blunt at the conclusion of Spring practice.
Coach Dennis Erickson offered no false optimism as he wrapped up his first spring at Arizona State. "We've got a long ways to go," said the former Washington State and Seahawks coach. "We really do. We're not even close to where we need to be to have a chance to be competitive in our league.
One guy I have been watching since he arrived at UW was Morgan Rosborough. I have always maintained that he has the chance to be a high draft choice when he leaves UW. Morgan is making a move this Spring and his holding off White-Frisbee who is also having a good Spring. Washington should be solid two deep at guard this year, and from what I have heard just may be improved at the position going into the fall which is what you want to hear. One thing for sure, these guys make up the largest interior line in the country no matter how you stack them. Hopefully that size will translate into more running yards, and better protection.
On Rosborough: "He is coming along. He's done some real good things. I think he is a lot closer to being in the type of shape where he can help us. He needs to continue to work on that. But I like some of the things he has done this spring. We just need to keep getting him some experience.''
The overall impression so far is that guys are stepping up, there is a lots of competition, and all of them are going to get playing time this year which means the line won't wear down as much as the season progresses.
There has been lots of focus on Jake Locker so far this Spring as he gets the important reps he needs to get ready for the regular season. Carl Bonnell has been very solid so we look set at QB. Locker isn't there yet of course, he still has lots of learning to do. It will be very interesting to see what he looks like in the Spring game.
Fifth-year senior quarterback Carl Bonnell, who is running behind Locker at this point, then hit a nice, deep pass to senior Corey Williams for about 60 yards before Murchison caught up with the receiver and pushed him down. It was a nice throw, nice run and Murchison showed quite a bit of hustle in chasing Williams down to save the touchdown.
Cameron Elisara has had a good Spring, and he can expect some reps in the rotation at DT this fall.
Redshirt freshman Cameron Elisara also got through the offensive line and tagged running back Louis Rankin for a loss. Elisara really had to show some power to get through the line on the play. It was impressive.
Louis Rankin has had a great Spring at RB and looks like he will be improved in the Fall. JR Hasty still seems to be a little rusty and has had trouble holding on to the ball in the early going. He needs to get it down because there will be lots of fresh blood here this Fall. Put Mt, Si's Brandon Yakaboski down as a TB this Fall as the Huskies want him to report in at 195 lbs.
Out on the recruiting front it looks like Washington has oral commitments from three big NW offensive lineman. Terrence Thomas from Idaho is the latest, and is listed as a soft verbal by Dawgman, along with Senio Kelemente, and Drew Schaeffer. Washington seems to be off to a good early start this season with the local kids. If you are a Dawgman subsciber Scott Ecklund has just posted an update to his recruiting blog.
Washington State made an excellent move by hiring June Daugherty to run their program. The press conference is being set up for tomorrow. They really couldn't have made a better choice. she knows the area, she already has a network set up in state, and in the West, and she has always produced winners. She can retire at a school like WSU, perfect fit.
Fired by Washington, hired by Washington State -- the P-I has learned that June Daugherty is about to be named the Cougars' next women's basketball coach. A news conference is scheduled Friday afternoon in Pullman to announce Daugherty's hiring in a move that is sure to create a lot more interest in women's hoops in the state of Washington after a longtime Dawg becomes a first-time Coug.
Did Todd Turner just get outbuzzed? That seems to be the reaction of the local scribes. Still Daugherty has a mountain to climb that is very similar to Dick, and Tony Bennett's.
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On June, yes i know nobody cares, but this was a good hire for WSU.. They got a proven coach who already has the network in place with the HS coaches, although she missed out on many of the top prospects. I am sure she will be out to prove something for however long she remains as coach. With WSUs past history, I think she will have around the same middle of the PAC record she did at UW, and that will probably be great improvement for most WSU fans. What hurt her at UW was the declining attendance and losing the big name recruits to out of state schools at a program with higher expectations based on a history of wiinning.
June is proving nothing so far at WSU with a losing record. Maybe it's not her fault she didn't recruit the players but she didn't utilize them to the best of her ability either. Another thougtht: Is she the head coach or is Mike? WSU can't take another beating like they did this past season..I hope June is in for the long haul and she recruited the right players.
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