Cougars

What is the latest scuttlebutt regarding the left tackle? Quite possibly the greatest day of the year for football nerds is the first round of the NFL draft. Well today is the day and in addition to the Seahawks having two first round picks we get to root for a Cougar to picked. This is unfortunately not an every year occurrence as in the last twenty years only 3 WSU players have gone in the first round (Ryan Leaf, Marcus Trufant and Deone Bucannon). Dillard seems likely to go in the teens in the first round and may even make his way into the top ten as the best pass blocking tackle in the draft. Quite an accomplishment for a former 2 star recruit out of Woodinville. Let’s take a look at where some of the NFL draft experts are guessing Dillard will land. I looked it up so you don’t have to. The 16th pick and the Carolina Panthers seem to be the consensus destination with GM Marty Hurney personally attending Dillard’s pro Day. He looks to have a floor of No.23 and a ceiling of No.1 (?!!) Pro Football Focus: 1

Overview Position: Quarterback Height: 6’2” Weight: 220 pounds School: Washington State Cougars Combine Performance Data 40-yard dash: 4.97 seconds Vertical jump: 33.5 inches (tied for third-best among quarterbacks) Broad jump: 9 feet, 8 inches (tied for fourth-best among quarterbacks) Three-cone drill: 7.14 seconds 20-yard shuttle: 4.45 seconds Gardner Minshew 2019 NFL Draft Profile Gardner Minshew has a story almost as captivating as his mustache. Almost. The journey to the top of college football was a long one for Minshew. After a junior college national championship, Minshew moved on to East Carolina. After two rather unsuccessful seasons, Minshew almost spent last season on the bench. He was close to being the third quarterback at the University of Alabama. Instead, Minshew spent the season as a leading passer in the nation at Washington State University. Minshew threw 38 touchdown passes to lead the Cougars to an 11-win season. Even more impressive, his personality was enough to match his charismatic

The NFL Draft always goes how you will expect, until about ten minutes into it. Then things tend to go off the rails. Players sit in the green room and slip down the draft boards. Teams make big trade moves. Every step is determined by what happened before. Here are ten of the biggest wild cards when it comes to determining how things will go. 10. Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma The current expectation is that Murray is going to be Arizona’s choice, though that has not been decided yet, and there have been plenty of rumblings they could go elsewhere. If Murray does not go first, the draft gets going right away. That puts him in play for the Raiders at 4 or a trade-up scenario. 9. Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma Marquise Brown might be the best and most versatile receiver in this draft, but he has also been limited in the lead up to the draft because of injury. You could see him go anywhere from middle of the first round to sliding out altogether, and where he goes may be the signal for a wide receiver run. 8. Josh J

The series begins Friday in Corvallis.

The series begins Friday in Corvallis.

The series begins Friday in Corvallis.

The series begins Friday in Corvallis.

The series begins Friday in Corvallis.

The Pac-12 Championships come to an end after three days of competition.

The Pac-12 Championships come to an end after three days of competition.

The Pac-12 Championships come to an end after three days of competition.

The Pac-12 Championships come to an end after three days of competition.

The Pac-12 Championships come to an end after three days of competition.

Cougars will face No. 1-seed Stanford Thursday at Noon.

Cougars will face No. 1-seed Stanford Thursday at Noon.

Cougars will face No. 1-seed Stanford Thursday at Noon.

Cougars will face No. 1-seed Stanford Thursday at Noon.

Cougars will face No. 1-seed Stanford Thursday at Noon.

Washington State had a chance to tie it up late, but they couldn’t get the job done in their regional rivalry at Gonzaga. Washington State brought the tying run to the plate in the 9th inning with two out, but they fell short Tuesday night at Gonzaga, 8-5. The Cougs made the trip north to renew their regional rivalry. Zane Mills got the start for WSU, and after a 1-2-3 first, the Zags struck in the 2nd. GU put up 3 hits, to go along with a walk, a fielder’s choice and a wild pitch, that resulted in a trio of runs, letting the Bulldogs take a 3-0 lead. That would be the last inning for Mills who went 2 frames and picked up the loss. WSU struck back in the 3rd thanks to an Andres Alvarez RBI single and Dillon Plew sacrifice fly. Home runs by Gonzaga’s Troy Johnston and WSU’s Alvarez helped make this one a 5-5 tie through 5... But the Zags took over from there. GU regained the lead with a pair of runs on an RBI single and wild pitch in the 6th. They added another in the 7th thanks to the classic combination of

Let’s take a look at some comps for the WSU tackle. Washington State Cougars football has always seemed to be a magnet for people with a gambler’s mentality. The location, resources and competitive environment have emphasized the need for finding people willing to bet on themselves. This often gets classified as trying to find “diamonds in the rough,” either on the coaching side or with the players the Cougars recruit. While the aforementioned term about diamonds can trigger an eye roll from many readers on this site, the story of Andre Dillard is an all-timer in terms of someone betting on themselves and a school returning that sentiment. Five years ago, who could have imagined — other than Dillard and the WSU coaching staff — that a 240-pound high school senior with no other Power 5 offers would end up getting invited to Nashville for the NFL Draft? When he committed and then was inserted into the starting line up as a freshman, his basketball pedigree was used to try and give some context to the WSU faith

Andres Alvarez homered and drove in two Tuesday.

Andres Alvarez homered and drove in two Tuesday.

Andres Alvarez homered and drove in two Tuesday.

Andres Alvarez homered and drove in two Tuesday.

Andres Alvarez homered and drove in two Tuesday.

Teams have competed through two days of conference championships, with one still to go.

Teams have competed through two days of conference championships, with one still to go.

Teams have competed through two days of conference championships, with one still to go.

Teams have competed through two days of conference championships, with one still to go.

Teams have competed through two days of conference championships, with one still to go.

No. 9-seed Cougars to face No. 8 Colorado Wednesday at 9 a.m.

No. 9-seed Cougars to face No. 8 Colorado Wednesday at 9 a.m.

No. 9-seed Cougars to face No. 8 Colorado Wednesday at 9 a.m.

No. 9-seed Cougars to face No. 8 Colorado Wednesday at 9 a.m.

No. 9-seed Cougars to face No. 8 Colorado Wednesday at 9 a.m.

NFL Combine test results suggest favorable comparisons. James Williams’ story is one of perseverance, family, and the joy of sport. The Washington State Cougars’ running back had to overcome homelessness, a torn ACL in high school, and many more life hurdles before becoming an instant fan favorite for juking opponents out of their jockstraps on the regular. He is incredibly easy to root for. Watching the NFL Combine, I was very invested in his performance and excited to see how he’d stack up. When he ran a 4.58 40, I didn’t know how to feel. It made me immediately worried that scouts would use this to pile on to any Air Raid prejudice they had and dismiss Williams as someone not worth a mid-round pick. Performance at the combine does not equal success in the NFL, but since scouts will call Williams undersized or theorize that he doesn’t have the athleticism to cut it in the league I wanted to see if there were any current NFL players with similar measurables. Was that 4.58 40 time really that concerning? The

For the second time this season the Cougs and the Zags will meet up After another tough weekend, the Washington State baseball team will head North to Spokane for a mid-week matchup with Gonzaga today. First pitch is scheduled for 6pm at the Patterson Baseball Complex. This is the second of three meetings this season between the two teams. A win today will lock up the third series win for the Cougs as they have not won a series since the beginning of March when they won two of three against both California State-Northridge and Nevada in consecutive weeks. This past weekend, the Cougs (8-27-1) dropped two of three while visiting USC. There was a glimmer of hope on Sunday when they led 9-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth before they gave up 5 runs in the bottom of the inning that would send the game to extra innings. They would play 12 innings before the game was called a 10-10 tie due to time and travel restrictions. The Cougars and the Zags met up on April 2nd in Pullman and the Cougs led 9-1 heading in

Washington State University Director of Athletics Patrick Chun joins Derek Deis each Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Washington State University Director of Athletics Patrick Chun joins Derek Deis each Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Washington State University Director of Athletics Patrick Chun joins Derek Deis each Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Washington State University Director of Athletics Patrick Chun joins Derek Deis each Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Washington State University Director of Athletics Patrick Chun joins Derek Deis each Tuesday at 10 a.m.

We’re a long way from Ernie Kent, y’all. In case you wondered the depth of Washington State Cougars coach Kyle Smith’s commitment to Nerdball, consider: Before he’s even finished putting together his staff of assistant coaches, Smith has hired John Andrzejek as the school’s director of analytics for basketball, Smith said on the College Hoops Today podcast with John Rothstein. Andrzejek, who has a deep understanding of Smith’s philosophy, hasn’t been officially announced by the school, but he’s already been on the job for a couple of weeks and was one of Smith’s top priorities. “Our biggest thing was getting the infrastructure — set up the analytics, selling the culture,” Smith said during an interview with CougCenter from his office a couple of weeks ago. In addition to his main title, Smith told Rothstein that Andrzejek is “director of analytics-slash-coach right now,” which we’ll assume to mean that he’s currently holding down the third assistant coaching spot so that he can both run the analytics and act

The Pac-12 Championships are underway, as teams compete through the first two rounds.

The Pac-12 Championships are underway, as teams compete through the first two rounds.

The Pac-12 Championships are underway, as teams compete through the first two rounds.

The Pac-12 Championships are underway, as teams compete through the first two rounds.

The Pac-12 Championships are underway, as teams compete through the first two rounds.

First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on SWX in Spokane.

First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on SWX in Spokane.

First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on SWX in Spokane.

First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on SWX in Spokane.

First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on SWX in Spokane.

Get to know outfielder Collin Montez

Get to know outfielder Collin Montez

Get to know outfielder Collin Montez

Get to know outfielder Collin Montez

Get to know outfielder Collin Montez

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how erstwhile outside receiver Kassidy Woods had made the move inside, and how that might signal Mike Leach actually using a tight end-type receiver this fall with the Washington State Cougars. Woods looked really, really good in the practice I watched last week (

THIS WEEK: The Washington State Cougars (18-8, 3-6) close out their 2019 regular season schedule by hosting No. 13 Washington, Saturday, April 20 at Noon at the WSU Outdoor Tennis Courts. Prior to the match, seniors Aneta Miksovska and Tiffany Mylonas will be recognized for their contribution to Cougar

The Washington State Cougars picked up their second offensive line commit and third commit overall in the 2020 class when Dylan Mayginnes committed to the program via Twitter: Mayginnes is a low three-star prospect out of Chandler, Arizona, who has no other reported offers but didn't feel the need

After weeks of affirming his commitment to the Washington State Cougars, even in the wake of the firing of Ernie Kent, juco guard Ryan Murphy has had a sudden change of heart and has asked for a release from his letter of intent, according to VerbalCommits.com. No reason has been given for the request

The news conference isn't until Monday, but new Washington State Cougars men's basketball coach Kyle Smith landed in Pullman yesterday to meet and greet and get his first look at the campus he'll now call home. Let's meet some players! Let's take a look around Bohler Gym and Martin

THIS WEEK: The No. 35 Washington State Cougars (16-4, 1-2) return to Pac-12 action this weekend as they Arizona State, Friday at 1:30 p.m., followed by a Sunday morning match against Arizona at 10 a.m. at the Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse. The matches are scheduled for indoors but