Key spring football dates set; Signing Day leftovers
Seven weeks have elapsed since Washington State beat Miami in the snowy Sun Bowl in El Paso, Tex.
What does that mean? Spring football is almost here.
Preparations for the highly anticipated 2016 season formally get underway March 24 when the Cougars begin spring practice in Pullman. The annual Crimson and Gray game takes place April 23 at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane.
The final spring practice for the Cougars is scheduled for April 26.
Washington State announced the dates in a press release on Friday. The complete spring practice schedule will be announced next month
ANOTHER SIGNEE FROM THE SUNSHINE STATE: It’s a long, long way from Belle Glade, Fla. to Pullman, but highly touted three-star receiver Isaiah Johnson decided to join former high school teammate Tavares Martin Jr. in the Palouse after making 44 receptions for 912 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior at Dwyer High School.
Johnson enrolled early at WSU and will participate in spring practice, increasing his odds of seeing significant action in the fall.
What convinced Johnson to make the 3,000-mile trek to the Pacific Northwest? Obviously, Washington State’s high-powered passing attack didn’t hurt as well as Leach’s history of developing receivers and putting them into the NFL.
“Washington State is really not that far away,” Leach said. “Anybody who has higher aspirations recognizes they will travel around the continent. College is a good place to start with it. The biggest thing is they have to want to come here. We’ll look at anybody and everybody, but they have to be motivated to come here. He really was from early on. He visited and was excited from the beginning. He was comfortable with leaving the state and saw this as an opportunity to expand his horizons and see the world a little bit.”
The 6-foot-3, 211-pound Johnson is likely destined for outside receiver.
“He will probably play on the outside,” Leach said. “I will have to see more of him. He is a broad shouldered guy. He is still growing. He is going to get bigger. He is unusually smart and has picked things up very quickly. And he is confident, so I don’t think he gets in his own way. He has a smoothness to the way he runs. Sometimes big guys are herky-jerky.”
RECRUITING THE EVERGREEN STATE: The Cougars signed four prospects from the state of Washington after signing just two in 2014 and none in 2015 (Deion Singleton from Pasco, WA originally signed with WSU in 2014 but did not enroll in school until January 2015). Leach said recruiting the home state is a high priority for his staff.
The quartet of Washington signees is highlighted by quarterback/athlete Justus Rogers (Bellevue), and also features DB D’Jimon Jones (Federal Way), JUCO transfer Suliasi Tamaivena (Kirkland) and OL Joshua Watson (Everett).
“It’s always a priority. The first priority is get the best players you can that are the most excited to be here and really want to be Cougs regardless of where they come from,” Leach said. “Within that, the first place we start is Washington and try to make them a part of our program. We definitely want as many Washington guys as we possibly can get.”
AMERICAN SAMOA YIELDS MORE TALENT: American Samoa consists of five main islands in the South Pacific Ocean and has a total population of about 55,000 people. Yet, American Samoa has a knack for producing elite Division I caliber football players. WSU already has a number of players from American Samoa and Hawaii on its roster, and inked one more on National Signing Day: 6-foot-4, 295-pound offensive lineman Frederick Mauigoa, who chose the Cougars over Oregon State.
Recruiting American Samoa and the Pacific Islands is tricky, Leach said, because unless you have a key contact within the local communities, it is virtually impossible to gain a foothold. Washington State’s secret weapon? Defensive line coach Joe Salave’a, who played nine years in the NFL after a stellar career at Arizona in the 1990’s.
“The culture really centers around family,” Leach said. “There has to be a family atmosphere (at the school) and having some other Island people they know and have similar backgrounds in the community is very helpful. Washington State is very fortunate to be one of those places. If you’re not one of those places that doesn’t have an identity in the community, it’s difficult and you end up with diminished returns.”
A native of Leone, American Samoa, Salave'a has been one of the territory's foremost football ambassadors promoting the game among Samoan youth, including founding a foundation to help introduce the game and strengthen its appeal. Those efforts have paid handsome dividends for the Cougars
“They (people of Hawaii, American Samoa and Pacific Islands) are very committed to football and very passionate about football,” Leach said. “They grew up around football. They aspire to be good in football. It’s a resource we’ve always felt like we should tap into. There has always been a community of Island players at Washington State going back to Jack Thompson. We have taken efforts to elevate (our recruiting efforts there) and have gotten a lot of good players as a result, including some in this class.”
NOTES
-- Washington State’s annual Pro Day is March 10. Just one Cougar, offensive lineman Joe Dahl, was invited to the NFL Combine, which runs Feb. 23-29 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
-- Football Chief of Staff Dave Emerick, who has worked with Leach since his days at Texas Tech, said on Cougar Calls earlier this week 23 of the 25 letters of intent had been faxed or e-mailed to the WSU office by 8 a.m. on National Signing Day, making for a very stress-free day around the football offices. “We were done by 10 a.m., which is unheard of, and made for a great day,” Emerick said.
-- Reiterating Leach’s comments on National Signing Day, Emerick said the Cougars emphasized recruiting speed and playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. “We got a bunch of playmakers and a bunch of guys that will get in the backfield and get after the quarterback,” Emerick said.
