|
printer-friendly | e-mail this story
Questions abound With new starters at virtually every position, little is certain for Washington State
Washington State defensive back Karl Paymah, the only returning starter in the secondary, is expected to be a leader on defense.
(Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review) |
|
Glenn Kasses
Staff writer
September 1, 2004 PULLMAN — The coaching staff is the same, but that's about it. New quarterback, new receivers, new defensive line, new secondary, new kicker — and who that is hasn't even been settled yet. Questions rule the day around Washington State, and with the season opener just 48 hours away, the most pertinent one seems to be this: Would anything, could anything, be considered a surprise out of these Cougars?
"That's kind of a hard question," said head coach Bill Doba, entering his second season at the helm. "I don't know. I think if we lost them all that would surprise me. I think we're better than that, yeah. I think if we had a losing season that would surprise me. I think our kids are good enough and we've got a good bunch of guys. Again, we need to start strong I think and just build their confidence." Starting strong won't be easy with a tricky, some would say nerve-rattling, opener at New Mexico. The Lobos feature a quirky defense built on confusing the opposition, and a road loss to start the year could put WSU in a hole it can't afford to dig. It's especially true, as Doba suggested, since his young team could use the glass-is-half-full attitude a win would provide. A year ago, it was Doba who was the new guy, stepping up from his role as defensive coordinator to take the reins after Mike Price left. Then, it was the inexperienced head coach with a fairly experienced roster. Now, it's the other way around. Just two starters are back on defense, four on offense. And everything that's anything in this Cougar season revolves around the ability of the replacements to live up to the 10-win clip their predecessors had established. Even the team's top player, linebacker Will Derting, finds himself in a new position after moving to the middle from his outside spot and also has had his season in limbo following a dislocated wrist suffered in camp. Despite the injury and the position swap, he's just about the closest thing to a sure bet the Cougars have."This team is going to have a new personality than what we've had," defensive coordinator Robb Akey said. "That's forming itself but a lot of it doesn't take place until you've dealt with adversity." As Akey and his players have said on multiple occasions this fall, just because players haven't started doesn't mean they haven't played. "A lot of those guys have played a lot of football for us," Akey said. "It doesn't mean they're going to be perfect; it doesn't mean anything. It means we have a little more experience than what some people think. "Anything can happen. We have higher expectations than the outside world does." For now, though, it's probably the offensive and defensive lines that merit the most concern. While both lines have played well at times in camp, they are untested. On the offensive front, both guard positions were up in the air for the majority of camp and the Cougars are planning on rotating Patrick Afif and Bobby Byrd at the left spot, since neither has separated himself. single page | CONTINUED: 1 | 2 NEXT PAGE »
|
