Thank God we got this guy. But if you were him wouldn't you have at least taken the visit to UT ... if you know what I mean.

This is the best news I've heard in a long time as far as recruiting goes!

Hooray JC players, provided they are ready to play! I think it's a very good sign that he was headed for Tennessee and Arizona, and likely would have been offered had he gone on those trips.

But back home, nowhere is instant help needed more than right up front. Even if he's just a "depth" guy for '09, so be it, but get as many capable bodies as possible in there and let 'em settle it in fall camp.

It is certainly encouraging that we continue to recruit well all things considered. Keep it up!

We're still another tackle short of a combination...

I'll hit this more in a couple of days, but the O-line is everything to the advancement of our little program...

So, this is a huge, huge get.

And in relation to the others: If you were a four year recruit, then going to a Tennessee or Arizona might be a more sexy proposition-- depending on what you want to get out of the football-university experience.

But, for a JC player that has two years of eligibility left, you want two things:
1) The Opportunity to play FOR BOTH OF YOUR REMAINING YEARS of eligibility.
2) Support to graduate.

With these criteria in mind, the reason why I have been so adamant about the JC route for us is because we can be so darn attractive to elite JC players--particularly at this point in the program's development.

Anywho, official JC signing day is 5 days away. Lets hope we've got one or two more headed our way!

Glad to hear that... but please say "Merry Christmas" instead of the lame politically correct bs "Happy Holidays" that a husky would say.

Nathan:

We are a multi-faith community here at the WSU Football Blog.

So, in the post, we had an early "Christmas" present and then followed up with "Happy Holidays..."

Personally, I'm all about Festivus.

Thank you.

Sutra - I did not read the stories on CF.C - I don't subscribe. And the answer might be in there, but your post suggests this JC player might have off field issues? Is that true, or were you being sarcastic?

I'm pretty sure that he was being sarcastic.

Gonzales is a good get. He probably needs to add some weight at a reported 275 but he looks in good shape. Hopefully OT Wade Jacobson joins him.

They have a d-tackle tripping this weekend that looks like he could make an immediate impact.

Gonzales indicated he has work to do to get done with his AA in December. It's obviously ideal to get him on campus for winter conditioning and spring ball.

Merry Christmas

So was I, but with Sutra, you never know...

Mahoney, the DT you referenced has offers from at least 12 schools, including Arizona State, Tennessee, UCLA, Texas Tech, and West Virginia (according to Scout.com). If we get him that will be an impressive get for sure.

WOW, if true:

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/...-at-kansas

Interesting that he never signed his contract extension at Stanford. Looks like he likes Kansas too?

It's great they are getting Mahoney to visit and hopfully the obvious need for d-tackles helps him make his decision if he enjoys his visit. I would think most players would connect with Eaton.

He would be a great get and solidify the line if they are able to also add Rankin.

Looking good for Rankin according to Scout:
http://washingtonstate.scout.com/

A big HUGE sigh of relief whenever he sets foot on campus. Rankin, Long, Kooyman (he's a definite, correct?) looks pretty good. Hamlett and Kaufusi for depth as well.

If they can pick up a guy like Mahoney then the d-line should give them a Pac 10 talent defense on paper.

If you believe Wulff, who said a few times that next year's line will be as "physical as there's been at WSU in some time". Of course, I thought with Wolfgramm and Luapo ready to play for '09 that the d-line would be better.....oh well.

But even with Rankin, Long and Kooyman who IS definitely coming back next year, you bet we're looking good at the d-ends!

ברוך אתה ה' א‑לוהינו מלך העולם, המוציא לחם מן הארץ.‏

Go Cougs!

Anyway, let's just hope that the injuries aren't as bad next year. Wasn't much fun to watch people limp to the sidelines this year.

I wasn't being sarcastic about hiring a secret service agent, I was being flip based on passed PROGRAM transgressions and the recent "incident" with B. Jones. I was NOT referring to Gonzales.

That said, I am 100% all for any mechanism that can improve the durability and health of our players....

Lets hope that the rumors about Captain Comeback ARE true. We need him to get the hell out of the Pac-10.

I am not drinking the koolaid just yet. The d-line will improve especially if they can bring in a JC that requires a double team. I believe the hype on Rankin having NFL talent. I also understand Wolfgramm not meating expectations. He had back surgery about a year ago and that limited him until the season started. I don't know if he ever reaches his potential. Luapo always seemed like a rotation guy.

So that leaves them needing Dan Spitz to put on 20 pounds of good weight along with John Clayton and Pu'u Robinson probably doing about the same. Then you also need Laurenzi to get a lot stronger as well even though he is already 290. So you are depending on 2 redshirt soph's, 2 redshirt frosh, and a true frosh in Buckley to carry your line unless Turpin figures things out and they bring in a quality JC. That is really asking a lot.

They will have more depth than I ever remember but nobody is looking like another Rien Long or Leon Bender by next year. At this point I think we all would be more than happy with a Jeremy Williams and Tai Tupai.

They must get a really good JC and hope Turpin figures it out or Wolfgramm gets healthy and is able to get 8 quality months in the weight room. That is asking for a whole lot of luck that we haven't had in a long time.

something you guys might be interested in. A very detailed study looking at ability to draw recruits by location.

http://www.stanford.edu/~tbrennan/football/index.html

We rank near the bottom in almost every list, which shows how impressive it is that Wulff is getting recruits. It really highlights why Doba struggled so much I feel like