Looks like Paul Wulff and the Cougs have that junior college WR that they were waiting on as of signing day, as WSU announced Isiah Barton is now the 23rd member of their signing class.  Barton is 6-1, 190 and put up some respectible numbers at Fresno City JC last year, catching 48 balls including 7 TD's, as well as averaging over 28 yards per kick return.  Per the report in the Seattle P-I, Barton will have the typical two years of eligibility to play at WSU.  Props to Bud Withers at the Seattle Times for getting the word on Barton on signing day (scroll down to the bottom portion of the article).

Where Barton fits, well, we'll have to see how things go for fall camp.  Wulff's quote in the story says Barton "should give us some immediate help. He will give us quickness and speed at the slot and receiver positions as well as maturity. We're very happy he is on board."  You look at the group of WR's coming back in '10, and it's a lot of game experienced guys:

NAME	REC	YDS	YPR	LONG	TD
Jared Karstetter	38	540	14.2	64	6
Gino Simone	36	330	9.2	22	1
Jeffrey Solomon	25	298	11.9	46	1
Johnny Forzani	9	265	29.4	99	2
Daniel Blackledge	23	212	9.2	24	1

Not taking anything away from these guys, but still, it's a position not exactly loaded with explosive, big-play ability.  Not having Kevin Norrell return was a blow to the wideouts, not so much in that they are a little thinner without him, but more so along the lines of big-play ability, with some good speed and athleticism.  You have your big guy on the outside who has nice size, good hops and decent hands in Karstetter, and you have your classic possession guy in Gino Simone, but outside of Johnny Forzani, they do lack that homerun threat. 

Not to suggest that Barton IS that guy, and perhaps one of the frosh WR's that signed yesterday will step in and play right away.  But adding some quickness and speed, per Wulff's comments, should make this at least a little more of a diverse threat in the passing game?  You know, a guy who can make a defensive back actually turn and run to stay with a wideout, instead of being able to stay in his back-pedal, all the while keeping his gaze at the pocket, with very little fear that the opposing WR is actually going to get behind him?  That would be nice to have, wouldn't it?

A couple of other things:

• The Steve Broussard to ASU story is official.  Too bad to see a fellow Coug move on down the road, but hey, one door closes, another door opens up.  Cougfan has speculated on some possible replacements, and some of the naems are intriguing, if not a little far-fetched?  But it may take a while before someone is hired.  Here's hoping that whoever they get is a good fit with the current staff, with a positive approach to what it takes to succeed and able to hit the recruiting trail hard! 
  
  
• A NEW recruit already?  It's true.  Max Hersey, a 6-3, 230 lb tight end/DL prospect from Curtis High School, has committed to WSU.  Hersey projects to be a tight end at the next level, and was the MVP at the TE position at WSU's camp last summer.  And per the Cougfan story, the crimson blood lines are deep here, with Hersey's parents both Cougs, and his grandfather played baseball for WSU in the 50's.  Pretty cool

Finally, a really good read from Ted Miller on recruiting in general via his latest ESPN mailbag.  Miller gives a couple of great examples as to why it's difficult to project who is going to be good at the next level, and who will be a five-star flameout in college.  First of all, Miller basically states that it is an incredibly inexact science in evaluating and projecting human potential.  While a kid can look great on film and in person at the high school level, nobody has a crystal ball and can flat-out guarantee success at the next level.  Then, Miller explains why that's so hard:

But there's another issue: Physical maturity.

When you meet a five-star recruit in person, you immediately see the same thing the recruiting services saw on film: A full-grown man.

You typically -- not always but typically -- see a guy with a full-beard who's filled out his frame and is buffed up. You see an 18-year-old who could pass for 25.

You see a man who has been dominating a bunch of boys. It's impossible not to rate this guy highly because he looks better on film than anyone else.

But when he gets to college a couple of things sometimes happen.

First, he stops being dominant. A lot of the five-star guys have been dominant their entire lives. They've never been knocked on the rears. How they react to that is often telling.

Second, he may turn out to be a finished product who's already physically peaked. Often guys like this become solid but never dominant college players and they fall short of the NFL. You see this with a lot of with linemen who arrive as 6-foot-6, 310-pound freshmen already bench pressing over 400 pounds. By their senior years, they are... 6-foot-6, 315-pound seniors bench pressing over 450 pounds. And their feet never really got any quicker.

Meanwhile, there are those baby-faced guys who are 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds as high school seniors for whom college operates as a phone booth did for Superman.

I think he absolutely NAILS the whole part about wondering how will the five-star guy reacts to suddenly not being dominant.  But, maybe better from a WSU perspective, I really like the finished product angle.

All along, since Wulff has been at WSU, he has said repeatedly as to what they are looking for in recruits.  And of all the times you hear him talk about it, you almost never hear him say they are looking for the most mature guys they can find, now.  Instead, he has said time and again that they are seeking kids with good frames, good athleticism/good feet, kids with the right "kind" of weight.  And not just the right kind of weight now, but kids who look like they'll be able to put on the right kind of weight in the future after hitting the training table and the weight room!  Then you think about Travis Long, Sekope Kaufusi or Justin Clayton from last year's signing class, or Aaron Dunn and Jake Rodgers from this year's class, and you know what you see?  Big, tall, strong-framed kids, all between 6-4 and 6-7, and all in that 240 - 250 lb range.  All kids who are good athletes, and the coaching staff can project what kind of players they are actually going to grow into, not necessarily look at what they are capable of today. 

I look at Travis Long from last year, and clearly it's a so far, so good story there.  We will see Kaufusi and Clayton this upcoming season for sure, and who knows with Dunn and Rodgers.  But it is going to be fun to watch these guys grow and learn, and....hopefully.....win, in the coming years! 

All for now.  GO COUGS!