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Coffee is For Closers
Written by LucasCoug   
Tuesday, 26 January 2010 09:26

Just like in years past, the football coaches at Washington State University must outwork every other college in the conference/nation to recruit football players to our great institution.  Also like in years passed, our coaches must continue to recruit kids right up until the minute Letters of Intent are faxed into their offices at Bohler Gym.  Just like Alec Baldwin said in one of the most famous monologues in cinematic history, the difference between 1st Prize and 2nd Prize, when it comes to recruiting, is truly the difference between a brand new Cadillac and a box of steak knives.  Under Doba's last few years, we had to settle for 3rd Prize and the results have shown in our on-field performance the past two seasons!  You can't always fault a teenager for changing their minds, continue reading to see if the grass is truly greener for those who don't sign with the Cougs....

Wazzu is at such a disadvantage when recruiting kids, as we truly don't have a lot of materialistic things, and glory days to sell kids on. Think about what other programs sell top prospects on; warm weather (Arizona schools), the ability to play immediately for a conference or national championship (USC and Oregon), past prestige/success (Washington), up and coming success (Oregon State), best of the best in academics (Stanford), top notch facilities, gear and uniforms (Oregon), and living around and hanging out with celebrities (LA schools).  In fact, WSU has pretty much the exact opposite of all of the above.

Coaches from the premiere programs in the country have the luxury to offer kids at the last minute, who may be committed to WSU or seriously weighing an offer, and get them to commit on name recognition only.  In fact, every year for as long as I can remember keeping tabs on recruiting this has happened to us at least once.  But of course, it does happen all over the country; just last week UW verbal Kenan Lowe (Jesuit, Portland, OR) switched his commitment to Oregon when his dream school offered.  Some commits even change their mind and choose Wazzu when a school they are commited to asks them to make some sort of concession; Michael Bumpus comes to mind

One of the reasons behind this story is because current WSU commit Asante Cleveland tripped to Miami last weekend, and it now appears he may switch to the Hurricanes.  The thing that is frustrating about Asante is all of the hard work he has put in helping Coach Paul Wulff recruit.  When one of our current verbal commits was weighing a visit to ASU, he got a call from Asante telling him he too was offered an ASU visit, but was firm on Wazzu and you should be too.  That current verbal never took the ASU visit.  You can't totally blame him for wanting to play in Coral Gables, with the successful Tight End's they have sent to the league in the recent past.  All and all, I don't believe this loss would hurt us as we have two other TE's in the class, but with the way Cleveland has skyrocketed up the recruiting charts, a lot of fans are getting juiced to see what this kid could do on the Palouse.

Let's take a look at others that come to mind who have reneged on WSU in the recent past, and how they ultimately faired:

Adonis Smith (Northwestern): Just jumped ship over the weekend.  Based off watching a couple of Northwestern players succeed in the East/West Shrine game.  That right there just goes to show you how much recruits follow things like this.  An all-star game made you change your mind?  Oh well, we got Galvin and Sankey coming in.

Geoff Meinken (Stanford): Redshirted last year, after choosing the Cardinal because of their top tier education.

Trey Henderson (USC): Closed the chapter on his football career after injuring his knee last year.

Brian Baucham (USC): Not playing much, still young, but appears to be on their 2 or 3 deeps.

Vincent Joseph (USC): Per Scott Wolf of the LA Times he failed out of USC as a sophomore.

Luis Vasquez (ASU): Switched his commitment to ASU, and even was a JC All-American before quitting on WSU.  One of the reasons for his change-up at the time was when Robb Akey bolted for Idaho, Vasquez switched to ASU.  Had 8.5 sacks in 2 years of starting.

Marlon Wood (UW): A DB who went purple and gold.  Marlon Wood was a contributor, but lost a season when TyWi chose not to give a group of guys their redshirt senior years.

Kai Ellis (UW): I believe academics led him to a California JUCO.  But he even appeared to be set after earning his AA to come to Pullman, before switching to the UW last minute.  His career was ho-hum, aside from costing the Cougs the 2002 Apple Cup, and a rematch with the Ohio State University in the Fiesta Bowl/National Championship!

Looking at the above data, I believe it is safe to say the grass isn't necessarily greener.  One thing is for sure, Coach Wulff & Co. won't be drinking coffee until those LOI's are signed and in-hand.

"Get Them to Sign on the Line Which is Dotted....A-B-C.  A - Always, B - Be, C - Closing.  ALWAYS BE CLOSING!"
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written by Nuss, January 26, 2010
I try not to read too much into a report from a Miami reporter. I mean, who do you think is his source? It's not Cleveland. It's probably the player who hosted him. So, what's that player going to say? That Cleveland had a terrible time?
Hard to say
written by SeanHawk, January 26, 2010
But without question the Cleveland family is interested. Otherwise they wouldn't have made the trip. And we have no idea who the reporter talked to, whether it was his host, his parents or Asante himself. Can't really assume anything there.

Anyway, remember at the time of the Miami offer, his Dad was pretty excited, I believe he was quoted at espn as saying he was excited? It's all just connect-the-dots right now. I guess we'll find out once the faxes start rolling in next week! I sure hope he comes, but if he would rather be somewhere else, then so be it.
...
written by LucasCoug, January 26, 2010
I have a feeling if he didn't commit while there, he will remain a Coug. From everything I have read, his dad appears to be the one most excited about the offer from the U.

WTH happened to the pictures? They're all messed up now...
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written by Nuss, January 26, 2010
If Cleveland said it, he'd say Cleveland said it. "Word is" is code language for "someone who was with Cleveland that weekend but isn't supposed to talk on the record." Since coaches can get in an enormous amount of trouble for talking about recruits, one has to assume it was probably a host.

As for the trip ... well ... if someone offered me an all-expense-paid trip to Miami right now -- especially one where people were going to spend roughly 48 hours straight showing me a good time and telling me how awesome I am -- I'd probably take it. It's not like he took an official to Lincoln, Neb.
...
written by LucasCoug, January 26, 2010
Nuss, are you implying that neither Asante or his family has any interest in Miami?
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written by HucktheFuskies, January 26, 2010
Pardon me Coug fans but I can't help myself. Answer this question. How many football games do the Cougs win next year?
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written by kaddy, January 26, 2010
I don't see us losing next year.
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written by Nuss, January 26, 2010
No. I just mean to say, as someone who used to be a working journalist, take these sorts of reports with a grain of salt. Consider the likely source, and what their likely motive would be.

A Miami reporter is unlikely to have any kind of established relationship with Cleveland or his family, and therefore unlikely to have gotten comment from them. Coaches' aren't stupid enough to leak that sort of thing because the rewards don't outweigh the potential penalties. If it got back to someone that a coach was the one who commented, they could bar Miami from recruiting Cleveland any longer. So, the logical conclusion is that it was a player. That player has a vested interest in Cleveland coming to Miami; therefore, I would expect the player to say he had a great time and is considering it. It might not even be a lie -- Cleveland might have said it to him. Doesn't mean it's necessarily true.

The point is -- which I suppose reiterates Sean's point -- we really have no idea what is going on, and really won't until letters are faxed.
Cleveland
written by sdcoug09, January 26, 2010
Let's be honest. Regardless who said it, how could a 18 year old kid not have a good time in Miami when everything is comped and everyone is showing him a good time. I know I would. But that's the extent you can take from the visit without hearing directly from him.
Lucas
written by SeanHawk, January 26, 2010
Not that it really matters, but since you brought it up Nuss, you might be interested to know that Lucas was a working journalist/on-air tv reporter in Pullman. I think he understands the way these things work. But I think his post speaks for itself.

What did Lucas actually say? "it appears he may switch to the Hurricanes", sourcing an article from a Miami Herald report that the visit went well and they are trying to get him to switch to the U. The evidence is there since late last year when the Miami offer came down that the family was excited. But nobody is flat-out claiming anything here. Cleveland may switch or he may stick it out. That's it.
Miami Herald article
written by B-rad, January 26, 2010
Seems like all they're doing at this point is recruting kids who have already committed to another school.

This is a nice little gem when talking about another kid on the same visit: Players were deliberately ignoring him until he decided to commit."We kept messing with him, telling him 'We don't talk to guys who aren't Canes."

Cool. Possibly the players also parked their dad's nice cars out in front of the training facility like Pikes did back in the day during rush week.

I have a new respect for Wulff and other coaches at similar programs who have to put up with this. Not to mention the alums/fans who watch it unfold every year.
FYI
written by Chris '04, January 26, 2010
For all of you who keep implying that Miami paid for Asante's trip to Florida, you are DEAD WRONG. The Cleveland family paid for the entire trip out of their own pocket. It was an unofficial visit.
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written by Nuss, January 26, 2010
Just saying people -- not Lucas -- tend to get too worked up over "reports." The original comment was based off an analysis of the Herald blog posting and was directed more at the avalanche of hand-wringing that inevitably follows a report such as the one in the Herald. It wasn't a criticism of anything written by Lucas, who obviously handled it correctly.
kaddy...
written by Soze, January 26, 2010
Be realistic. We might lose the first game, because the team will probably be tight. But anything other than a 9-0 conference mark and a Rose Bowl berth is out of the question.

Where's Hooty!?!
B-rad
written by LucasCoug, January 26, 2010
I always found it funny that Pikes were the only fraternity during rush to do that trick. All the sororities seemed to do it too.
Hooty
written by SeanHawk, January 26, 2010
Hooty has checked out for the time being. We hope to have him back next season but he is focusing on other things right now.

Nuss, no doubt recruiting reports should always be taken with some suspicion. You just never know until the end, and we have ALL been burned by articles that lean one way, only to see things change at the last minute. It has happened before, it will happen again, and it is the nature of the beast. I wish we had an early signing period, so much of the speculation would go away, but it is what we have right now.

Kaddy, 11-1 for sure next year. Montana State will sneak one out in Pullman, otherwise we run the table!
"I wish we had an early signing period, so much of the speculation would go away,"
written by Nuss, January 26, 2010
You got that right.
Correction Mr. Hawkins...
written by Longball, January 26, 2010
Looks like Montana State game is in Seattle, so I like our chances on a neutral field. In Pullman, sure M State would be close enough to home to give them an advantage, but they won't be able to handle us in the insane pressure cooker that is Quest Field, 1/8 full of the last few west siders on the 2001-2003 bandwagon, 1/4 full of their kids, all hopped up on lattes and Pioneer Square drink specials... $10.99 wells!!! Best game day atmosphere in all of sports!

So yeah, 12-0 beeeeeeeeotches.
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written by kaddy, January 26, 2010
I'll be in Stillwater - who's coming with me??
Cleveland will stick with WSU
written by BornCoug, January 26, 2010
It's just a feeling but I think he will stick with WSU. He took a visit and now is home. Many of his friends are headed to WSU. It looks pretty obvious his Dad wants him at Miami but I think the relationship he built with WSU and his friends will bring him to Pullman.

From his tape it wouldn't surprise me to see him play and even start next year.
RE: Longball
written by Soze, January 26, 2010
Don't forget the 20-somethings (like myself) that will be there, tailgating from 7am on, just to meet up with old friends. I'd say at least another 200-300 of those type "filling" the stands. And we'll be ROWDY for the first quarter (probably kicked out by half)!
Thoughts
written by ziptrip, January 26, 2010
Have to say that I've been pretty impressed with Asante and his family, from the limited snippets to come out on the internet. While he did commit to us Cougs, he is well within his rights to see what else is out there.

We'd love to have him in Pullman, and he would have the time of his life here, both on and off the field, but I think we would all wish him and his family the best, no matter what he actually ends up doing. Hard to dislike a class act, and he really did help us on a couple different recruits I believe.

I think losing him would hurt us, he's got the skill to come straight into a real role on our team, and with the kind of turn-around we are capable of, he could be a real headliner in game after game here.
agree with ziptrip
written by BornCoug, January 26, 2010
I know others might not but I would rather Cleveland make the best decision for him. If that means Miami then so be it. I wish him the best if that's the case but I still think he will end up a Coug!
...
written by HucktheFuskies, January 26, 2010
So moving ahead, after Wulff heads to Apple Cup sporting two-three wins next year (which will be heralded as movement in the right direction) will a coaching change be announced prior to Apple Cup?
HucktheFuskies
written by Soze, January 26, 2010
No. He's here for the long haul. If you don't like it, feel free to root for the basketball team.
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written by Longball, January 26, 2010
C'mon Soze, you know better than to feed the trolls. get in the penalty box!
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written by Soze, January 27, 2010
It wasn't your stereotypical troll... he was actually a cute one and I felt compelled to help him out.
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written by Longball, January 27, 2010
He was more of a gnome, really. You can come out of the penalty box now.
reply this topic
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