2021 Washington State Cougars

[Heralded_Defender]

Since 2007, Washington State have started 8, 9, 8, 11, 13, 13, 10, 8, 9, 7, 7, 4, and 6 white players. 6 again this year.

Second year HC Nick Rolovich has run off the long streak of outstanding white QBs at WSU set up by Mike Leach. Presently he has Jaydon de Laura, coming off a suspension for a DUI, battling with Tennessee washout Jarrett Guarantano. Neither has been particularly impressive, but Rolovich seems content on writing off white QB Cammon Cooper to third string. Guarantano in particular has been horrendous. Here's how WeenieWorld described Guarantano's one pass attempt performance in Wazzu's spring game:

Guarantano (6'4/213) transferred as a graduate to Wazzu from Tennessee in the offseason and was, inexplicably, expected to contend for the starting quarterback job with Cammon Cooper and suspended sophomore Jayden de Laura. He appeared to hit the helmet of an offensive lineman on the follow through of his first throw and recoil in pain. In typical Guarantano fashion, his one throw was an indefensible interception that sailed right into the chest of a safety in zone coverage that he apparently never saw. The pass had zero chance of being completed, as there were five defenders in the area that blanketed the intended receiver. All in all, nothing has changed since Guarantano's transfer from Tennessee and it's hard to believe HC Nick Rolovich would trust him to lead the Cougars' offense in the regular season.

Life is cruel so it has decided to reward this putrid QB depth chart with an abundance of white skill players. Legit NFL prospect Max Borghi is the lone starter of the bunch -- an explosive RB with receiving skills, Borghi should hopefully continue to shine despite this offense's limitations. White WRs occupy 3 of the 4 back up WR spots; they are RS-So Mitchell Quinn, RS-So Anderson Grover, and So Joey Hobert. With a number of seniors on the roster, they should factor into the future. True Freshman walk-on RB Kannon Katzer led all rushers in the spring game with 73 yards and two TDs. Observers are high on the freshman; we'll see if he gets a fair treatment. Scholarship back up Cole Dubots, a very speedy RB who never saw the field at WSU, recently medically retired.

The defensive side of the ball is bare. DE Brennan Jackson passes my eyeball test, but he might be mixed. The only other two defenders on the two-deep are DE Quinn Roff and LB Kyle Thornton. TCU transfer Ben Wilson is no where to be seen, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him break his way in. True freshman DE Andrew Edson has been a camp standout - one to watch for in the future. Senior LB Dillon Sherman would've factored in this year, but like Dubots, was forced to medically retire.

Offense -
RB - Max Borghi
LT - Liam Ryan
LG - Jarrett Kingston
C - Brian Greene
RG - Cade Beresford

Defense -
DE - Brennan Jackson

 

[Leonardfan]

Washington State head coach Nick Rolovich has been terminated by Washington State, according to John Canzano of The Oregonian.
Washington State head coach Nick Rolovich spoke on his vaccination status and chances of remaining with the program on Saturday after his team's 34-31 win over Stanford, saying that he, "believes it's going to work out the right way." That probably meant that he thought the religious exemption for which he applied for would be granted. However, things have not worked out, according to a recent report. The official deadline was set for October 18th. University policy requires vaccination or exemption to continue work.

 

[Phall]

The various re-hashings of the press release do not make it clear whether he was fired by the state or the university, nor which entity reviewed and denied his religious exemption. I think this process is intentionally obscured to avoid any targeted criticism, not that any smug state employee or school admin has any accountability to the public whatsoever. I was surprised to hear that multiple staff members were fired as well, since Rolovich was always the center of the controversy. Those assistants were surely emboldened by his stance and were proud to go down with the ship, unlike countless other coaches around the country who acquiesced without a peep.

This was a hardball stance by the state and/or university with "the good of the student athletes" at the absolute bottom of the priority list.

 

[Bucky]

Rolovich black listed.FRIGGIN pathetic.