PULLMAN, Wash. -- With only ten returning starters and new coaches in five positions, the Washington State Cougars have a lot of questions to answer in fall camp.
They started to answer those questions on Friday.
The Cougars were picked to finish fifth in the Pac-12 North, but they have finished higher than what they have been picked in the preseason polls numerous times over the years. Head coach Mike Leach was pleased with the results of day one of fall camp.
“It was good. We had a lot of energy today," Leach said. "The other thing is that I thought we had a little more precision then you sometimes do on a first day."
Offensive lineman Andre Dillard said it was the team's consistency throughout the spring and summer practices that has stood out to him the most.
“After everything that’s happened over the past year or so and after the great summer we had, that was just the thing that’s stood out to me, just how fast everybody was moving around here today,” Dillard said.
The biggest question right now for the Cougars is the quarterback question.
It seems as though their top two in that race right now are Trey Tinsley and Gardner Minshew. Tinsley is a junior and Minshew is a graduate senior transfer from East Carolina. Leach said Thursday that he wants the race narrowed down to two quarterbacks as soon as possible and he wants the starting quarterback position decided around ten days before the season opener.
“Well I thought they both looked good,” Leach said of the two QBs. “Team in particular. Skill I thought was pretty good, but I thought both of them looked good in team in particular.”
Minshew said Friday that the most difficult part of becoming a Coug so far has been learning the system, which is a lot different than what he was use to seeing at East Carolina.
“It’s a lot of different stuff to pick up,” he said. “Trying to get your timing down with each receiver is tough. There’s a lot of guys that will be playing and just getting on the same page with them.”
The Cougars now shift their camp to Lewiston until they return to Pullman for a scrimmage August 10th.