Most of us are old enough to have lived through the three ten win seasons, though most of this team were just starting pee wee pads at the time. However, those teams were always built around solid D-Lines. I always remember my Dad telling me about how WSU has to recruit tight ends and allow them to develop into great D-Lineman for us to be successful. Therefore, it is a process for us to become solid on the D-Line. While I wonder if my dad actually knows much about the game of football this is one area he seems to be right about.
What did the D-Line of Jeremy Williams, Tai Tupai, Josh Shavies, D.D Acholuno, Isaac Brown, and Mkisto Bruce have in common. Those five all were red shirted. The result was an extra year in the weight room to build the character and strength necessary to compete in the Pac 10. Now look at Anthony Laurenzi, Toni Pole, Brandon Rankin, Travis Long, and Coeper/Stormo and besides Rankin and Long it is built with redshirts. Of course, this years line is still younger than the 2003 line but this is the first year in a while that we are not relying on true frosh to fill the line.
In fact, if you look at the line through the Crimson Goggles it might have warped into a team strength in the off season. Anyone that watched fall practice last year knew that Toni Pole was going to develop into a Pac 12 D-Lineman quickly. However, it has been the emergence of the true Coug players which has made this unit a strength. I say the true Cougs because we have a long history of players stepping up to the plate and becoming studs that no one else thought would develop into anything. Last year it was the emergence of Anthony Laurenzi at the end of the year. This year it appears Stormo and Coeper decided they were ready to do anything to get on the field and compete. Competing is exactly what they have done and their emergence has made our Defensive Line deep.
Rankin, Sampson, and Clayton will all be seeing some time on the field this year and in Rankin's case I think it is safe to say we have a back up D-Lineman that could start on other Pac 12 teams. Sampson is a work in progress but his size and maturity could make him into a beast by years end. While Clayton gets little coverage he has done all of the little things right and will continue to push for his playing time too.
Ian Knight and Lenard Williams have also been pleasant surprises to provide depth at the defensive end position. Ian Knight may be one of our best recruits in last years class because he appears at the moment to be Travis Long's back up as a speed rushing end. Which means we will be able to rotate Long and Knight to provide a consistent push off the end all year long. Don't count Lenard Williams out of the mix either. He shows some serious flashes but is still getting use to the Pac 12 talent level. I could see him being a contender by mid season meaning we have the bodies to be physical and fast all year long.
Now let's look at David Davis, TJ Poloai, and Darryl Paulo. These three freshmen are probably in line to redshirt this season. David Davis is a bull rusher who is a little undersized at the moment. He doesn't play undersized and shows serious burst of strength when necessary. TJ Poloai looks to be the most game ready at the moment. He is only slightly undersized but has done a great job of picking up Coach Howard's techniques. Darryl Paulo, who played LB in high school, has the frame to be an absolute beast. A year in the weight program and he could have gains similar to Jake Rodgers. They make the future very bright considering next spring we will have three competitive redshirt DT's on the roster.
It is easy to say the sky is the limit for this group considering what we have lived through since 2005. I like to think of this group like the LB unit from last year. They are young but loaded with potential. This will not be as much as a learning year for this group but a year to gain valuable experience of what it takes to compete in the Pac 12. They will be competitive, make plays, and hold their own. With the talent on the roster at the moment though, we will have a solid line for years to come starting right now.
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