Pac-10 Football: Who's New For Wazzu?

Coach Paul Wulff released the depth chart for his Washington State Cougar football team yesterday.  Surprises?  Not really.

There weren't any real shockers on the position depth chart for those who follow WSU football.  A couple of placements might raise an eyebrow though.

Looking at the defense, the nod at defensive right end went to Matt Mullennnix.  Uber-athlete Andy Mattingly begins the season behind him.  Mattingly was such a force playing the fourth linebacker last season, it looked as though he would be a lock to start at DE and continue his attack on opposing quarterbacks.

Romeo Pellum beat out upper-classman Markes Dawes and Devin Giles to nail down the start at left cornerback.  There wasn't much to separate any of these three in terms of having a good camp or experience.  Pellum is just a sophomore who will line up opposite the elder statesman of the secondary, senior Alphonso Jackson.  Jackson had a good season last year at the safety position, always either making or finishing tackles.  His spot from last year's team has been taken over by the speedy Chima Watchuhkoo.  Okay, Chima's last name is spelled Nwachukwu, but all those consonants confuse me.

Shifting over to offense, true freshman Jared Karstetter earned himself the starting position at one of the receiver slots.  Karstetter blew everyone away during camp by catching everything coming his way except the flu.  The position is probably his until world class hurdler Jeshua Anderson recovers from hernia surgery, which will be at least another six weeks.  Michael Willis successfully made the transition from defense to offense and will start at another wideout, with true freshman Kevin Norrell right behind him.  Look for Norrell to see plenty of playing time based on his camp performance.  He's another kid that will catch just about anything thrown his direction.

For now, Wade Penner will do the kicking.  The job is his to lose.  With last seasons punter Reid Forrest still coming off ankle surgery, red shirt freshman Dan Wagner earned the job.

Frankly, the depth chart didn't follow Coach Wulff's initial plans because of a sick number of injuries during camp.  Camp was like a typo with the Cougs filling cots instead of slots.

Now the WSU coaching staff will focus on game planning for Oklahoma State this coming Saturday.

That's where Coach Wulff truly needs to come up with some surprises.