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Dec. 19—PULLMAN — Like many Washington State players, Djouvensky Schlenbaker didn’t know coach Jake Dickert was leaving the program until Wednesday morning.
He doesn’t usually check his phone much past 9 p.m., he said, which means he missed out on any chatter around the possibility.
So even early Wednesday morning, when the Cougars’ third-year running back got a text about a team meeting, he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Not until he picked up a teammate to drive to the Cougar Football Complex did he hear the topic.
“I was like, ‘Dang, that sucks,’ ” Schlenbaker said. “But it’s the people in the facility that you gotta care for more. We love coaches and everything.
“They’re great people. But we gotta love the brothers in our room.”
For his part, senior edge Andrew Edson — the first player Dickert recruited and went on to graduate — was caught off guard, too.
“I was initially a little surprised,” Edson said, “but at the end of the day, this program keeps moving forward. We’ve seen worse in our time here, throughout these four years. So at the end of the day, it’s part of college football now, and just keep focusing on finishing the season out.”
WSU will do just that on Dec. 27 in San Diego, where the Cougars will take on Syracuse . The Cougars will not be opting out, athletic director Anne McCoy said Wednesday, even as the program marches forward without a head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, running backs coach and quarterbacks coach.
Twenty-four Cougars, including 12 starters, have also entered the transfer portal as of Thursday evening.
The list includes star defensive tackle David Gusta, who reportedly entered the portal Thursday, meaning each of the Cougars’ top three defensive linemen are in the portal.
That doesn’t mean they’re ineligible for the Holiday Bowl. Acting head coach Pete…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/wsu-players-react-coach-jake-045900982.html
Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Publish date : 2024-12-20 04:59:00
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