Trouble brewing in Pullman
Add a new chapter to the Washington State vs. Marquess Wilson saga.
For those of you just joining, here’s the back story: Last Monday, it was announced that Marquess Wilson was suspended from the team. The reason was originally undisclosed, but it was suspected to be from Wilson walking out of practice the Sunday night before.
Outside of Monday’s fallout, both sides had been pretty quiet over the week.
Then Saturday came. WSU’s tough loss to UCLA suddenly wasn’t the biggest news coming out of Pullman.
Wilson released a statement to the media, announcing that he had decided to leave the football program. In the wide receivers statement, he stated “abuse” by the coaching staff as the reason behind his decision.
Under claims of “abuse,” a full investigation has been launched into the WSU football program. (Photo: US PRESSWIRE)
The full statement can be read here.
For those familiar with both sides of this battle, this isn’t very surprising.
Wilson has been called out all season by coach Leach for not practicing or working hard enough. It’s very plausible that this is just an outcry from a jaded player.
On the other hand, it doesn’t seem surprising that Leach would be running an abusive program. Before coming to the Cougs, Leach was the head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders for 10 seasons.
He was controversially let go from that program after the mistreatment of a concussed player in practice.
Whichever way this story goes, the University is not sitting on their hands. University President Elson Floyd has already launched a full review and investigation into the program.
After everything that’s happened in the college football landscape over the last year—AKA Penn State—it’s no surprise that Floyd is launching into immediate action.
If the claims are found to be true, no doubt Mike Leach will find himself out of a job—which could also happen after a disappointing first season with the club. It’s unknown if the door would remain open for Wilson’s return if Leach is let go.
If Wilson’s claims are false, the junior could have a hard time finding a program to take him on in 2013. He does have the option to forgo his senior year and enter the NFL draft, but his stock will surely drop.
Either way, it’ll be interesting to see what results the investigation yields.
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