Washington State Football: 5 storylines to follow during 2018 spring ball

AUBURN, AL - AUGUST 31: Head coach Mike Leach of the Washington State Cougars talks to the referees after a penalty call during the second half of play on August 31, 2013 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. Auburn defeated Washington State 31-24. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images) /

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Washington State football heads into spring of 2018 with major question marks at key areas. What storylines should Cougars fans be following this spring?

The Washington State Cougars finished 2017 on a low note, losing their final two games by a combined score of 83-31. The Cougs were dominated in the Apple Cup by the Washington Huskies and again in the Holiday Bowl by the Michigan State Spartans.

That being said, Wazzou finished the 2017 season 9-4 (6-3 Pac-12) and upset the USC Trojans in Pullman in a wacky late-night Pac-12 Friday night game. The Cougs finished 39th in the S&P+ rankings from Bill C, a slight bump from 41st in 2016.

Mike Leach has had a few major off-season moves that he’s had to make in order to keep Washington State trending upward into 2018. First, he had to replace defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, and replace record-setting quarterback Luke Falk. Grinch skyrocketed the Cougs’ defense from around 100th in the S&P+ rankings to 29th in 2017.

The other major issue for Mike Leach is keeping his players focused heading into yet another spring after a winter of their head football coach flirting with other jobs. Eventually Leach’s propensity for looking to leave Pullman will hurt his team continuity and recruiting classes.

Here are the top five storylines for the Cougs heading into spring football.

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