College version of HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ picks exactly the Pac-12 program you’d hope
By Keith Farner
Published:
One of the most colorful coaches in sports, especially college football, will receive more spotlight following the Saturday announcement of a new college version of the popular HBO documentary series “Hard Knocks.”
The official Washington State football Twitter account confirmed the announcement.
The Spokesman-Review reported that HBO representatives visited Pullman, Washington, and sent a camera crew to Friday’s practice. The paper reported that the show would return for one week during the regular season as the Cougars host Pac-12 games against UCLA, Colorado, Stanford and Oregon State.
Cameras and boom microphones were at coach Mike Leach’s hip the majority of Friday’s practice, Theo Lawson of the S-R reported, but also picked up sound and footage from various drills, dropping a mic and camera into the popular “bull in the ring” drill the Cougars open every practice with.
Leach didn’t formally brief players about the show’s arrival, but once he noticed HBO cameras around the perimeter of the field, he told the Cougars in their pre-practice huddle “just to ignore them.”
“It’s all right,” Leach said. “Just ignore them. Practice ignoring the cameras, because they want a genuine look and we’re not going to get our work done unless we effectively ignore one another.”
This should be fun! #GoCougs #JoinTheHunt pic.twitter.com/w08jW8IwkT
— Washington State Football (@WSUCougarFB) August 17, 2019
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
