Breaking down WSU's roster heading into 2014

The 2013 season hasn't even been over for 48 hours, but it's already time to start looking ahead. With the season over, this seems like a good time to update the scholarship chart and take a look at the current state of the roster and the eligibility breakdown moving forward.

The departing seniors have been removed and everyone else moves up a class. The chart is also updated with the departures of Alex Jackson and Denzell Dotson and others. The 2018 column includes the players currently verbally committed in the 2014 recruiting class and players expected to grayshirt and enroll in January.

Key: Bold = scholarship player, Italic = walk-on, * = used redshirt season

Like always, this is an educated guess on scholarship numbers. Most of it is based on research and media confirmations, but there is a chance it's slightly off. A couple walk-ons could be in line for a scholarship this offseason with Jeremiah Laufasa likely at the top of that list.

Let's start with the recruiting numbers. The chart above includes the 19 current verbal commitments and three grayshirts. WSU still has three open scholarships -- and could gain a couple more -- so fitting a full class of 25 won't be a problem. In fact, I'd expect WSU to try and get a couple players in January, count them toward last year and try to take 27 or 28 this year.

Of WSU's 81 scholarship players, 36 will be upper classmen next season. That's a slight increase from 34 last season. The Cougars are slated to have a monster junior class on the roster next year. Six of WSU's 11 scholarship linebackers will be juniors next season, including at least two starters. The 2014 linebacker recruiting class is an important one, there is going to be a lot of open playing time in two years.

Speaking of playing time, WSU is stacked at wide receiver next year, but will need to boost the numbers with the next two recruiting classes. All five seniors are major contributors with three of the top four outside receivers heading into their last season. The opportunity to catch a ton of passes should be a nice recruiting pitch.

Barring injury, WSU has a great chance to develop some offensive line continuity. All 16 scholarship players are juniors or younger. The Cougars have three starting spots to fill and there should be a very healthy competition. I would be very surprised if a true freshman offensive lineman saw the field anytime soon. Not a lot of game experience, but healthy depth numbers.

The secondary remains very concerning. Of the seven scholarship corners projected to be on the roster next season, only Daquawn Brown has extensive playing experience and only Brown and Tracy Clark have ever taken a Pac-12 snap. That should be fun.

Safety isn't much better with Taylor Taliulu the only player with extensive playing experience. Darius Lemora's name popped up a lot during Thursday night football and Mike Breske seems very high on Isaac Dotson. Paris Taylor was listed on one of the early two-deep depth charts before missing time due to a foot injury. WSU is going to rely on all three next season.

This chart will go through some change over the next month, so we'll update it again following signing day.

More from CougCenter

Follow @CougCenter Follow @SBNationCFB

• Clock management issues continue to plague WSU
• The day after it broke bad
• Colorado State assistant being investigated for Connor Halliday incident
• New Mexico Bowl 2013: This one will sting for a while
• WSU vs. UTEP basketball: TV schedule, preview and game thread