WSU football recruiting: 2016 Big Board (updated 12/23)

Another successful recruiting weekend is in the books for the Washington State Cougars, who added a couple more verbal commitments to their 2016 haul just before the current dead period went into effect.

If you're unfamiliar with the dead period rules, SB Nation Recruiting explained it in depth here, as did our own Brian Anderson in his look at the Cougars' upcoming schedule.

Basically, starting last Sunday through January 13, no in-person contact is allowed, though electronic communication is still permitted. The full contact period opens on January 14 and runs through January 30, which will be filled with in-home visits and official visits. On January 31, a quiet period goes into effect, which turns into a dead period on February 1 and runs through signing day on Wednesday, February 3.

Below you'll find the our recruiting big board, which will detail the verbal commitments and positional targets with notes attached. This is in no way official and will be updated daily and republished weekly. For counting purposes, WSU has 25 verbal pledges and one signee (updated with McBroom and Patmon) and is allowed to take a total of 25 per cycle (Note: no prospects can be counted back to the 2015 class).

Here's last week's big board for reference. If you have any questions, hit the comments and I'll try to answer.

WSU offensive recruiting big board (13)

Adds:  QB Quentin Davis, OL Paco Perez
Subtractions: OL Tyson Rising (ASU), OL Sean Auwae, OL Grant Hermanns, OL Matthew Gutwald, WR Dez Fitzpatrick, WR Tyler Vaughns (USC), WR Khris Vaughn

As mentioned last week, Washington State is essentially full on the offensive side, especially after landing another highly touted receiver, which we'll get to below. By no means does that indicate the Cougars are done recruiting offensive prospects, as they'll host several next month and, if you've followed recruiting, there's bound to be some silliness.

QUARTERBACK (1 of 1)

UPDATES:

Wednesday, Dec. 23 — As I mentioned in the last big board, Washington State had been evaluating a quarterback in the West over the last month or so, and today, the Cougars extended an offer to Quentin Davis, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound pro-style quarterback out of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco.

Davis has since confirmed with CougCenter that the offer is, indeed, a full scholarship offer, and that he will visit Washington State in mid-January.

So what does this all mean? Well, Davis has the look of a Division-I quarterback on film, but was lightly recruited, holding just an offer from Fresno State. That's not entirely uncommon, as he finally saw action this season after playing behind that nation's top quarterback last year, Josh Rosen, who, of course, went to UCLA.

There has been no indication that Brewer, who committed to the Cougars shortly after Ian Book flipped to Notre Dame, is having any second thoughts with his recruitment, and as the numbers stand right now, it would be extremely rare for the Cougars to take two quarterbacks in this cycle, unless they were anticipating some kind of change at quarterback.

We'll monitor this and update as more information becomes available. Here's Davis' senior season highlights.

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No changes from last week. Cody Brewer will officially visit Washington State on January 15. There's been no action on the quarterback recruiting front, so this verbal commitment is locked in.

RUNNING BACK (1 of 1)

UPDATES:

Saturday, December 19 — Romello Harris confirms he'll take an official visit to Washington State on January 22.

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Romello Harris will be the only true running back the Cougars take in this class, as they've done in the past. A yardage monster that shows off an impressive blend of speed and power, Harris is likely set for a redshirt year before jumping into the mix. The Cougars steadily recruited the three-star since his sophomore season. He'll visit January 22.

WIDE RECEIVER (6 of 5)

UPDATES:

Friday, December 18 — Three-star receiver Dezmon Patmon out of San Diego, Calif., Patrick Henry will announce his college commitment at 6 p.m. tonight on a local television station. Based on the pictures accompanying his Twitter announcement, it appears San Diego State, Boise State and Washington State are the finalists. Patmon visited two weeks ago. We'll see if the Cougars are full at receiver or not. This should come down to WSU and Boise State.

*** Dezmon Patmon has committed to Washington State. Read about it here. ***

Saturday, December 19 — Grant Porter says he'll take an official visit to WSU on January 22. Renard Bell confirms he'll take his official visit a week earlier on January 15.

Wednesday, December 23 — Zion Echols says he'll take an official visit to Washington State on January 15. Khris Vaughn says he was previously planning on visiting Pullman, though as of now, that trip has been canceled.

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Shortly after de-committing from Florida following his official visit to Gainesville over the weekend, three-star receiver Isaiah Johnson, ranked the No. 90 overall receiving prospect in the country by 247 Sports Composite, flipped to Washington State.

Johnson, who officially visited December 4, has maintained that distance was never going to be a factor (despite early pledges to Miami, Louisville and Florida) and his really good friend and former high school teammate, Tavares Martin Jr., is already on the Cougars roster. He's expected to sign financial aid papers and enroll in school next month.

With an impressive offer sheet and the highest rating among current Washington State commits, Johnson caps the Cougars' recruiting efforts at receiver should things stay the same. There's always the chances of de-commitments, flips or grayshirts, though there has been no indication that Grant Porter, Stephen Houston, Josiah Westbrook or Renard Bell are on the verge of doing so.

As of now, despite expected official visits from Keoni-Kordell Makehau and Khris Vaughn next month, WSU is likely full at receiver, though should a blue chipper throw his name into the ring, the Cougars would make room.

Another name of note that popped up on the Twittersphere this week was Chris Paz, a 6-foot-1, 203-pound receiver out of Fresno, Calif., San Joaquin Memorial. Paz, who coincidentally shares the same name as a current WSU freshman offensive lineman walk-on for the Cougars, says the staff has offered him as a preferred walk-on. Cornell is the only school to offer as of now.

My understanding based on conversations with Paz is that the Cougars like the big receiver as a prospect, though because they're full, they'll basically "blueshirt" him, which means no in person contact until he enrolls on campus, then be able to add him to the roster as a scholarship player next season without it impacting this year's numbers. There's also the very real chance that he doesn't earn a scholarship, at which point it's a no-lose situation for the program.

Another name to keep an eye on is Zion Echols, a Cal de-commit who has recently said the Cougars and Bears make up his final two. The three-star is ranked the No. 53 overall athlete in the country according to Rivals and also holds offers from Boise State, Oregon State, Utah, Washington and others.

Echols is on the small side, registering at just 5-foot-8, 168-pounds, but projects as a do-it-all slot, return and running back type at the next level. He's suggested he wants to take an official visit to Washington State next month.

Tyler Vaughns, a USC commit, received an in-home visit from Ken Wilson last week, while Dez Fitzpatrick, following a de-commitment from Louisville, has received plenty of interest from the Cougars, though as of now WSU is still a long shot for both.

Dezmon Patmon is high on WSU but it will be interesting to see if he's on the outside looking in after Johnson's verbal commitment. It appears Trevon Bradford, despite officially visiting a couple weeks ago, will stick with his Oregon State commitment.

OFFENSIVE LINE (5 of 5)

UPDATES:

Saturday, December 19 — Frederick Mauigoa says he's planning on being in Pullman on January 22 for an official visit. Current verbal commit Jaelen Lewis will be in town January 15 for an official visit. Stanford commit Nate Herbig is still expected to take an official visit. Josh Watson says he'll take an official visit on January 15. Christian Haangana says that he does not yet have a firm official visit date, but "sometime in January."

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Another week, another offensive line verbal for the Washington State staff who, with the addition of Liam Ryan, has now landed four of their five linemen in the last month. Ryan, a towering tackle prospect, committed to the Cougars while on his official visit over the weekend.

Ryan, however, wasn't the only offensive line prospect in town. Current Cal commit Francisco "Paco" Perez also made the trip. The 6-foot-5, 301-pound offensive lineman is ranked the No. 33 overall guard prospect in the country by Rivals.

The Cougars aren't the only Pac-12 program making a push at the talented lineman as UCLA is firmly in the picture along with Cal. After taking his first official visit to Washington State, Perez will now visit Cal and UCLA before making a final decision, though WSU made a solid first impression.

One top offensive line prospect that was expected to take an official visit next month was Sean Auwae, the No. 4 overall center in the country, according to Rivals. That appears to no longer be the case as Auwae released a top three today that no longer included the Cougars, instead listing Louisville, Vanderbilt and Hawaii. Stanford offensive guard commit Nate Herbig was expected to visit with Auwae, but I'm still working on confirming his plans.

As I reported last week, Washington State is still actively recruiting Frederick Mauigoa, who says he'll take an official visit to Pullman in late January. At that time, Mauigoa said he did not have any other official visits planned. Despite numbers, the Cougars could (and most likely will, should he commit) make room for Mauigoa, whether that be asking a current verbal to grayshirt or losing a pledge to a de-commitment or academic issues.

After last week's big board was released, I had a lot of questions about Michigan graduate transfer Logan Tuley-Tillman, a former four-star offensive tackle prospect. I didn't include Tuley-Tillman because he wouldn't count towards this class as a June graduate. He will, however, officially visit Washington State in late January, in addition to a visit to Miami. He'll have two year of eligibility left and be able to play immediately.

WSU defensive recruiting big board (13)

Adds: N/A
Subtractions: DE Phillip Napolean (OSU), DE Anthony Smith (CSU)

DEFENSIVE LINE (2 of 3)

UPDATES:

Wednesday, Dec. 16 — Miami, Okla., Northeastern A&M DE Garrett McBroom has signed with Washington State. CougCenter report can be found here.

Las Vegas, Nev., DE Anthony Smith has verbally committed to Colorado State and has been removed from the board for now...

Thursday, Dec. 17 — As we previously reported, Long Beach, Calif., College defensive end Josh Allen will take an official visit to Washington State next month. That news has since been confirmed by Greg Biggins of Scout.com, who says he'll make the trip on January 22.

The four-star was also planning trips to USC, UCLA and ASU, though Biggins says he'll only visit Arizona (Jan. 15), whom he previously de-committed from, in addition to WSU. Allen did not play as a sophomore, but you can view his freshman highlights here. Allen, at one time or another, held offers from Arizona, Alabama, ASU, Boise State, Louisville, Miami and many others.

We're also told that Evan Weaver, the three-star defensive end out of Spokane, Wash., wants to attend school out of state. For now, we'll leave the Cal commit on the board, as he's in the backyard and WSU may want to make a final run if defensive line recruiting doesn't shake out the way they anticipate.

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Next up on the big board is Northeastern, Okla., A&M J.C. defensive end Garrett McBroom, who was also in town on an official visit last weekend. The 6-foot-3, 265-pound lineman has also visited Purdue and is expected to sign today. As of this morning, McBroom told CougCenter that he was still working out who he was going to sign with, but that he wanted it to get done today. McBroom has two years to play two.

With only one defensive line commit in this class, Lyric Bartley, the Cougars will be bringing in several other defensive line prospects next month, including four-star junior college prospect Josh Allen out of Long Beach, Calif., C.C. The massive end prospect, who did not play this season, was previously committed to Arizona and just listed a top five of the WIldcats, UCLA, Arizona State, USC and Washington State, each of whom he plans to visit next month. Miami just popped in with an offer, as well.

I've had a lot of questions about 2015 signee Thomas Toki, a four-star prospect originally from Kirkland, Wash., who ended up moving to Mountain View, Calif., with his family for his senior season. I've been told the staff is still holding a spot for Toki up until the mid-year date, but there's a possibility that Toki could go the junior college route first with academics still to sort out.

As mentioned last week, some other options for the Cougars at defensive line include Curtis Weaver, Evan Weaver and Fua Pututau, who recently listed the Cougars in his top five, though no visit plans are in place for the trio. Las Vegas defensive end Anthony Smith, at last check, was planning to visit Washington State next month.

Mount San Jacinto, Calif., C.C. defensive Phillip Napolean, who officially visited over the weekend, signed with Oregon State today.

LINEBACKER (4 of 4)

UPDATES:

Saturday, December 19 — Helix linebackers Jihad Woods and Mason Vinyard will take their official visits on January 15, the same weekend as Honolulu linebacker Tainoa Foster. No word on Derek Moore's visit plans just yet.

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Junior college linebacker commit Chima Onyeukwu took his official visit to Washington State last weekend, though it's expected the three-star prospect will have to delay his enrollment until June and sign in February instead. He's all set for Washington State despite continued interest.

The rest of the linebacker group remains in tact with Jihad Woods, Mason Vinyard and Derek Moore likely to take their official visits next month. They'll be joined by uncommitted linebacker prospect Tainoa Foster, who received an in-home visit from Joe Salave'a a couple weeks ago. Four is likely the max number they'll take at linebacker this cycle.

CORNERBACK (4 of 4)

UPDATE:

Saturday, December 19 — D'jimon Jones says he'll take an official visit on January 15. Marcus Strong will visit a week later on January 22.

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No changes here other than Jalen Thompson wrapping up his recruitment with an official visit last weekend. He'll be on campus next month. The rest of the cornerback class is expected to officially visit next month, as well, with each of them seemingly locked in. Here's what I had to say last week:

"The Cougs quickly filled up at cornerback, landing four quality prospects over the last few months. Jalen Thompson, a three-star who chose the Cougars over an offer from Washington, leads the group and will arrive in January as an early enrollee.

"D'jimon Jones is the most athletic prospect in this class and will come to WSU as a cornerback despite also playing quarterback prior to breaking his ankle earlier this year. Jones would later return at defensive back for Federal Way's final game of the season and is now playing for the top-ranked Federal Way hoops squad.

"Marcus Strong and Isaiah Love round out the foursome of three-star prospects. Strong held offers from Washington and Oregon State while Love, who visited over the weekend, picked the Cougs over offers from Colorado and several Mountain West programs."

SAFETY (3 of 2)

UPDATE:

Saturday, December 19 — Skyler Thomas says he'll take an official visit to Washington State on January 22.

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Wash, rinse, repeat. The Cougars are set at safety, and while I originally assumed they would take just two in this class, I've lumped athlete verbal Justus Rogers into this group despite him technically being a quarterback/athlete. Rogers took his official visit over the weekend and is set to enroll in January. Here's what I said last week:

"Rogers is a good looking prospect that hails from the top high school program in Washington. He should benefit from arriving on campus early and undoubtedly adds another athlete to whatever position group he winds up at.

"Skyler Thomas is another long time verbal commit and he's joined by the Cougars' second-most recent verbal commitment, Robert Taylor, who pledged over the weekend. Taylor, also a mid-year guy, picked the Cougars over offers from West Virginia and Purdue, and should compete right away for the safety spot opposite Shalom Luani next season."

SPECIAL TEAMS (0 of 0)

Santa Barbara, Calif., C.C. kicker Blake Levin will accept a preferred walk-on offer to Washington State next month should no scholarship offers open up, he recently told CougCenter. Levin is highly regarded in several kicking rankings and would compete with Erik Powell along with Matt Abramo for the job next year.

The Cougars are also making a preferred walk-on run at River Ridge, La., John Curtis punter Kody Schexnayder, who announced on Twitter he'd be visiting Washington State next month. Schexnayder is from the same Louisiana high school as Cougars safety Hunter Dale. He was an all-everything state punter for John Curtis this season.