WSU football recruiting: Junior College DE Preston Hendry commits to the Cougs

Washington State continued their recent success on the recruiting front Monday afternoon as Preston Hendry, a strongside defensive end from the junior college ranks, announced on Twitter that he’ll continue his football career on the Palouse.

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound defensive lineman out of Orange Coast College (Calif.) picked the Cougs over offers from Arizona State, Baylor, Colorado State, Iowa State, Kansas State, San Diego State, Syracuse and several others. Hendry, a consensus three-star prospect, is the No. 6-ranked strongside defensive end among junior college players in the 2017 class.

Hendry, originally from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., was a receiver for three years at Tesoro High School before making the switch to defensive end his senior year, though he went unrecruited out of high school, eventually winding up at Orange Coast College.

As a true freshman last season, Hendry, at just 210 pounds, racked up 53 tackles, 15.5 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks. After putting on 25-pounds last offseason, Hendry started to see his recruitment pick up. In 8 games this season, Hendry has 30 tackles, 6 tackles-for-loss and 3 sacks.

Hendry joins offensive lineman Quazzel White and safety Josh Talbott as WSU verbal commitments in the last week, bringing the Cougs’ 2017 recruiting class to 15. WSU has also received commitments from defensive ends Abraham Lucas, Joe Tryon and Kelle Sanders.