WSU football recruiting: Florida DL Lamonte McDougle de-commits

Things have not gone well for Washington State to start this season, and it didn’t get any better Thursday night as they lost their second 2017 verbal commitment this week.

And it’s a big one.

Lamonte McDougle, a three-star defensive tackle prospect from Deerfield Beach, Fla., announced on Twitter that he is opening up his recruitment nearly three months after committing to the Cougars.

“I’ve decided to reopen my recruitment and decommit from Washington State,” McDougle tweeted. “They are still my leader as of now and I’m excited to take my official visit, but I feel I’ve rushed my decision and I owe it to myself and the program I choose to be 100% on board before [I] commit.”

McDougle, rated the No. 73 overall defensive tackle in the country by 24/7 Sports, originally chose the Cougars over offers from Arkansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, Penn State, Stanford, Tennessee, West Virginia and others.

McDougle’s de-commitment comes as somewhat of a surprise as he’s planning on taking an official visit to the Palouse next weekend when Washington State hosts Oregon, according to report this morning from Corey Bender of Scout.com. He also has plans to visit Kentucky, West Virginia and Syracuse.

McDougle, whose father, Stocker, played offensive tackle under Mike Leach (OC) at Oklahoma, would have filled a serious need for Washington State in this class, as he’s a powerful interior defensive lineman—something the Cougars have struggled to recruit in recent classes.

The 6-foot-1, 295-pounder is the third prospect to de-commit in recent weeks, following four-star wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins and three-star running back Cyrus Habibi-Likio, who backed off his WSU pledge on Sunday evening.

With McDougle no longer committed, the Cougars’ 2017 recruiting class now sits at 13.