Some new perspective on the recruitment of Brett Rypien

Brett Rypien might have been the highest profile recruit of the Mike Leach era.

The 2015 quarterback recruit was a four-star prospect out of Shadle Park high school in Spokane. He was also the nephew of Cougar legend Mark Rypien. He was the 10^th ranked signal-caller in the country and widely expected to become the next great Mike Leach quarterback in Pullman. He then shockingly picked the Boise State Broncos as his college of choice. There were tons of rumors flying around his decision, but there never seemed to be a clear answer why.

On the eve of the Broncos facing WSU, Rypien spoke to John Blanchette of the Spokesman-Review and gave some clarity about his choice.

Firstly Rypien’s father addressed the speculation that WSU was complacent in its recruiting of Rypien, assuming he would choose them.

"They recruited him the hardest by far," Tim Rypien reported. "Coach (Mike) Leach and (former assistant) David Yost did an amazing job. I think calling coach Yost was the hardest thing he’s ever had to do."

This is also interesting in that was criticism in some Cougar circles about Yost’s recruiting efforts in Spokane, but it sounds like he may have been doing a better job than we realized.

The family also revealed that WSU was the favorite at the start of the process.

"He didn’t see himself playing for any other school other than WSU," Tim said. "And now this."

It seems that the offense that Boise ran and the culture of high expectations they had built up over the years were the main factors in Rypien’s decision.

"You’ve got to bring it every single week - I figured that out quickly," Rypien said "It does get intense, but that only makes you want to work and prepare harder."

He also talked about why Boise’s offense was a better fit in his mind.

"We ran a similar system (to WSU’s) at Shadle Park - an Air Raid kind of system," Rypien noted. "I felt like I wanted to try something different. Boise State runs a multiple, pro-style offense and I felt really good about the atmosphere down here."

Just goes to show that you can never predict the teenage mind. I highly recommend reading the entire piece from the link below. This definitely adds some interesting drama to this weekend’s match-up.

Football

Blanchette: Brett Rypien can’t escape the ties to Washington State | The Spokesman-Review
Brett Rypien quarterbacked the process to decide his college destination the same way he does an offense headed for the end zone. Campus visits to five schools his junior year – all "unofficial," as they had to be by rule. A decision by May. And later, enrollment over Christmas of what was supposed to be his senior year.

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WSU Football chat (transcript) | The Spokesman-Review
Everything said in this week's WSU football chat.

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