WSU football recruiting: 2017 Signing Day Big Board | Offense (Updated 2/1)

Here we are again! It’s that magical time of year where hardcore WSU football fans get unnecessarily angry — or hopefully happy! — over fax machines and 17-year-olds.

If you were around CougCenter last year, you are probably familiar with the Big Board. Basically, this will be your one-stop shop for all WSU recruiting news as it happens. Below you’ll see each position is broken down with commitments, targets and notes.

For counting purposes, WSU currently has 24 prospects signed or committed in the 2017 recruiting class, which is expected to reach 26 signees when it’s all said and done.

All real time recruiting updates will be posted in a space I’ll create right below these words, so check back often, if that’s your thing.

January 27 updates:

• JUCO wide receiver target Isaac Zico has committed to Purdue and has been removed from the big board. Zico was previously down to WSU, West Virginia and the Boilermakers.
• Offensive line target Jaxson Kirkland has de-committed from UCLA. It appears he’ll be making his college decision between WSU, Oregon and Washington. Kirkland’s father played for UW.
• Mike Leach and Dave Nichol had an in-home visit with Texas WR target Reggie Roberson last night. Roberson will take an official visit to West Virginia this weekend and make his college decision on Monday evening.
• Four-star receiver Jamire Calvin, who was down to WSU and Nebraska, picked the Cornhuskers. He has been removed from the big board. WSU is still after several WR targets, so stay tuned.

January 28 update:

• Offensive line target Jonathan Nathaniel committed to the Cougs, bringing the number of OL commits to five.

January 29 updates:

• WR target Michael Onyemaobi has narrowed his schools down to Iowa State, Nebraska and TCU. He has now been removed from the board.
• WR target Braylon Sanders confirmed to WazzuWatch.com that he has a final three of WSU, Colorado State and Cincinnati. He will make his college decision on Signing Day.

January 30 update:

• WR target Reggie Roberson committed to West Virginia at his high school this evening. He has been removed from the big board.

January 31 updates:

• WR target Braylon Sanders announced on Twitter today that he would be making his college decision between Colorado State and Ole Miss. He was previously down to WSU, CSU and Cincy. I have now removed him from the big board.
• Could WSU still be in the running for four-star WR Jamire Calvin? Nebraska fans seem to think so. Calvin, who committed to Nebraska just four days ago, has since put out a few tweets indicating he may be having second thoughts. He’s also followed all of the WSU coaches in the last 24 hours and put out a retweet from Gabe Marks pushing for him to commit to the Cougs. I have added him to the big board. Stay tuned here — I don’t think this one is over just yet.
• As expected, three-star offensive lineman Jaxson Kirkland committed to UW and has been removed from the big board. WSU is likely done on the offensive line.

February 1 updates:

• The first surprise of the day is Travell Harris, an inside receiver from Tampa, Fla., committed to WSU over Arizona. He has faxed in his letter of intent. WSU now has four receiver signees.
• Moments ago, Bryan Thompson, a four-star WR target, signed with Utah. He has been removed from the big board.
• Mo Unutoa, an offensive tackle target from Hawaii, is expected to sign with BYU today. He has been removed from the big board.
• Jamire Calvin will sign at 12:30 p.m. PST today. Currently a Nebraska soft verbal, the four-star could pull a surprise and sign with WSU today. Stay tuned.
• Dontae Powell is the lone verbal commit on the offensive side who has yet to sign today.
• Jamire Calvin has officially signed with WSU over Nebraska. Huge pickup for Roy Manning.

QUARTERBACK (1 of 1)

Connor Neville, rated four-stars by Scout and ESPN, has been firmly committed for the majority of his recruitment and will be inking with WSU next week. Mike Leach, after missing out on a scholarship quarterback in last year’s class, has flirted with the idea of taking a second quarterback in this class, but that no longer appears to be the case.

RUNNING BACK (1 of 1)

Jim Mastro is pretty set at running back with Gerard Wicks, Jamal Morrow, Keith Harrington and Boobie Williams all returning, plus Romello Harris coming off a redshirt season, so Caleb Perry, a speedy back out of Seattle, will be the only back to sign. Cole Dubots, listed as a running back by several services, will arrive at WSU as a linebacker.

WIDE RECEIVER (3 of 5)

Now this is where things get interesting. Washington State, for whatever reason, has struggled to land receivers in this class, but that could be changing quickly. Easop Winston, a junior college outside receiver, and Anthony White, Jr., a four-star prospect by some services, have already signed and arrived on campus. Davontavean Martin, out of Louisiana, committed shortly after his official visit last weekend.

So, we’re at three. Given the number of wide receiver prospects WSU is currently after, I expect them to take one more and likely two more on Signing Day.

The big news today was four-star receiver Jamire Calvin announcing on Twitter that he was down to WSU and Nebraska. Calvin, an Army All-American, previously had WSU in his top-five along with Alabama, Notre Dame, Oregon State and Nebraska. In a surprise, Calvin picked Oregon State, but quickly got wet feet and de-committed. Calvin was previously thought to be a Nebraska lean, so we’ll see what happens here. Could be big.

According to Cougfan.com, Washington State is still squarely in the mix for four-star receiver Braylon Sanders out of Georgia. Sanders, who visited last weekend, has also visited Colorado State and will be taking a trip to Cincinnati this weekend. Coming off an official visit, Reggie Roberson will take one more trip to West Virginia before announcing between Utah, WSU, WVU and Illinois. This one is a little tough to call.

WSU is still after four-star receiver Bryan Thompson, a former Boise State commit, though UCLA has been hot after the Moreno Valley, Calif. product and Oregon is also in the picture. Michael Onyemaobi, who recently de-committed from Cal following the coaching change, visited TCU last week and has also been closely linked to Nebraska. WSU appeared to be the landing spot for Onyemaobi a couple weeks ago. Now? Ehh.

Isaac Zico, a junior college receiver from Georgia, is one to watch closely in the coming days. In addition to WSU, Zico is considering West Virginia and Purdue. Again, West Virginia could be tough to beat here, but other targets though it could end up being a numbers game with a few of these guys deciding between the same schools. Travell Harris, a slot receiver with a pretty extensive offer sheet, is thought to be deciding between Arizona and WSU.

OFFENSIVE LINE (5 of 5)

As has been the case since Leach and Clay McGuire arrived, WSU is going to go offensive line heavy in this class once again. Robert Valencia, a junior college transfer already on campus, was a massive get, choosing the Cougs over offers from Cal, Utah and TCU. From the sounds of it, prep linemen Dontae Powell, Abraham Lucas and Alec Kuzmack — who have been committed for a while — are all expected to sign with WSU next week, and WSU picked up another prep commit over the weekend when Chandler, Ariz., product Jonathan Nathaniel chose the Cougs over Arizona.

Could WSU take another one? Jaxson Kirkland might still fit. However, shortly after taking an official visit to WSU last weekend, UW extended an offer, which comes on the heels of an Oregon offer. He’s recently decommitted from UCLA, but Kirkland is likely to flip to one of the previously mentioned Northwest schools. WSU is a long shot, but they’re still in the hunt for the three-star.

Mo Unutoa also took an official visit to WSU recently, though his primary recruiter will now be roaming the sidelines in Eugene, so that could put a dent in WSU’s chances. Meanwhile, Arizona offensive lineman Jordan Nathaniel will be in Pullman this weekend for an official visit and if he’s looking for a chance of scenery (Arizona is also in the picture) he could be next in line.

Quazzel White was committed to WSU for a couple months, but TCU came calling last week and he abruptly de-committed. It doesn’t sound like a reunion is in store, though.

You can find the defensive Big Board here. If you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them at some point.