Washington State football lands pair of commitments before the Apple Cup

Washington State’s coaches made effective use of their bye week and secured a pair of commitments from recruits. This week, defensive tackle Jonathan Lolohea and wide receiver Kassidy Woods both announced their decisions to be apart of WSU’s 2018 recruiting class.

In terms of positional scarcity, Lolohea is the more exciting recruit among the two. Both nose tackles listed on the depth chart are seniors and there isn’t an obvious replacement for Daniel Ekuale on the roster. At 6’3 and 310 pounds Lolohea has the size to play the position and could slide into a starting role in 2018.

Lolohea is a three star Juco product from Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi. Originally from Hawaii, Lolohea was an academic non-qualifier out of high school and also spent a year at Los Angeles Valley College. He plans on enrolling in January and will have three years to play two.

The defensive tackle was a sought after recruit and has offers from a number of power five schools. Before choosing WSU, Lolohea was reportedly also considering Boise State and Kansas State. He committed Wednesday when he was in Pullman on an official visit.

Woods was the sixth receiver to commit to WSU so far this cycle. At 6’2 and 200 pounds the Addison, Texas product profiles as an outside receiver in the Air Raid. He holds offers from Nebraska, Iowa State, SMU, and UT-San Antonio.

Woods is a three star recruit according to the 247sports composite rankings, but ESPN has him tabbed as a four star and the second highest rated player in WSU’s 2018 class. In 10 games as a junior he had 844 yards receiving to go with seven touchdowns. His numbers are a bit down this year but Woods has managed to rack up 488 yards through the air and five touchdowns.

I’ve embedded both recruits highlights below. The Cougs class was ranked 36th in the country and fifth in the conference at the writing of this post.

Woods:

Lolohea:

*****

Football:

For Keishawn Bierria and UW’s senior class, a chance to sweep the Apple Cup ‘is everything to us’ | The Seattle Times
Keishawn Bierria is one of the last remnants of the Steve Sarkisian era at UW.

Washington State vs. Washington Apple Cup Predictions 11/23/17
Will the under cash on Saturday night when the Washington Huskies hosts Washington State Cougars in the Apple Cup? These two teams will kickoff on 8:00 p.m. ET.

As last senior linebacker standing, Washington State’s Isaac Dotson prepared to ‘play heart out’ in final Apple Cup | The Spokesman-Review
First and foremost, understand this: Isaac Dotson comes from a household of Cougars. Both of Dotson’s parents, Chrisi and Michael, sport diplomas from Washington State, as do two of his four sisters, Chanel and Stephanie.

Apple Cup Preview: UW has Dante Pettis. WSU has Tavares Martin Jr. But what team has the edge at receiver? | The News Tribune
If there’s something Washington and Washington State share when it comes to receivers, it would be depth.

Washington State Cougars vs. Washington Huskies: Odds, Analysis, Betting Pick | Bleacher Report
The Washington Huskies own victories in seven of the last eight Apple Cup meetings with the Washington State Cougars, going 6-2 against the spread in the process.

Stark: West High grad Thatcher starred in two Apple Cup wins for WSU
Larry Thatcher scored touchdowns in both the 1967 and 1968 games.

Basketball:

Washington State edges Saint Joe's 75-71 on late 3-pointer | News & Observer
Malachi Flynn hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 5 seconds remaining, lifting Washington State to a 75-71 victory over Saint Joseph's after the Cougars rallied from a 20-point first-half deficit in the opening round of the Wooden Legacy.

Saint Mary's aims to keep momentum vs. WSU (Nov 24, 2017) | FOX Sports
Washington State easily has earned the moniker of the “Comeback Kids” so far this season. In its first-round game of the Wooden, the Cougars went scoreless for nearly eight minutes and were outscored 26-0 by Saint Joseph’s.