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Washington State, fresh off signing Mike Leach to a shiny new five-year, $20 million deal, now shifts their focus to the early signing day period, which begins tomorrow.
The NCAA implemented the new signing window earlier this year and while the traditional February signing day will still be in effect, it’s looking like the early signing period is going to be the biggest day of the recruiting calendar moving forward, according to Bud Elliott of SB Nation, who asked coaches what they expect tomorrow.
The principle guiding the common strategy of the schools is to maximize the leverage given to them by NCAA rules.
So here is how the vast majority of college teams will attack early signing day.
“With few exceptions, we expect to sign every verbal commitment we have. This is [now] the main Signing Day.”
If a player has been offered and has verbally committed to the university, that team expects him to sign. Coaches have put in months, if not years, of work toward their current verbal commitments. They do not want to spend another second ensuring those players sign. In fact, that has long been one of their biggest annoyances with the recruiting process.
To put it another way, a lot of schools think upward of 80 percent of their recruiting classes will sign in December, with only a few players waiting until February.
The December early signing period is now the big trip to the grocery store, while February’s traditional National Signing Day is going to become the quick stop for a gallon of milk.
Barring any surprises, Leach and the WSU coaching staff should be no exception, as the vast majority of the current recruiting class, which currently sits at 21 known commits, is expected to fax in their national letters of intent at some point tomorrow.
Recruits expected to sign tomorrow
Based on what we’ve heard, here’s a list of the 16 prospects we expect to sign with WSU this week:
- QB: Cammon Cooper
- RB: Max Borghi
- WR: Rodrick Fisher, Calvin Jackson, Kassidy Woods, Brandon Gray
- OL: Cade Beresford, Syr Riley, Jarrett Kingston
- DL: Jonathan Lolohea, Brennan Jackson
- LB: RJ Stone, Kedron Williams,
- DB: D’Angelo McKenzie, Myles Green-Richards, Patrick Nunn
Of these 16 verbal commits, Cooper, Borghi, Fisher, Lolohea and Jackson are all expected to enroll at WSU in January and participate in spring practices. The rest will likely arrive in June with the rest of the class that signs in Feburary.
Recruits not expected to sign tomorrow
- WR: Drue Jackson
- OL: Nick Lewis
- DL: Amir Crowder
- DB: Erick Hallett, Gatlin Grisso
Obviously, this list is unknown right now, but reading the tea leaves suggests these are the players that are questionable to sign at this point in the recruiting process. Note: Victor Terry is reportedly no longer committed as he works on academics.
Recruits to watch
Cade Beresford, a touted offensive tackle prospect from Woodinville, took an official visit to WSU two weeks ago, though he’s been pursued by UCLA and USC of late. He mentioned on Twitter last week that he was 100% committed and signing with WSU, though it’s recruiting and a lot of funny things can happen in the final hours.
WSU will also be included in a hat ceremony tomorrow as it appears three-star safety Halid Djibril will be deciding between WSU and Oregon State. The Los Angeles (Calif.) Cathedral prospect took an official visit to WSU two weeks ago, then followed that up with a trip to Corvallis last weekend. It’s unknown when he’s deciding.
Myles Green-Richards picked up an offer from in-state program Oregon State on Sunday night, but there’s been no mention of his interest in the Beavers. Still, it’s something to watch for as the faxes begin rolling in.
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It’ll be interesting to see how this early signing day will impact the college football recruiting landscape and WSU, in particular. WSU recruiting classes have notoriously been a “back up plan” for larger programs who miss on their big fish and I’d expect some of those programs are already in commits’ ears about holding off on signing.
Should be an exciting day! CougCenter will have you covered as the faxes come in.
WSU Football 2018 Recruiting Class
Letter Received? | Player | Expected Pos. | 247 Composite | Composite Value | Measurables (via 247) | Commit Date | City | State | CougCenter Profile | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Letter Received? | Player | Expected Pos. | 247 Composite | Composite Value | Measurables (via 247) | Commit Date | City | State | CougCenter Profile | Comments |
YES | Rodrick Fisher | WR | ✯✯✯✯ | 0.8947 | 6-2/193 | 5/10/17 | Spokane | WA | Link | Led state in 100-m (10.46) and 200-m (21.26) in 2017 |
YES | Cammon Cooper | QB | ✯✯✯✯ | 0.8917 | 6-4/202 | 5/29/17 | Lehi | UT | Link | First Elite 11 QB in more than a decade |
YES | Drue Jackson | WR | ✯✯✯ | 0.8763 | 6-1/186 | 10/27/17 | Sachse | TX | Link | Rated 4-star by Scout, Rivals |
YES | Max Borghi | RB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8731 | 5-10/195 | 6/29/17 | Arvada | CO | Link | Multipurpose back flipped from Colorado |
YES | Halid Djibril | S | ✯✯✯ | 0.8672 | 6-2/185 | 12/20/17 | Los Angeles | CA | Link | Picked WSU over USC and OSU. |
YES | D'Angelo McKenzie | DB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8614 | 6-0/180 | 10/24/17 | San Jose | CA | Link | Holds offers from Notre Dame, UCLA |
YES | Kassidy Woods | WR | ✯✯✯ | 0.8609 | 6-2/200 | 11/22/17 | Addison | TX | Link | No. 136 receiver nationally |
YES | Blake McDonald | OL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8601 | 6-4.5/295 | 2/3/18 | Danville | CA | Link | No. 31 OG in country via 247, orig UCLA commit |
YES | Cade Beresford | OL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8601 | 6-7/250 | 9/25/17 | Woodinville | WA | Link | Offers from UCLA, Nebraska |
YES | Brandon Gray | WR | ✯✯✯ | 0.8600 | 6-5/172 | 7/29/17 | Detroit | MI | Link | No. 3 receiver in Michigan |
YES | Brennan Jackson | DL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8519 | 6-4/225 | 7/13/17 | Temecula | CA | Link | Rated the No. 3 DE prospect in CA by Scout |
YES | RJ Stone | DL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8685 | 6-4/215 | 12/11/17 | San Jose | CA | Link | Picked WSU over Arizona State |
YES | Tyrese Ross | DB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8464 | 6-1/187 | 2/2/18 | Jacksonville | FL | Link | Flipped from Mississippi State |
YES | Kedron Williams | DB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8497 | 6-1/192 | 5/3/17 | Bellflower | CA | Link | Recruited by Roy Manning |
YES | Ahmir Crowder | DL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8485 | 6/3-280 | 10/16/17 | Los Angeles | CA | Link | Offers from Vandy and Purdue |
YES | Patrick Nunn | ATH | ✯✯✯ | 0.8477 | 6-3/206 | 8/20/17 | San Mateo | CA | Link | Could play WR or DB |
NO | Rocky Katoanga | LB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8366 | 6-2/205 | 2/6/18 | Oceanside | CA | Will grayshirt | |
YES | Myles Green-Richards | DB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8364 | 6-1/175 | 7/6/17 | Eugene | OR | Link | Clocked a 4.52 laser-timed 40 |
YES | Jonathan Lolohea | DL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8461 | 6-3/310 | 11/22/17 | Lahaina | HI | Link | Juco from Copiah-Lincoln CC in Mississippi |
YES | Kendrick Catis | LB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8394 | 6-1/228 | 12/20/17 | Deerfield Beach | FL | Link | No. 4 inisde linebacker in JUCO. |
YES | Syr Riley | OL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8315 | 6-3/323 | 10/2/17 | Palisades | CA | Link | Offers from Cal and Navy |
YES | Calvin Jackson Jr. | WR | ✯✯✯ | 0.8208 | 5-10/170 | 4/12/17 | Pompano Beach | FL | Link | Juco transfer |
YES | Jarrett Kingston | DL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8181 | 6-5/250 | 8/9/17 | Anderson | CA | Link | First team All CIF Northern Section as a DE |
NO | Gatlin Grisso | DB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8072 | 6-1/185 | 6/23/17 | Aubrey | TX | Link | Expected to grayshirt |
YES | Keenan Forbes | OL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8345 | 6-3/310 | 1/18/18 | Hollywood | FL | Link | Three to play three; rating is from H.S. eval |
YES | Misi Aiolupotea-Pei | DL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8000 | 6-3/250 | 2/4/18 | Riverside | CA | Link | Juco has only played football for 2 years |
YES | Gardner Minshew | QB | N/A | N/A | 6-2/216 | 3/20/18 | Brandon | MS | Link | Graduate transfer from East Carolina |
YES | Lamonte McDougle | DL | N/A | N/A | 5-11/295 | 5/16/18 | Deerfield Beach | FL | Link | Transfer from WVU will be eligible in 2019 |
YES | Chad Davis Jr. | DB | N/A | N/A | 6-2/200 | 5/18/18 | Daytona Beach | FL | Juco transfer |
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