Abraham Lucas headlines a solid in-state class

Special teams coach and northwest area recruiter Eric Mele continues to make in-roads in the Evergreen state with 3 solid additions to the 2017 class. The group is headlined by Abraham Lucas, the offensive lineman from Archbishop Murphy high school in Everett. 247sports.com bumped Lucas up to the No.3 spot in the state in their final rankings. This places him ahead of such bigger names such as Henry Bainvalu (UW), Connor Wedington (Stanford), and Hunter Bryant (UW). He was bumped up to four stars and ranked as the 18^th best offensive tackle in the country and No.139 overall. WSU survived a late run from Cal and former Eastern coach and now Golden Bear offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin.

WSU also snagged a couple more top ten in-state guys in Dontae Powell and Caleb Perry. Powell still has not sent in his NLI and there is online speculation that WSU may be waiting for some academic progress. Powell was rated 7^th in the state and checked in as the 42^nd best offensive tackle in the country while Perry was 9^th and the 13^th best all-purpose back in the country. The fourth member of WSU’s in-state class is Kelle Sanders who ranked 16^th in the state and was the 77^th ranked defensive end in the country. All in-staters were a least 3 star recruits. It could have been a bigger bumper crop but No.12 Joe Tryon defected to UW and No.14 Quazzel White de-committed and signed with TCU. Regardless, every year WSU seems to recruit better and better under Leach in-state. Can’t wait to see what they do next year!

Here are where the top-ranked players in the state per 247sports.com ended up:

1.Foster Sarell OT Graham (Stanford)

2.Salvon Ahmed ATH Kirkland (UW)

3.Abraham Lucas OT Everett (WSU)

4.Henry Bainvalu OT Seattle (UW)

5.Connor Wedington ATH Sumner (Stanford)

6.Hunter Bryant TE Bellevue (UW)

7.Dontae Powell OT Richland (WSU commit)

8.Cade Otton TE Olympia (UW)

9.Caleb Perry ATH (WSU)

10.Ali Gaye DE Edmonds (UW)

11.Brock Wellsfry OT Richland (Oregon St)

12.Joe Tryon DE Renton (UW)

13.Cody Kanouse OT Gig Harbor (Air Force)

14.Quazzel White OG Tacoma (TCU)

15.Ben Moos TE Pullman (Cal)

16.Kelle Sanders DE Olympia (WSU)

Football

WSU WR C.J. Dimry granted NCAA waiver, will return for 2017 season; Kyrin Priester back on team | The Seattle Times
C.J. Dimry gets a sixth-year of eligibility after the NCAA approves his medical hardship waiver. That's good news for a Cougars team that will need some veteran receivers in the lineup next season.

Archbishop Murphy sending 11 signees on to college programs | The Seattle Times
Two football players signed with Washington State on signing day, including kicker Ryan Henderson who learned how to hit booming field goals on the soccer pitch.

Four-star WR Jamire Calvin flips to WSU on Signing Day | The Seattle Times
California WR Jamire Calvin gives the Cougars a Signing Day surprise by flipping to WSU from Nebraska

Meet the newest WSU Cougars on National Signing Day | The Seattle Times
Short bios of WSU's newest signees on National Signing Day

Florida WR Travell Harris picks WSU on National Signing Day | The Seattle Times
WSU gets a Signing Day commitment from a speedy Florida athlete who will be asked to try and fill River Cracraft's shoes

Washington State overcomes late chaos to sign impressive class | The Spokesman-Review
In recent years college football recruits have committed to programs earlier, only to change their minds at least once before signing their letters of intent. That trend might have even reached its zenith with the 2017 signing class, that saw every Pac-12 school lose longtime commits and scramble to fill their spots.

Ben Moos, son of Washington State A.D. Bill Moos, signs with California | The Spokesman-Review
Ben Moos, son of Washington State athletic director Bill Moos, signed to play football at Cal on Wednesday.

Volleyball

Washington State agrees to restructured contact with volleyball coach Jen Greeny | The Spokesman-Review
Washington State and women’s head volleyball coach Jen Greeny have agreed to a restructured contract, Cougars Director of Athletics Bill Moos announced Wednesday. The agreement will run through June of 2022.