Early signing day in December has stolen some of the luster away from the traditional signing day in February... But not for the Cougs this year.

Back in December, Mike Leach signed 18 players in the early signing period. After Leach left for Mississippi State, Receiver Keyshawn Smith decided to defect to Miami. Now, for the traditional February signing day, new head coach Nick Rolovich gets his chance to shine.

Today is the first that for players to send in their national letters of intent to schools across the country. In Pullman, Rolovich and company are looking to fill eight remaining scholarship spots.

The fun starts at 7 a.m., the earliest players are allowed to send their signed NLI. Historically, Washington State has held a press conference later in the afternoon to recap the biggest names in the class.

This year, like years past, the Cougs will also head to Spokane to celebrate another successful signing day. The team will hold their annual “Night With Cougar Football” fundraiser tonight at Northern Quest Resort and Casino. Registration has already been closed, but I’m sure we’ll hear plenty from the event after it wraps up.

As for the players you can expect to hear about tomorrow? We’ve had you covered with that all week long. For a quick look at all of the expected signees tomorrow, in addition to the players that signed in December, we put together a handy-dandy chart in this post. And for all of the individual stories about the recruits, head to our recruiting hub here.

Of course, we’ll be here all day long with all of the news as the NLI’s roll in and a recap of the day when everything is said and done.

Signing Day Links

Nick Rolovich proved he could adapt to recruiting challenges at Hawaii. He hopes to do it again at WSU.
Hear from Nick Rolovich at 3:30 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.

Junior college defensive end Antonio Pule III commits to Washington State on eve of national signing day | The Spokesman-Review
Antonio Pule III, a defensive end from Modesto (Calif.) Junior College, committed to Nick Rolovich and the Cougars Tuesday, meaning at least five players will be inking letters of intent with the Pac-12 North program on national signing day.

Washington State, Nick Rolovich fend off Mississippi State, others for 3-star WR | The Spokesman-Review
In a recruiting battle that pitted Rolovich’s run-and-shoot against Leach’s Air Raid – and multiple other Power Five schools – the Cougars won the Pettway sweepstakes, receiving a pledge from the 5-foot-10, 170-pound prospect Monday afternoon, making him the third high school prospect in as many days to commit to the Pac-12 North program.

Pac-12 Networks gears up for Wednesday’s national signing day with a special edition of “Inside Pac-12 Football” and announces spring football schedule | Pac-12
Hear From Nick Rolovich at 3:30 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.