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I'm sure there have been busier times, but the last week felt like a non-stop avalanche of Washington State recruiting news. Usually, when something breaks, whichever CougCenter author sees it first will drop it into the email thread. Then, someone will start writing up. The commits were coming so rapid fire that at times, we didn't even have time to start a post before another player committed.
It wasn't just the commitments either. WSU hosted 11 prospects on official visits over the weekend which resulted in a lot of news. Visit reports, commitments, pulled offers, decommitments ... it's been a busy week. I did my best to find as much linkable stuff as I could so everyone is up to date with all the news.
Seven players commit
In a span of seven days, the Cougars landed seven new commitments to the 2014 class, including four offensive linemen. Here's a look at the recent pledges:
- Squally Canada -- A running back out of California who is a 4-star recruit, according to ESPN.
- Kingston Fernandez -- A potential BUCK linebacker from Hawaii who racked up 17 sacks during his senior season.
- Hercules Mata'afa -- Another potential BUCK linebacker from Hawaii. Reportedly held offers from Oregon State and others.
- Nick Begg -- A tight end/offensive line prospect who was a grayshirt commit at ASU, but opted to come to Pullman instead. He played high school football with River Cracraft and Riley Sorenson.
- Miguel Machado -- A junior college offensive lineman who has a very good chance to compete for immediate playing time. Racked up more than 20 offers and chose WSU over Michigan State, Louisville and others.
- Brandon Evers -- An offensive line prospect who has a great frame at 6-foot-7 and 285 pounds.
- Andre Dillard -- The fourth offensive line prospect. Has great athleticism but will need to grow into his 6-foot-5 frame as he's listed at 240 pounds.
Darren Gardenhire flips to Washington
Less than a month after he committed to WSU, Darren Gardenhire jumped to the Huskies. He was offered by Washington on Monday, decommitted from WSU shortly after and committed to Washington later in the day. A corner/safety in high school, Gardenhire projected as a free safety for the Cougs. He was originally a San Jose State commit before jumping to WSU and then on to Washington.
Other news
- Kaleb McGary, a 4-star offensive tackle from Tacoma, was one of the visitors over the weekend. The trip apparently went well and McGary told Keenan Bowen of Coug247.com WSU is now a co-leader along with OSU.
"My visit to WSU went great," said McGary. "I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Taking a visit to WSU was one of the smartest moves of my recruitment. It truly looks like a place you can have fun."
- Current USC commit Olajuwon Tucker was among the visitors. He had good things to say about WSU and the trip, but said he is still "firm with USC" according to WazzuWatch ($).
- Devante Downs will not be joining WSU's recruiting class after the coaching staff pulled his offer while he was on his official visit. Coug247, WazzuWatch and Cougfan all have updates in their premium sections. From the sound of it, nothing bad happened to cause the offer to be pulled. It just became apparent that Downs and WSU weren't a fit, so they moved on.
- Chandler Leniu, a current WSU verbal commit, was offered by Cal recently and the offer could change his status with the Cougs. He told Britton Ransford ($) that he is now a soft commit with the Cougars and is going to weigh his options. Leniu appears to be a very solid middle linebacker prospect, so his status will be something to monitor.
The dead period of recruiting has hit, so things should quiet down some over the next couple weeks before going into hyperdrive in the weeks leading up to signing day. With so many players still on the board for WSU and plenty of spots to fill in the 2014 class, there should be a lot of action between now and February 5.
