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Washington State's 2014 recruiting class took a significant, but not unexpected, hit on Sunday with Chandler Leniu officially decommitting from WSU, according to Adam Gorney and others.
Although the 4-star linebacker committed to WSU in early September, he has been at best a soft verbal for a while. He hasn't been shy about his interest in California and will take official visits to Cal and Fresno State. WSU remains in the running as well, with Leniu's father telling Gorney the Cougars are still in the top three.
Leniu is from Southern California and according to Gorney, location could be a deciding factor. He participated in the Semper Fi All-Star game last week and said he was "still up in the air" between Cal and WSU. He's planning to visit the Bears on Jan. 24 and will reportedly take an official to Fresno State the week after. There obviously isn't much time between those visits and signing day, so Leniu's status could come down to the wire.
There isn't much WSU can do to beat Cal in the location department, unless President Floyd has plans for a new satellite campus in Los Angeles. If distance is the deciding factor, this doesn't look good for the Cougars. Leniu, however, has spoken very highly of WSU, including after the Cal interest picked up.
"The Cougs have been there since Day 1," Leniu said in late December, via Rivals. "They offered me since the beginning. They saw something other colleges didn't see and they always send me letters. I just feel love from them. It's just been great."
While WSU has a few commitments from linebackers, Leniu was the only one who projected at inside linebacker. If he does indeed head elsewhere, we could see the Cougars scramble to fill the spot. Of the known offers, Xavier Ulutu is the only uncommitted inside linebacker with a WSU offer, according to WazzuWatch.com.
