WSU football recruiting: Tyler Hilinski commits to Mike Leach and the Cougars

You know what will make fans forget about the four-star quarterback they missed out on? Landing another quarterback shortly thereafter. And that's exactly what WSU appears to have done: Adam Gorney of Rivals.com is reporting ($) that Tyler Hilinski of Sherman Oaks, Calif., has verbally committed to WSU.

Hilinski is a consensus three-star recruit, but Rivals thinks a bit more of him, rating him a four-star prospect and the 14th best quarterback in the country. He arrived in Pullman this weekend for an unofficial visit along with another verbal commit, four-star defensive tackle Thomas Toki. Apparently, he just needed to see the place to make his decision.

The Cougars actually appeared to be pursuing two quarterbacks in the wake of Brett Rypien's decision to commit to Boise State -- Brady White was the other -- but it appeared that Hilinski was the guy WSU really wanted. From an earlier story by Gorney ($):

"He was very complimentary of my quick release and decision-making," Hilinski said."Hearing him say how he thinks I can make a huge impact on their ultimate goal to win the Pac-12 championship and the BCS title was very exciting."

Our own Brian Anderson believes Hilinski compares favorably to another lanky, big-armed quarterback WSU fans are familiar with -- Connor Halliday.

At this point, Hilinski only had offers from WSU and Utah State, but more programs had been sniffing around. And as a Southern California kid, a big senior season is going to raise interest significantly. It's great that Leach brought him in the fold now, but it wouldn't be shocking if WSU has a fight on its hands to hold onto him. Here's to hoping that offering early means something in the end.