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The Washington State Cougars secured a surprise offensive line commitment on Sunday night when the high school coach of Ma’ake Fifita confirmed to Cougfan.com ($) that his player had accepted a scholarship offer from WSU.
Fifita, from Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish, doesn’t yet have a composite rating, but 247Sports rated him a low-3-star recruit when it evaluated him as a defensive end. According to Cougfan, he also possessed an offer from the Air Force Falcons, with the California Golden Bears and BYU Cougars sniffing around.
Apparently, Fifita committed weeks ago, but he isn’t on social media, so it was never revealed.
Fifita is exceptionally light for an offensive line recruit — reportedly 6-foot-5 and just 250 pounds — and his commitment underscores what seems to be a clear shift in emphasis under offensive line coach Mason Miller toward taller guys with projectable frames:
- Patrick Utschinski (6-7/280)
- Hunter Hill (6-6/275)
- Konner Gomness (6-4/270)
Only juco commit Dontae Powell will enroll at more than 300 pounds.
Fifita is expected to sign on Wednesday. Here’s some video from his junior season, showing what he can do on both sides of the ball:
And here’s the class as it now stands with just a few days to go until the early signing period opens up:
2019 WSU football recruiting commitments
| Player | Expected Pos. | 247 Composite | Composite Value | NLI received? | Enrolled Early? | Measurables (via 247) | Commit Date | City | State | CougCenter Profile | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Expected Pos. | 247 Composite | Composite Value | NLI received? | Enrolled Early? | Measurables (via 247) | Commit Date | City | State | CougCenter Profile | Comments |
| Travion Brown | LB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8748 | YES | NO | 6-3/215 | 10/2/18 | Temecula | CA | Link | Rated four stars by 247sports evaluators |
| Jamir Thomas | RB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8676 | YES | NO | 6-1/215 | 11/27/18 | Massillon | OH | Link | Ranked as a LB, converted to RB as a senior |
| Gunner Cruz | QB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8607 | YES | YES | 6-4.5/215 | 5/31/18 | Queen Creek | AZ | Link | Threw for 5700 yards and 70 TDs as soph/jr |
| Bryce Beekman | DB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8582 | YES | YES | 6-2/190 | 11/20/18 | Yuma | AZ | Link | Teammate of OL commit Dontae Powell |
| Jouvensly Bazile | RB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8540 | YES | NO | 5-10/180 | 6/28/18 | Naples | FL | Link | Has reportedly clocked 10.98 in 100 meters |
| Patrick Utschinski | OL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8537 | YES | NO | 6-7/280 | 9/10/18 | Walla Walla | WA | Link | Rated four stars by 247sports evaluators |
| Konner Gomness | OL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8532 | YES | NO | 6-4/270 | 9/29/18 | Fresno | CA | Link | Reported offer from Louisville and lots of midmajors |
| Billy Pospisil | WR | ✯✯✯ | 0.8463 | YES | YES | 5-11/190 | 2/16/18 | Arvada | CO | Attends same high school as 2018 signee Max Borghi | |
| Armauni Archie | DB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8456 | YES | NO | 6-1/175 | 10/12/18 | El Cerrito | CA | Link | Chose WSU over an offer from Nebraska |
| Derrick Langford | DB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8448 | YES | YES | 6-2/185 | 11/15/18 | San Francisco | CA | Link | Juco who has four to play three |
| Tyler Garay-Harris | DL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8444 | YES | NO | 6-5/230 | 11/4/18 | Oakland | CA | Link | Offers from Utah and ASU |
| Donovan Ollie | WR | ✯✯✯ | 0.8431 | YES | NO | 6-3/205 | 10/15/18 | Wylie | TX | Link | Chose WSU over Iowa State and Utah |
| Peni Naulu | LB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8423 | YES | NO | 6-1/210 | 9/6/18 | Kapolei | HI | Link | Other offers: UW, Oregon, UCLA, Cal, Nebraska |
| Cosmas Kwete | DL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8418 | YES | NO | 6-3/220 | 11/5/18 | Phoenix | AZ | Link | Inexperienced player, specialized in Rugby |
| Daniel Isom | DB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8407 | YES | YES | 5-10/180 | 11/8/18 | Council Bluffs | IA | Link | Played as a true freshman for NIU before transfer |
| Rocky Katoanga | LB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8366 | YES | YES | 6-2/205 | 2/6/18 | Oceanside | CA | Grayshirted | |
| Jimmy Price | OL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8306 | YES | NO | 6-5/295 | 1/26/19 | Houston | TX | Link | Picked WSU over Arizona State |
| Shahman Moore | DB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8267 | YES | YES | 6-0/170 | 12/20/18 | El Segundo | CA | Link | Two years of eligibility remaining |
| Ma'ake Fifita | OL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8154 | YES | NO | 6-5/250 | 12/16/18 | Snohomish | WA | Link | Staff targeted him as a center |
| Gatlin Grisso | DB | ✯✯✯ | 0.8072 | YES | YES | 6-1/185 | 6/23/17 | Aubrey | TX | Link | Grayshirted |
| Nicholas Sheetz | DL | ✯✯✯ | 0.8072 | YES | NO | 6-3/253 | 2/3/19 | Greenwood | SC | Link | Lightly recruited; offered PWO by Georgia |
| Simon Samarzich | LS | ✯✯✯ | 0.8043 | YES | NO | 6-0/200 | 6/8/18 | Upland | CA | Rated the top long snapper in the country | |
| Gage Gubrud | QB | NA | YES | YES | 6-2/205 | 1/26/19 | Cheney | WA | Link | Grad transfer from EWU |