Late signing day 2018 is here! What to expect for WSU

The first Wednesday of February used to be one of the most exciting days on the calendar for a college football fan. Now, thanks to the new early signing period in December, what once was the official “national signing day” is now a day for most teams to fill out their class with a handful of recruits at positions of need.

Such is the position in which the Washington State Cougars find themselves heading into what is now the late signing period. WSU signed 19 players shortly before Christmas, then added another junior college player to bring the number of signings to 20 — or, 80 percent of the scholarships WSU can offer in any given year.

That means WSU has a limited number of spots remaining, and we have a pretty good idea of who’s going to fill those slots. Four players are committed and unsigned:

• Calvin Jackson Jr., WR (juco)
• Tyrese Ross, DB
• Blake McDonald, OL
• Misi Aiolupotea-Pei, DL

Edit, 8:10 a.m.: All four have already sent in their letters. Woo!

That means WSU has one (or two; we’ll get to that in a second) spot(s) left. It looks like there’s a really good chance that last scholarship goes to three-star defensive back Kahlef Hailassie out of Elk Grove, California. He’s choosing between the Cougs and the Florida Atlantic Owls, and all six of 247sports’ experts predict he’ll pick WSU.

It’s also likely WSU ends up signing a 26th player to this class, as Cougfan.com is reporting that the NCAA has granted WSU a little recruiting relief in the wake of Tyler Hilinski’s death. Cougfan seems to think the WSU staff will hold that scholarship in its pocket and pursue a transfer quarterback who would be eligible immediately, given the dearth of experience among the remaining quarterbacks on the roster. A well-known target ($) is Penn State quarterback Tommy Stevens, a graduate transfer who would have two years of eligibility. But don’t expect that to get resolved tomorrow.

In addition to those four or five players, you’ll probably also see three-star linebacker Rocky Katoanga — who committed to WSU on Tuesday — hold a signing ceremony on Wednesday, but he told Cougfan ($) he’s going to grayshirt after undergoing a medical procedure on one of his knees. Three-star defensive back Gatlin Grisso, who held a signing ceremony in December, is expected to join him in enrolling in January 2019.

Oh, and Cougfan also is reporting one-time California Golden Bears and current Riverside CC wide receiver Drew Kobayashi, who committed on Monday, will come to school as a preferred walk-on, so he’s not being included in the table below.

So, here’s the class as it stands now. We’ll update this chart as letters arrive on Wednesday, and also post any relevant news as it breaks. Also feel free to use this post as your hub for signing day related discussion in the comments.

Go Cougs!