Cougars cast wide net in early signing period

Dec. 22—In a world of transfer portals and NIL deals, Washington State football coach Jake Dickert stressed the importance of recruiting developmental players and athletes who want to join the program "for the right reasons."

The first-year coach thinks he has more than a few of those in the team's early signing period recruiting class.

With a big smile on his face, Dickert introduced WSU's 22 early signees Wednesday, including nine who are expected to enroll for the spring semester.

"We sell Pullman and we're about as real as you can be," Dickert said. "Instead of taking them to five-star restaurants, we have a barbecue on the 50-yard line and we bring all of our families here and that's what we do. I said earlier today, it's 'family over flash,' and I'm really excited about this group of men."

Sixteen of the signees are high school players, five are from junior colleges and one is a transfer portal addition.

Here's a look at the class:

Cougar pipelines

It helps to have some Cougar blood already running in the family.

Mammoth offensive lineman Esa Pole — of Chabot College and Mt. Eden High School, both in Hayward, Calif. — is the brother of former WSU defensive lineman Kalafitoni Pole.

The elder Pole famously had an overtime interception in the 2012 Apple Cup to help the Cougars clinch a 31-28 upset victory against rival Washington.

Dickert said they showed the video of the play at a home visit and there were tears shed watching the memory.

The 6-foot-7, 320-pound Esa Pole hopes to make a similar impact.

"Esa is a great story because his brother, Toni (had that) iconic play in the Apple Cup," Dickert said. "Esa, I believe, is a plug-and-play player."

A couple other recruits come from Cougar pipelines.

Quarterback Jaxon Potter of Santa Margarita Catholic (Calif.) High School passed for 28 touchdowns and just two interceptions as a senior at the same school that produced former Cougars River Cracraft, now with the Miami Dolphins in the NFL, as well as Riley Sorenson, Kyle Sweet, Nick Begg, Mathew Bock and four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson.

Defensive back Warren Smith of El Cerrito (Calif.) High School comes from the same school that produced Coug defensive backs Lamont Thompson, Marcellus Pippins, Derrick Langford Jr. and Armauni Archie.

Immediate-impact players

One of Dickert's favorite recruiting analogies is "we put them in the slow cooker, we don't put them in the microwave."

But just because WSU is a developmental program doesn't mean the Cougs won't need some of the youngsters to make an immediate impact.

Here are a few of this year's potential "microwave" players:

Smith not only comes from a Cougar pipeline but is "an extremely high-level recruit and corner and cover guy" who was "coveted up until the last second." Some of his other offers included Washington, Arizona, Cal, Boise State and Boston College.

Receiver Carlos Hernandez of Monrovia, Calif., caught a whopping 116 passes and 33 touchdowns in his final two years and highlights a trio of three wideout signees with bright futures.

Defensive tackle Ansel Din-Mbuh brings experience as a state champion at the Class 5A level in Texas (Aledo High School) and has the size at 6-foot-3, 280 pounds to be an early contributor.

"There will be a bunch of pieces we'll look at early and see who can handle that load," Dickert said.

What's next

The Cougars hit every position group with their early class, but Dickert acknowledged the work isn't done.

Some positions WSU will focus on ahead of the standard signing period Feb. 1 include offensive line, receiver, defensive tackle and linebacker.

"There is work to do but we're not going to focus on that now," Dickert said. "I told the staff, let's be really excited today when we got to sleep about this group that we have. Don't worry about the ones we didn't get, don't be worried about the ones we still need to bring in, let's be super excited about that group of men."

Wiebe may be contacted at (208) 848-2260, swiebe@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @StephanSports.

WSU class of 2022 recruits

HIGH SCHOOL SIGNEES

TRISTAN BOHANNON, linebacker, 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, Munford (Tenn.) High School — All-region honoree after making 63 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks and two interceptions as a senior ... Two stars by ESPN and Rivals.

KIWAUN DAVIS, defensive back, 6-3, 170, Kenwood Academy, Chicago, Ill. — As a junior, named Class 5A all-state after making 39 tackles, two interceptions and five pass breakups ... Three stars by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports.

ANSEL DIN-MBUH, defensive tackle, 6-3, 280, Aledo (Texas) High School — Helped AHS to the Class 5A Division I state championship as a senior ... Three stars by 247Sports.

NOAH DUNHAM, offensive line, 6-5, 280, Yuba City (Calif.) High School — All-conference as a junior and a senior and conference lineman of the year as a senior ... Three stars by ESPN and 247Sports.

TAI FAAVAE, linebacker, 6-0, 215, Fountain-Fort Carson High School, Fountain, Colo. — All-state honoree as a senior after making 105 tackles ... Three stars by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports.

NATHAN GATES, offensive line, 6-5, 280, Edison High School, Huntington Beach, Calif. — First-team all-league honoree ... Three stars by ESPN and 247Sports.

CARLOS HERNANDEZ, receiver, 6-0, 180, Monrovia (Calif.) High School — Led area with 71 catches, 1,594 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns as a junior ... Three stars by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports.

BRANDON HILLS, receiver, 5-10, 165, Vista Ridge High School, Colorado Springs, Colo. — Recorded back-to-back seasons with 1,000 receiving yards and also had six touchdowns on special teams ... Three stars by ESPN and 247Sports.

KHALIL LAUFAU, defensive tackle, 6-3, 285, Herriman (Utah) High School — Tallied a whopping 23.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks as a junior. Added 17 TFLs and 10.5 sacks as a senior ... Three stars by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports.

TREY LECKNER, tight end, 6-3, 215, Glacier Peak High School, Silver Firs, Wash. — Three-time all-league selection ... Three stars by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports.

JAXON POTTER, quarterback, 6-5, 190, Santa Margarita Catholic High School, Huntington Beach, Calif. — Passed for 2,640 yards with 27 yards and just two interceptions as a senior ... Three stars by ESPN and 247Sports.

NATHAN PRITCHARD, offensive line, 6-5, 285, Auburn (Wash.) Riverside High School — All-league first team as a junior ... Three stars by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports.

LEO PULALASI, running back, 6-1, 210, Lake High School, Tacoma — Named league MVP after garnering 1,153 yards of total offense and 26 total touchdowns as a senior ... Three stars by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports.

WARREN SMITH, defensive back, 6-1, 175, El Cerrito High School, Richmond, Calif. — Had 38 tackles, two interceptions and six pass breakups as a junior ... Three stars by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports.

ASHTON TRIPP, offensive line, 6-7, 270, Kennewick (Wash.) High School — Named all-conference first team and co-conference lineman of the year as a senior ... Three stars by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports.

ADRIAN WILSON, defensive back, 6-1, 190, Keller Central High School, Dallas — Also played quarterback ... Three stars by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports.

JUNIOR COLLEGE TRANSFERS

JAMORRI COLSON, defensive back, 6-0, 170, Irwin County High School, Ocilla, Ga., Iowa Western Community College — Helped IWCC win the junior college national championship ... Three stars by ESPN and 247Sports.

KAPENA GUSHIKEN, defensive back, 6-0, 190, Saddleback College (Calif.), Kamehameha High School, Pukalani, Hawaii — First-team all-league honoree ... Three stars by ESPN.

STEPHEN HALL, defensive back, 6-0, 195, Northwest Mississippi Community College, Olive Branch, Miss. — All-region honoree ... Three stars by ESPN.

ESA POLE, offensive line, 6-7, 320, Chabot College (Calif.), Mt. Eden High School, Hayward, Calif. — All-region honoree and unanimous all-conference selection ... Three stars by ESPN.

DT SHEFFIELD, receiver, 5-10, 180, Northwest Mississippi Community College, Corinth, Miss. — Named a junior college All-American honorable mention ... Three stars by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports.

PORTAL TRANSFER

DEVIN RICHARDSON, linebacker, 6-3, 234, University of Texas, New Mexico State — Appeared in 20 games in two years with the Longhorns ... Three stars by 247Sports.