Washington State players enjoy Hollywood experiences, Cougar coaches work through 'whirlwind' of a week

Dec. 17—LOS ANGELES — Washington State players, support staffers and some Cougar family members visited Universal Studios on Wednesday afternoon and attended "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, WSU assistants were hard at work on the recruiting trail.

"It's the no-fun bowl game a little bit for coaches, which is OK," Cougars coach Jake Dickert said earlier this week. "It's been a whirlwind to get prepared for this game, and it's been a whirlwind to kind of balance the recruiting side of it. Every night, we'll be in homes. We'll be all over the West Coast after practices. I'm just really thankful we're in L.A., so we have a world-class airport to get in and out of."

The Cougars (7-5) are juggling practices ahead of Saturday's Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl against Fresno State while preparing for the NCAA's early signing period, which opens Wednesday.

"It's 24/7 right now, then come right back and get up early and game-plan, set the call sheet and watch a lot game tape," Dickert said Thursday after practice at LA Harbor College. "It's been a whirlwind, but I'm excited to do it one more night before we get to Friday and really focus on the game."

Dickert spent Wednesday hosting recruits in his hotel room and driving around the L.A. metro to touch base with potential signees. Defensive tackles coach Pete Kaligis said it's been a wild week for Cougar coaches.

"I happened to spend three hours in traffic, trying to get to a home visit last night," Kaligis said Thursday. "Yeah, it's a mad dash, between game-planning and practice, then sitting in the car for three hours and not being able to watch tape, but I got some good podcasts in. The last two weeks, it's been crazy in that aspect. It's really just sped up, then to know we'll be behind one weekend of official visits and being on the road. So, we're trying to catch up as much as we can."

The LA Bowl's schedule didn't do the Cougars any favors. WSU lost an official visit weekend ( Friday through Sunday).

But it helps that WSU has a strong recruiting base in Southern California — 31 players on the team's roster call this region home.

"At least we have a lot of guys in L.A. that I can come see, and we just saved our visits for when we're down here," Dickert said.

Dickert said that a few other Cougar staffers are on the road in other states, flying out of LAX to meet up with prep prospects.

"We have some guys in Texas, we have some guys kind of flying around, meeting with some kids," Dickert said.

The Cougars have secured commitments from 19 players, including four from Southern California. Over the past week, they secured pledges from five junior college players with intriguing potential.

"It's been a race with signing day fast approaching," Dickert said.

Most recently, WSU picked up commitments from offensive tackle Eliesa Pole, out of Chabot College (Hayward, California) and cornerback Kapena Gushiken, from Saddleback College (Mission Viejo, California). Pole, the brother of former Cougars defensive lineman Toni Pole, had offers from BYU and Cal. Gushiken chose WSU over offers from Cal, Indiana and Purdue.

WSU lost one of its top players from the 2023 class on Wednesday evening, when dual-threat quarterback Sam Leavitt, from West Linn, Oregon, decommitted. A four-star prospect and the No. 1-rated prep recruit in the state of Oregon (247Sports), Leavitt committed to Michigan State on Thursday.

He pledged to WSU in July. Leavitt was the only QB commit for WSU in this recruiting class.

Leavitt's decision may have had something to do with WSU's recent coaching departure. Offensive coordinator Eric Morris, who played a major part in his recruitment, left WSU on Tuesday to accept the head coaching job at North Texas. Earlier this month, defensive coordinator Brian Ward departed to take the same position at Arizona State.

"(Throughout) my time at Washington State, there's been coaching changes, and I kind of understand that's part of the game," WSU edge rusher Brennan Jackson said Thursday. "I love having guys here as long as I can, and obviously our coaches are people that you're going to get close with, or people who are going to help you grow and help you mature. But at the end of the day, it's football and sometimes people are going to go."

Dickert is taking over at DC for the bowl game. He held that role over the past two seasons.

"You can tell he's excited to get back out there, being able to call plays and do what he does," senior nickel Armani Marsh said.

OC duties will be shared by several staffers, with offensive line coach Clay McGuire and receivers coach Joel Filani taking point.

Cougars enjoy L.A. experience

As part of LA Bowl week activities, WSU took a trip to Hollywood for a day at Universal Studios.

Dickert didn't get a chance to join, but his wife and three kids made the most of the opportunity.

"My daughter loves Harry Potter, so she was in Harry Potter land," he said. "I think a couple of the (players) were a little scared of 'The Mummy' ride. They had some 3D experienced with 'The Simpsons' and 'Transformers,' and I just know it was a great experience. That's what the bowl game is about — guys having fun away from the field, away from the meeting rooms, and I think that's how you get to know each other even better."

A couple of Cougars players were asked Thursday about the most memorable attractions at the theme park.

"We hit 'The Mummy' ride, then finished with the 'Transformers' ride and we got these Korean corn dogs that I've never had before," linebacker Kyle Thornton said. "It's like a deep-fried corn dog with Panko bread crumbs, mozzarella cheese in there, I think a little bit of sugar sprinkled on top. It couldn't have been good for you, but oh boy, was it delicious."

"My favorite part was probably 'The Mummy' ride," Marsh said. "It was low-key like a roller coaster. It kind of caught me off-guard, caught all of us off-guard."

The Cougars paid a visit to Kimmel's studio on Thursday night.

Early in the broadcast, the camera cut to WSU players. Kimmel, the longtime host of the late-night talk show, introduced the team and playfully mocked the Cougars' logo. The players didn't appear to take kindly to the comment.

"Uh oh, I think I've angered the team," Kimmel said.

Kimmel then asked the players to all shout out their names and positions simultaneously. All of the Cougars said, "Simon Samarzich, long snapper."