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*** VERBAL: Cougs land California WR ***

Washington State is starting to pick up steam on the recruiting trail as they landed a commitment from Oxnard (Calif.) Rio Mesa receiver Stephen Houston today, he tells WazzuWatch.com. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound receiver has only been offered by the Cougars thus far, but his tape is pretty impressive. You can view his highlights here.

Houston, a Clay McGuire target, is the fifth verbal commitment for Washington State in the 2016 class, joining QB Ian Book, ATH Renard Bell, ATH Jalen Thompson and LB Jihad Woods. I'm working on Houston's profile right now, as well as getting some quotes put together.

Volleyball brings in top 21 recruiting class

This makes two out of the last three years, Jen Greeny and her staff have brought in a top 21 class, as the 2013 class was ranked 14th. This makes WSU ranked as the 17th average class for the last three years.

In addition, this class may be even a little better than 21st, as the Cougars just signed a player from the Mexican National team today that was not considered in the 21st ranking put out yesterday by PrepVolleyball.com.

http://www.wsucougars.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30400&ATCLID=210136387

http://www.wsucougars.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30400&ATCLID=210147287

Offensive numbers...

So here's some interesting numbers I found, according to ESPN.
http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/87249/pac-12-scoring-is-on-a-sharp-incline

The pac12 averaged 33.5 points per game in 2014.

So where did WSU's average land? 31.8 per game.

So believe it or not… to "out average" the league, we aren't producing enough on the O. Who'd a thunk?! Of all the places I thought we were lacking… NOT on the O.

On the other side of that coin, the common idea that "If our D would just be better, we'd have won!" kinda holds true, as well… But that means we'd need to have a D that's obviously better than the "average" D, also.

Off-Season thoughts and numbers… Way more complicated than this but interesting "surface" numbers.

Other point I almost hate to bring up.. the article outlines the difference in the past 5 years (the whole point of the article)… What happened in 2009 was shameful. Truly embarrassing. Average points for WSU in 2009 was, wait for it… a whopping 12. The closest was UCLA at 22 average points per game. "You Gotta Be Kidding Me!"

*** Three-star ATH commits to Wazzu ***

According to his coach, Downey (Calif.) athlete Jalen Thompson has committed to Washington State. The 5-foot-11, 169-pound cornerback prospect is rated three-stars by Rivals and picked the Cougars over offers from Army, Navy, New Mexico, San Diego State and UNLV.

Thompson was also receiving interest from USC, UCLA and Missouri. He's rated the No. 99 overall prospect in California. You can view his highlights here.

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Wazzu offer No. 1 for 2017 OL...

Washington State is the first program to offer Concord (Calif.) Clayton Valley Charter offensive tackle Jalen McKenzie, who has also been hearing from Tennessee early in his recruitment. McKenzie is listed at 6-foot-6, 300-pounds.

Rivals analyst Adam Gorney had this to say about the rising junior: "McKenzie is an intriguing prospect for a multitude of reasons. First, his size is fantastic at 6-foot-5 and 288 pounds, especially since he's only a sophomore.

"Second, he's the brother of five-star Kahlil McKenzie and the son of Reggie McKenzie, the Oakland Raiders general manager, so he understands the dedication it takes to be great. He's far from a polished offensive tackle, but he blocks hard, uses his strength well and opens holes. The younger McKenzie is on his way."

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Elson Floyd's leave of absence

Brand X just reported that Dr. Floyd has asked the BOR for a leave of absence to deal with his health. Apparently he has been diagnosed with cancer and has been aware of this for some time. Only a few of the WSU circle were aware of this. He chose to keep it quiet during the state's legislative session in order to avoid a distraction from his efforts concerning the proposed medical school and other issues. Those of us of a religious inclination might include him in our prayers.

A real shame and not just because he has done an excellent job. He seems like an intelligent and decent man and despite only being here for a few years appears to transitioned into a dedicated Coug.

God bless and best wishes, Dr. Floyd.
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