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UPDATED: Dec. 5 weekend visitors update...

Washington State will host a number of prospects this weekend, all of whom are defensive prospects. While this list can still change at any time, I've confirmed six official visitors for this weekend.

Official visitors

-Three-star defensive end Mufi Hunt of Murray (UT) Taylorsville
-Three-star cornerback Darrien Molton of Temecula (Calif.) Chaparral
-Four-star defensive tackle Tim Settle of Manassas (Va.) Stonewall Jackson
-Two-star defensive end Jeremiah Mitchell of Riverside (Calif.) C.C.
-Three-star linebacker Jonah Moi of Riverside (Calif.) C.C.
-Three-star defensive end DeVante Wilson of Riverside (Calif.) C.C.

Update (10:18 a.m.): Hunt says Provo (UT) Timpview defensive end Gabe Reid will also visit Washington State this weekend. Reid is a three-star and there's more on him below.

Update (3:05 p.m.): According to a source, Honolulu (HI) Punahou receiver Shalom Luani, an Oregon State commit, are also officially visiting this weekend.

Notes on visitors

-Mufi Hunt is will be taking his first official visit to Washington State this weekend and the three-star, who will take a mission and join the college of his choice in 2017, holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, California, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Washington State. In addition to WSU, Hunt says he wants to visit California and Utah.

-Joining Hunt will be three-star defensive end Gabe Reid, who also hails from Utah. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound defensive end also holds offers from Arizona State, BYU, Oregon State, Stanford, Utah, Utah State, Washington and Wyoming. Reid has taken several unofficial visits to Stanford already but this will be his first official visit of his recruitment.

-Three-star cornerback Darrien Molton committed to Washington State over the summer and has since maintained 100 percent commitment to the Cougars, despite various coaching changes on the defensive side. Molton's main recruiter, Ken Wilson, visited him in-home this week.

-Tim Settle is the headline recruit this weekend and is has named the Cougars as one of the four teams he'll be choosing from when it comes down to make a decision, though he has yet to say when that will be. The four-star from Virginia is coming off an official visit to USC and is also considering Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech.

His good friend, Adam McLean, who visited Washington State last weekend, committed to Maryland, so there won't be a packaged deal there. Settle is an interesting target as he would have a chance to play right away, however Virginia Tech appears to have the edge currently. Settle says he's no longer doing media interviews, so I'll keep my ears open on this one.

-One of three JUCO prospects expected to be in town this weekend is Riverside (Calif.) C.C. defensive end Jeremiah Mitchell, who holds offers from Arizona State, Iowa State, Oregon and Purdue, in addition to Washington State. The former Marshall commit has seen his recruitment take off as of late and appeared to be close to a commitment to Oregon, though it appears the Ducks have chose to go in a different direction.

-Another Riverside prospect who will be tripping to Pullman, Wash., this weekend is linebacker Jonah Moi, a Hawaii commit who's rated three-stars by Rivals. The inside linebacker committed to the Warriors in July, though his recruitment is pretty open, as of now. In addition to Washington State and Hawaii, Moi holds an offer from BYU.

-Somewhat of a surprise visitor, DaVante Wilson, also from Riverside C.C., will take an official visit to the Palouse this weekend. The three-star defensive end was originally scheduled to visit California this weekend but moved that visit back in order to trip to Washington State with his teammates. In addition to Washington State, Wilson holds offers from Arizona State and California.

-One late addition to the list is junior college safety Shalom Luani out of CCSF. An Oregon State commit, Luani picked up an offer from Washington State a couple weeks ago and with Riley going to Nebraska, the Cougars have a chance to make a big impression this weekend. Illinois has also offered the 6-foot-1, 200-pound safety, who is rated three-stars by Rivals.

-Kanawai Noa is a new name on the Washington State radar but the Hawaiian prospect has a ton of upside as a receiver. In addition to Washington State, Noa, who is not yet rated by Rivals, holds offers from California, Hawaii, Utah State and Yale.

This post was edited on 12/5 3:13 PM by Britton Ransford

New positional rankings released...

The new Rivals.com position rankings were released this morning and several Washington State commits and targets made moves. Check out all of the movements below.

Washington State commit ranking changes (previous ranking --> new ranking)

-Petaluma (Calif.) Casa Granda kicker Matt Abramo: NR --> NR
-San Diego (Calif.) Oceanside offensive tackle Cedric Bigge-Duren: NR --> NR
-Gardena (Calif.) Serra receiver Deontay Burnett: No. 68 --> No. 58 (+10 spots)
-Upland (Calif.) pro-style quarterback Tyler Hilinski: No. 11 --> No. 9 (+2 spots)
-Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Catholic offensive tackle Austin Maihen: NR --> No. 75
-Temecula (Calif.) Chaparral cornerback Darrien Molton: NR --> NR
-Walnut Creek (Calif.) Las Lomas offensive guard Noah Myers: NR --> No. 41
-Norwalk (Calif.) Cerritos C.C. linebacker Aaron Porter: NR --> NR (will be updated)
-Upland (Calif.) safety Kameron Powell: No. 30 --> No. 38 (-8 spots)
-Mountain View (Calif.) St. Francis defensive tackle Thomas Toki: No. 19 --> No. 20 (-1 spot)
-Burbank (Calif.) running back James Williams: No. 46 --> No. 51 (-5 spots)

More JUCO visitors confirmed...

I just got done chatting with Riverside (Calif.) C.C. coach Greg Hoyd, who is the father of Washington State linebacker Greg Hoyd II, and he tells me that the Cougars will be hosting a total of four Riverside prospects.

As previously reported, three-star receiver Isaac Whitney and three-star linebacker Jonah Moi will be in town. The two will be joined by three-star defensive end Davante Wilson and two-star defensive end Jeremiah Mitchell. Hoyd says the Cougars will also host Oregon State cornerback commit Treshon Broughton on Jan. 16.

I'm on a crappy computer and don't know how to use it, so I'll have more on these visitors later.

More on Austin Joyner...

Dirk Knudsen of NWPrepReport.com on the Rivals.com / Yahoo! Sports network caught up with Austin Joyner to discuss his Washington Gatorade Player of the Year award and the former Washington State commit had a few comments on his recruitment.

He really wanted to play for Mike Breske and while he's still considering the Cougars, Boise State and Washington are going to be seriously considered. As of now, I'd say the Cougars are running third for Joyner's services, but that's just guess work based on what I've heard.

He'll visit Washington this weekend followed by an official visit to Boise State next weekend. He still has an official visit to Washington State scheduled for Jan. 23, though that's assuming he's still uncommitted by then.

Link: https://washingtonstate.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1712189

Update on JUCO receiver...

I just exchanged text messages with Riverside (Calif.) C.C. receiver Isaac Whitney who says he will no longer visit Washington State this weekend and will instead take an official visit to USC. He's scheduled to visit West Virginia next weekend and is unsure whether he'll be able to take an official visit to Pullman prior to making his college decision on Dec. 17.

Four-star USC commit opens things up...

Mission Hills (Calif.) Alemany receiver Desean Holmes has de-committed from USC, he confirmed via Twitter message. The four-star receiver committed to the Trojans in July but has since flirted with official visits, most notably to Hawaii and Oregon State.

The Cougars have also been involved in Holmes' recruitment and he'll be another prospect to watch down the line. With Mike Riley now out at Oregon State, it will be interesting to see if Nebraska opens up as a possibility for Holmes, though his interest in Hawaii seems legitimate. I hope to have more from the No. 21 receiver as soon as I can.

Prospects to watch w/ Riley leaving OSU...

With Riley now out at Oregon State, I'd expect that to have a huge impact on recruiting. Here's a few Oregon State commits that hold Washington State offers.

Oregon State commits w/ Wazzu offers

-Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy offensive tackle Miki Fifita picked Oregon State over Washington State. Those are his only two offers. I'd expect the Cougars to be heavily involved here.

Profile: http://sports.yahoo.com/oregonstate/football/recruiting/player-Miki-Fifita-162542

-Riverside (Calif.) C.C. cornerback Treshon Broughton picked up an offer from Washington State recently and noted that he wanted to take a visit. I'd expect that it's now a possibility with the JUCO signing day approaching. Broughton also holds offers from California and Fresno State.

Profile: http://sports.yahoo.com/oregonstate/football/recruiting/player-Treshon-Broughton-161976

-Portland (Ore.) Central Catholic offensive tackle Blake Brandel picked Oregon State over offers from Washington State, Colorado and Nevada. The Cougars were close here, but he chose to stick close to home. He'll be one to watch moving forward.

Profile: http://sports.yahoo.com/oregonstate/football/recruiting/player-Blake-Brandel-162122

-Pomona (Calif.) athlete Shawn Wilson has been an under the radar guy, but he picked Oregon State over the Cougars back in mid-October. He'll also be one to watch, as the Cougars and Beavers were the only schools to offer at the time.

Profile: http://sports.yahoo.com/oregonstate/football/recruiting/player-Shawn-Wilson-158458

A few other names to watch: Shalom Luani

Jim Walden - Mike Leach as WSU coach?

when comparing their first three seasons? it's always fun to revisit history.

Jim Walden took over a program in 1978 as it's 4th head coach in 4 seasons. He was 13-19-1 after 3 seasons. He had never been a head coach before. Home games were played in Spokane.

The following season, year 4, Jim Walden had the WSU Cougars playing in the Apple Cup where a win would secure the first Rose Bowl game for WSU since 1931... for that matter, it was the first bowl game anywhere since 1931.

Mike Leach is 12-25 in 3 seasons at WSU. I hope WSU is playing in the Apple Cup in Seattle next year with a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line. That would be cool.



This post was edited on 12/1 7:27 PM by chinookpirate

DB Coach Options

First time poster....

I've been reading all of the ideas and speculations about a new DC. I read in one thread the idea of promoting Ken Wilson. I like that idea. Wouldn't be very popular but it could work. Also, promote Mike Bethea to LB Coach. Again, not thrilling but you save a little $ and keep continuity of staff and go out try to get one of these guys to come and coach the DB's:

SJSU DB Coach Donte Williams - He's a serious recruiter in the L.A. area and has coached in the state of Washington previously. As much as scheme is a factor, so is getting serious talent and he has showed he can do both.

SDSU DB Coach Tony White - Just like Williams, he's a very well respected recruiter and DB coach. Is also the recruiting coordinator as well.

The best way to get great student athletes to Pullman is to get great recruiters in Pullman and these 2 guys could address both of those needs in a move that is effective and wouldn't cost a great deal.

Thoughts?
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