Received some good news for Washington State basketball fans as ROOT Sports NW has picked up the WSU-TCU game tonight, which is scheduled for a 5 p.m. tip.

Link: https://washingtonstate.rivals.com/wire.asp?SID=1089&CID=76089

Tacoma (Wash.) Lincoln linebacker/safety Jusstis Warren says Mike Leach watched his game against O'Dea tonight. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound athlete recently picked up an offer from Washington State and says the Cougars are definitely going to play a factor in his recruitment moving forward. I'll try to get an interview set up with Warren soon.

What motivation, besides competitive nature, does he have to succeed? Is that motivation driving him hard enough in a very competitive conference?

Why not ride out your career at $1.4M/year and be set up really nice in five years to retire? I'd seriously be tempted to do that.

Just some concerns/thoughts I have about a guy I like and want to succeed...but am not convinced he has the fire in the belly to push hard to win.

Thoughts?

PS I realize that Dick Bennett was ~60 years old when we hired him, but look how burned out he was after a couple of seasons.
This post was edited on 11/2 9:27 PM by How_did_this_happen?

I'll post updates and such here during the game. If you want to pay a fee, you can at this link.

Starters for Washington State: Ike Iroegbu, DaVonte Lacy, Dexter Kernich-Drew, Jordan Railey and Junior Longrus.

Links: post-game quotes, notes and more ($)

Washington State falls to UTEP in season opener[/B]

Washington State dropped their season opener to UTEP on Friday night, 65-52. The Cougars committed 22 turnovers in the game and were out-rebounded 48-37, including 17-7 on the offensive end.

DaVonte Lacy finished with 15 points and made just 3-of-12 from the field while Dexter Kernich-Drew was held scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting. Que Johnson, off the bench, notched his first double-double of the season, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds while Josh Hawkinson, also off the bench, finished with 7 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks.

Official post-game box score



UTEP game recap[/B] (via UTEP Athletics)

EL PASO, TEXAS – Vince Hunter scored 14 points and snared a career-high 16 rebounds, and UTEP held Washington State to 35 percent shooting in a 65-52 season-opening win on Friday night in the Don Haskins Center.

The Miners struggled from the field, hitting 34.9 percent of their attempts, as Hunter was 5-for-15 and Julian Washburn was 2-for-12. But they did enough good things elsewhere to beat the Cougars for the second straight year.

“A couple of positive things in the game were that we defended pretty well,” UTEP coach Tim Floyd said. “We tried to take out [DaVonté] Lacy. He got a couple of baskets late on us. And [Dexter] Kernich-Drew was another guy we were really concerned with and we did a good job there.

“I thought we were as good as we’ve been since I’ve been here in terms of going to the offensive board. A lot of that had to do with Vince Hunter. You have a chance to be a good rebounding team when your small forward is a rebounder. He’s so talented. He can do anything he wants to do. He really impacted the game.”

The Miners led wire-to-wire in their 64-51 victory at Pullman last season, and they never trailed on Friday night. The game was tied once, at 6-6. After a tense opening 13 minutes, UTEP scored 10 consecutive points to build a 27-15 lead. Washington State rallied to close the gap to six (32-26) at the break.

It was still a six-point game (43-37) about midway through the second half when Omega Harris buried a three pointer, and Hunter scored inside to push the lead back to double digits (48-37). The closest the Cougars could get the rest of the game was nine points.

“I thought the overall team defense was good,” Floyd said. “Offensively, I thought we took a step back from our game against Southeastern Oklahoma. I thought we became too individualized. We didn’t have the same ball movement. We just kind of lowered our head and drove on one pass. When you try to do more, sometimes you end up getting less.

“I don’t remember contested shots in the Southeastern Oklahoma game. I thought they were all great shots. I thought tonight there were a lot of contested shots, and you credit Washington State’s defense. But at the same time, I thought we contributed to that as well.”

UTEP outrebounded Washington State 46-37, including 17-7 on the offensive glass. UTEP had an 18-4 edge in second chance points. The Miners also enjoyed a commanding advantage at the free throw line as they went 17-for-26 to the Cougars’ 8-for-10.

“I love the fact that we won the game at the foul line,” Floyd said. “We got there quite a bit.”

Earvin Morris (13 points) and C.J. Cooper (11) joined Hunter in double figures. Washburn scored nine points, Cedrick Lang eight and Matt Willms seven.

“Earvin Morris played with a lot of poise,” Floyd said. “He made some good shots and had a couple of really fine defensive plays and some great minutes on Lacy in that stretch.”

Lacy shot just 3-for-12 and tallied 15 points. Ike Iroegbu and Que Johnson each scored 10 for the Cougars.

It looked like a typical season-opening game, a little ragged on offense but solid on defense.

“I knew we would play hard,” Floyd said. “I really like us defensively. Our length is still bothering people with Vince as a small forward and when you’ve got Matt out there and Hooper [Vint] and Ced and Julian, we’re big and we can contest and challenge shots.

“We wanted to play big all night. They forced us to play small. They went really small and they created some problems for us at the end of the half with their small lineup. That’s one of the beautiful things about our team, we can play big and we can play small if we need to guard down in size, which we did when we moved Vince to [power forward] and took out one of our bigs.”

The Miners had a great crowd of 10,419 on hand for the opener. They’ll need more of the same the next time they take the floor versus NM State on Saturday, Nov. 22. The Aggies have been to three straight NCAA Tournaments.

“It’s a great, great basketball town. I wasn’t surprised that we were over 10 [thousand] and I’m going to be shocked if we don’t sell it out for New Mexico State,” Floyd said. “You know, they beat us twice a year ago. It would be nice to come out and go play and play in front of a packed house. I’m excited about that game for our kids and [NMSU is] a terrific, terrific team.”

Ernie Kent post game transcript...[/B]

(Kent on fighting uphill from the start…) "The fighting up hill came because we turned the ball over too much. 22 turnovers in a game and 16 of those unforced turnovers, and you give up 17 offensive rebounds where they have a chance to get 18 second chance points. So, you think about numbers, that's 22 times you didn't get a chance to shoot the ball, that's 17 offensive rebounds where they're at point blank playing volleyball underneath, so those are correctable things because that's toughness and that's skill stuff to take care of the ball.

"Now, the good thing about the game is this team handled itself in this environment, they can get a feel, now, for how fast we want to play and the speed of the game. I think the speed of the game shocked our own players because they started to get a little bit sloppy, started turning the ball over unforced because they're a little bit fatigued but we had that team on the ropes a couple times where we ran them and they had a hard time keeping up with us in front of their own 8,000 people that give them the energy. So, that's the things I look at. Baby steps, it's a process, understand how fast we need to play, get a feel for it, let's get better."

(On most night, you'll get something offensively from Dexter Kernich-Drew and DaVonte Lacy probably isn't going 3-of-12 from the field…) "Well, that's the other piece of it; you're 19-of-54 from the field and, again, we had looks, we had shots in this game. The speed of the game was so fast, dictated by us and dictated by UTEP - now, they're an up-and-down team, as well - that we didn't get our legs underneath us enough to shoot the basketball well. This team shoots it extremely well, as of late.

"So, when you look at the poor shooting percentage from your stars not shooting the ball well and you look at the unforced errors, offensive rebounds … it gives you some things you need to clean up, get back to work, we got to regroup, we're the only team out here in this conference right now. Let's regroup, let's go up to TCU and let's clean up all those things."

(Your zone slowed UTEP down and they didn't shoot very well from outside against it…) "Well, the entire defense did it's job. Defense wasn't the problem. When you hold a team to 32 points in one half and 33 in the other half, on their home floor; a team that gets up and down with that kind of size and athleticism, we were good defensively. We were good enough, but it was our rebounding. We didn't block out strong enough, tough enough, and get enough of those, what I call 50-50 balls that were down on the floor, and we didn't shoot the ball well enough, even though we had great looks. If you just shoot it better, you put a lot of pressure on this team now, when you can keep that game a two-point ballgame coming down the last ten minutes."

(Thoughts on the young guys…) "They played like young guys. I thought for Ny to get in the game, first time on the road, I thought he did some good things. He did some bad things as well, too. I thought Cheatum did a good job in the game. He was tough, he was strong in the game, and he played physical in the game. Trevor Dunbar, just OK in the game as well, too. Those young guys need to understand and have to learn, they're not in high school anymore and any turnover - I mean, Ny had a stretch where we went on like an eight-point swing in the game because he turned it over twice, that's four we didn't get and they got layups at the other end. Those are swings, so it's an educational process for those young guys."

(Fun to be back on the bench?) "It's great to be back on the bench, but at the same time, you don't want to come back on the bench just to be here. We're here for a reason and I like this basketball team, they've got a lot of work ahead of them, I like the way the battled down here. We can go back now, they can look at some tape, make some adjustments, because that team we play on Monday [TCU], they're even more size on the floor; bigger, stronger, more physical, maybe not as fast, as a UTEP. Again, we need to get our legs back, we got to regroup a little bit because we're not coming home yet, we have to get back out there and hopefully get a split."

Ike Iroegbu post game transcript

(New coaching staff, first time playing out as a team. What was it like?) “We did a good job on defense except for boxing out but I feel like we had them, but we just made minor mistakes and we just hurt ourselves.”

(Is that a hustle and effort thing?) “Yeah, it’s just about effort and we just got to get tougher and look tape and see where we messed up and learn from it and get ready for TCU.”

(You guys gave the ball away too many times…) “Yeah, we had a lot of turnovers. We got to get better with our footwork because we had a lot of travel calls. I know I had one and other guys had a couple and we just have to take care of the ball and make good passes.”

(Is part of that the officials working their first game of the year, too, and calling it stricter?) “Yeah, I think so. I think the officials did a good job of calling it both ways, but we just have to do a better job as players of staying fundamentally sound and have good footwork.”

(What did you like a lot that you’ll take away from this game?) “The environment at UTEP was very good and I think we played at a good pace, but we just didn’t make our shots but that’s something we’ll all fix before TCU.”

(Dexter and DaVonte are probably going to make some shots…) “Yeah, almost everyone on the team is a really good shooter so we just got to put this one behind us and get ready for the next one.”

(There were times you were out there with Ny Redding. Did you like having two ball handlers?) “Yeah, I really liked that because coach says that once we bring the ball across half-court, everyone turns into a shooting guard and he wants us to make plays. Ny did a really good job for his first game, coming out here and I thought he did a good job staying poised because it was his first college game. I don’t have a problem moving to the two or the one, whatever helps the team win, really.”

Note: Quotes were transcribed from Ernie Kent interview with Bud Nameck on the WSU IMG Sports Network.

WSU post-game notes (via WSU Athletics Communications)

-Redshirt sophomore Que Johnson had his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. His 11 rebounds are a career-high.

-Sophomore Josh Hawkinson bettered his blocks total from the entire year last season with 5 in tonight’s game. He had 4 all of last season.

-Hawkinson added a career-high 8 rebounds…his previous high was 6 done last season against San Francisco State.

-Senior DaVonté Lacy led all scorers with 15 points. 11 of his points came in the second half.

-With 15 points, senior Lacy moved into 29th on scoring list with 1,038 points, passing Dennis Hogg (1969-7). He started the season in 32nd.

-Freshman Ny Redding finished with 8 points on 4-for-6 shooting…he added a game-high 5 assists.

-Johnson led WSU in the first half with 8 points.

-Two freshmen saw playing time in the first half, Ny Redding and Trevor Dunbar. Redding tied for the second-most points in the first half with 6 points.

-Three newcomers played in the game, Dunbar and Redding and junior college transfer Aaron Cheatum…Redding and Cheatum both scored (2 points for Cheatum).

-The Cougars drop to 92-22 in season openers and 40-12 in season openers outside of Pullman.

-Washington State was the only Pac-12 team to open on the road this season.


This post was edited on 11/14 10:59 PM by Britton Ransford

Jeff Pollard will sign a letter of intent with Washington State tomorrow, however, he'll attend prep school and join Washington State for the 2016-17 season. We have more in the War Room.

Link: https://washingtonstate.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=1417&tid=206461666&mid=206461666&sid=1089&style=2

Hey Britton I just heard from a reliable source that one of or RS d lineman is transferring at the semester. Have you heard anything?

Exchanged a few messages with Honolulu (HI) St. Louis OL Fred Ulu-Perry tonight and he tells me he's still thinking about taking an official visit to Washington State, though there's a few others schools the three-star UCLA commit wants to keep a close eye on first, including Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Colorado. The Aggies have yet to offer.

Ulu-Perry was one of the Cougars' most coveted prospects earlier in the recruiting cycle, though shortly after picking up an offer from UCLA in June, he committed to the Bruins. He's already visited Westwood when the Bruins faced Oregon and he's headed to Texas Tech this weekend for an official visit.

The only other visit he has lined up is to Oregon State on Nov. 29 and there's a high possibility he could visit Colorado and even Texas A&M, too. I know there was a lot of questions early on during Ulu-Perry's recruitment, so I thought I'd pass that along. While Ulu-Perry is still fully committed, it'd be interesting to see if Coach Joe could get him up on campus.

According to Edward Lewis of the UCLA site, San Bernardino (Calif.) San Gorgonio safety Nathan Meadors recently picked up an offer from Washington State. The 6-foot-1, 186-pound defensive back also holds offers from Boise State, Nevada and San Diego State with serious interest from UCLA, Washington and California.

Meadors, according to Lewis, will visit Boise State this weekend and will then begin considering additional official visits. Meadors plays quarterback, safety and cornerback for San Goronio and is being recruited by most schools as a defensive back.


This post was edited on 11/13 11:58 AM by Britton Ransford

I spoke with Phoenix (Ariz.) Mountain Pointe offensive tackle Davis Perrott tonight and he tells me that while nothing is set in stone, he'll take an official visit to Washington State for the Apple Cup or on December 5, depending on his schedule.

The 6-foot-5, 270-pound lineman is rated three-stars by Rivals and also holds offers from Boise State, California, Indiana, Nevada, San Diego State, Wyoming and several others. He's reportedly going to choose between Boise State, California and Washington State.

Riverside (Calif.) C.C. defensive end DeVante Wilson has picked up an offer from Washington State. The 6-foot-6, 280-pound defensive lineman is rated three-stars by Rivals and also holds offers from Arizona State, California and UAB.

Wilson is a former three-star USC commit in the 2011 class and, after a redshirt season for the Trojans, he transferred to Riverside. He's a December graduate who will have two-years to play two at the next level.

Washington State has now offered six prospects from Riverside, including receiver Jeremiah Mitchell (Marshall).


This post was edited on 11/13 12:02 AM by Britton Ransford

Just exchanged text messages with Murray (UT) Taylorsville defensive end Mufi Hunt who tells me he'll also take an official visit to Washington State on December 5. The three-star defensive lineman is rated the No. 27 weakside defensive end in the 2015 class and also holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, California, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

Hunt will take a two year mission prior to heading off to college, is also taking a look at California, BYU and a few others. UteZone.com caught up with Hunt earlier this month and he said Utah and California are also in line to get visits.

Link: https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1700329


This post was edited on 11/12 8:41 PM by Britton Ransford

Washington State commit James Williams tells me he'll take his official visit on Nov. 29 for the Apple Cup. Williams, a three-star running back, was previously scheduled to visit during the Portland State weekend, however he suffered an ACL tear and was unable to make the trip. Williams' scholarship was guaranteed by the Washington State staff and he is 100 percent solid.

I also spoke to Austin Maihen yesterday, who says he's tentatively scheduled to take an official visit to Washington State during the Apple Cup, too. However, those plans could be pushed back because Santa Margarita is in the playoffs, so should they advance, the trip will be moved back.

Maihen, as reported earlier this week, picked up an offer from Stanford last week and is in the process of going through admissions, which will likely be the deciding factor. Coach McGuire and Coach Yost met with Maihen this week.

Washington State will be hosting close to double-digit prospects for the Apple Cup, all of whom you can see at the link below.

Visitor List: https://washingtonstate.rivals.com/visit.asp

Washington State was the first program to offer Riverside (Calif.) C.C. receiver Isaac Whitney, who has since seen his recruitment explode, picking up offers from Boise State, California, Florida, Nebraska, Rutgers, Texas Tech, USC, Vanderbilt and West Virginia.

Blake Alderman of Inside The Gators tells me Whitney has three schools he knows he'll visit for sure -- West Virginia, USC and Florida -- though Washington State and Texas Tech are still in the running to receive visits, too. Whitney tells me tonight that he doesn't have any firm plans to take a visit to Pullman, though he's going to talk to the staff about possibly setting one up.

Whitney, a three-star prospect, is a January enrollee who would have three years to play two at the next level.


This post was edited on 11/13 12:04 AM by Britton Ransford

New Orleans (La.) DL George Lea has committed to Arizona State following an official visit to Tempe last weekend. Lea was picking between Arizona State, Kansas State and Washington State.

Link: https://washingtonstate.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1703664

(Opening statement..) "There's a particular style of basketball that we play that requires a certain skill level and what I mean by skill, the ability to pass, dribble, shoot the basketball at a fast paced in a fast paced system. We feel like with the four young men that committed to us, all of them fit our style of play. They all have scored the basketball, they all have a really high basketball IQ on the floor, in particular in quick thinking situations where they have to make quick decisions in transition or in the half court. So their skill set is very good and we're very comfortable with the group we picked up.

"Robert Franks is a skill four-man that is strong, he can score inside, outside, a very good passer, has a tremendous feel for the game. It would be a tough matchup for people to have to guard because of his ability to put it on the floor almost with point guard skills with that kind of size and his ability to score inside and outside.

"Derrien King is a terrific shooter from deep range, he has excellent midrange game, very athletic, will need to put some weight on and is very similar to Dexter when, where maybe when Dex came into the door, a little bit taller, more athletic, a little bit more offensive firepower but a very high basketball IQ.

"Jeff Pollard, you would recognize that name. He's from a basketball family and he has great size. He will be attending a prep school for a year and we continue to monitor that because we certainly think he could come into our program now, that was a recommendation they asked. His brother did the same thing that's now at Rice where he played high school basketball and then went to prep school the next year.

"I want to mention that Derrien King has three years of eligibility, which makes him a really good get for us to get a junior college player that you can have for three years."

"And then Renard Suggs, we felt like the biggest thing we needed to do was replace DaVonte Lacy and his ability to score the ball. Renard Suggs can do that. He's a prolific shooter, shoots it deep, a really good understanding of the game, plays in a system that is even faster than what we play right now at Washington State, although, we certainly hope to get there. But he has an excellent skill set on him as well. His ability to see the game, see plays, make plays.

"All four of these young men are high character people. They did a tremendous job when they were on our campus, being in the summer for camp, being in for their official visits. We've had an opportunity to visit with parents and we feel really good about the group we have coming in the door, giving ourselves an opportunity now to recruit a player from California, one from Washington, one from Santa Monica, and Wyoming, certainly not being their hometown, but when you're talking about players being able to spread out like that, I think again, all of them came here and the really, really enjoyed the campus. There's really a college community in the community of Pullman."

(It appears you added a lot of length in this class…) "It was definitely intentional. We need to be, for where we want to get to, we needed more length and size on this team because, again, our sights are set on the best teams in this conference. That's the Arizona's and eventually you want to get your program to that ability. You look at their size, their length, you look at your better teams in the country, it was length and it was skillset, which is what we were looking for also. The ability to score, because, again, in this system, when you have the green light to shoot the basketball, as a coach, when it leaves your hand, I should know as well that it's going in as well as you should know it's going in."

(Where do you see King playing?) "Derrien and Renard Suggs both have the ability to play the one, the two, the three, and Derrien can play the four with his size. Again, their skillset gives them the opportunity to play multiple positions, as well as Franks, he can play multiple positions. Franks can actually play the three with that kind of size. When you have guys that aren't limited to just one position and they have a willingness to play multiple positions because multiple positions play more minutes, more versatile, the more you can score the more problems you cause defensively against you. So that was a focal point, as well as scoring the ball at that length and skillset, that ability to play multiple positions. So, in Derrien's case, it depends on the matchups, he could be the guy bringing the ball down the floor or it could be Suggs or it could be Ike. It just depends on who you're playing, how you're playing or who rebounds the ball."

(Will King be a back to the basket guy?) "He's definitely a face-up guy. He doesn't have the body to be a back-to-the-basket, unless he has an undersized defender guarding him. Even in our offense now, we've got opportunities to post up wing players and that's kind of what I've done in the past with those bigger wings, you can shuffle in there to the post and they become your post up guys when you have scoring 6-10 guys like a Josh Hawkinson. You can put him on the perimeter and post up a Derrien King and have a mismatch inside and there's your post game against a guard and everything else. So, it just depends, it gives you an opportunity to play in different ways."

(Is there a chance you add players to this class in the next signing day?) "You never, ever stop recruiting in this day in age. Again, when you look at the numbers of three years ago, 400 transfers in Division-I, two years ago there was 500, last year we had 600. That's like 1.8 per program, this year, that will transfer out or leave early. You never know who's going to develop in this program, there's a body or two in this program that, if they have a monster season, they could look at going out or people could pull them out. So, you have to continue to recruit and you do that to protect your program. You have to have your irons in the fire, you have to keep doors open, you have to keep contact with people because you never, ever know what's going to happen particularly in this day in age."

(Does Jeff have to sign again in a year due to him delaying enrollment?) "No, he doesn't. No, and again, understanding that he's a young man that may come in next year just depending on our goals and our progress as a team here and with his season, as well."

(What do you see Pollard's role being?) "I see him being a skilled big guy that can score with his back to the basket but he has a nice face-up game, too. He has tremendous leadership skills. He's a 4.0 student and he would be the most vocal guy in our program coming in the doors today as a freshman in terms of being able to talk defensively and being able to shout commands on the floor because he has that kind of understanding of the game coming from such a strong basketball background."

(Is Pollard a guy that could use a redshirt season to develop at that point?) "His family did that with his brother - a seven-footer that's at Rice - and it benefitted him. He's going to go to the Impact Academy in Las Vegas and it's really a basketball environment as well as an academic environment. Here's a 4.0 student that really doesn't need the academic side of it, but they feel like, well, wait a minute, it's kind of like an extra year to play the game to build up and develop next year. I think his game is rapidly improving and I'm not going to count out the fact that he could come in the door next year but as of right now, we'll let him play out his high school basketball and then go a year to prep school and then come in the door."

(On Renard Suggs…) "He is a complete, all-around basketball player. What I mean by that is, you take away his three-point shot, he has the ability to put the ball on the floor and get by you and then he has an understanding of the game as to when to attack - he's very athletic - when to attack and explode up and dunk and finish or he has an excellent midrange game. So, again, Derrien and Renard both have those complete games where they're very difficult to guard because they can shoot, they can put it down and handle it, they can pull up and shoot the midrange game and they have, what I call, a very good feel for the game, as well."

(Is this a class where you benefitted from a lot of prior relationships?) "It's a class that, if I look at where they came from, the conversations that I had with coaches, AAU coaches, parents, here's what I heard: number one, between Greg Graham, Silvey Dominguez and Curtis Allen, they have tremendous contacts out there to open the door up to all of these players. The second thing we heard was, we know who Coach Kent is and how he ran his program at Oregon, that style of play, we saw those players, we know, we've done our homework, he graduates his kids - that was the second piece. The third piece was that getting them to campus, all of them said the same thing: 'We didn't realize Washington State had so much.' It was an education process of utilizing Graham's contacts, Coach Dominguez' contacts, Coach Allen's contacts to open up doors, open up avenues and then it was an opportunity to step in and have those people re-educated on what we accomplished at Oregon, that style of play, that system, putting guys in the NBA, and then that third piece is educating them on now let's introduce you to Washington State. When they saw the facilities, when they saw the players, when they saw the football stadium, the football facility, when they got to see Bill Moos, when they got a chance to meet Dr. Floyd there was an impressive package we put together here that, to a parent, that same comment came out: 'We never realized Washington State had all this up there.' That's the beauty, again, what I call this community, it's a matter of educating the rest of this country in terms of how these basketball prospects know who we are. They know the conference, come understand Washington State, how we're going to play and what we do academically here."

Alright, my power was out in Queen Anne for the majority of the morning, so I'm late to this, but Washington State has secured national letters of intent from all four of their committed prospects including Renard Suggs, Jeff Pollard, Derrien King and Robert Franks.

Ernie Kent will be holding a press conference today to talk about the new recruiting class and we'll have more coverage then. Plus, we'll have interviews with the majority of the Cougars' recruiting class (King is impossible to get ahold of) when they're available for comment.

Game notes for WSU at UTEP, courtesy of WSU Athletics, are now posted on The Wire.

Link: https://washingtonstate.rivals.com/wire.asp?SID=1089&CID=76034

Renard Suggs, Derrien King, Jeff Pollard and Robert Franks have signed their NLIs. We have more with quotes in the War Room and later, Ernie Kent will be holding a press conference to talk about his second recruiting class, which I'll be covering.

Link: https://washingtonstate.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=1417&tid=206489862&mid=206489862&sid=1089&style=2

Washington State head coach Ernie Kent's coaches show is tonight from 6-7 and can be streamed at this link. I'll have notes in this thread.

Jordan Parker picked up an offer from Washington State today. The 5-foot-10, 172-pound cornerback is rated three-stars by Rivals and also holds offers from Arizona State and UCLA.

I spoke to Jeff Pollard minutes ago and the Utah product confirmed to me that he'll sign with Washington State tomorrow, however he'll go to prep school next year in Las Vegas and join Washington State in January. We're going to have a a full recap on the early signing day later this week.

Here's a transcript from Mike Leach's Pac-12 teleconference on Tuesday where he talks about Luke Falk, of course, as well as how the team has progressed this season and quick notes on Daquawn Brown and their next opponent, Arizona State.

Mike Leach Pac-12 teleconference transcript...

(What is Luke Falk like off the field?) "Very calm, a calm guy. I would say a very regular guy, just extremely regular, can talk to anybody, very focused and disciplined as far as watching extra film and focusing on what he needs to improve on in football, but a very calm, laid back guy.

(Was it clear to you that Falk would make an immediate impact when he got the opportunity?) "I thought he would. I thought he definitely would and we saw that in camp. I also think that mentally he was probably a little further along than we expected, even."

(How would you compare him to the other high-profile guys that have been in your system?) "I'd say as far as being calm and just mentally going in there and taking the reigns of things, he might be ahead of all of them. He's way up there for that."

(Does Falk remind you of any quarterbacks you've had in the past?) "They all have their own unique things. I can't say that there's one in particular. He's taller than some but he's got the mental game earlier than most and they've all been hard workers."

(What quality do you respect most about Falk?) "He works really hard."

(What's the morale of the team right now after losing Halliday and not making a bowl game? Are these kids holding it together?) "I think so, everybody is just working hard and trying to improve."

(Can you comment on Luke Falk as a leader?) "I think he's done a really good job. I think that's the aspect of his game that he's done better than expected to this point and I think his calmness resonates, not just with the offense, but the whole team."
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(Has Falk's hot start cemented him as the quarterback of the future at Washington State?) "Nobody is ever cemented. I mean, I think there's a strong possibility, but nobody's ever cemented because we've got some very good players behind him."

(What would you like to see from him against Arizona State?) "He just needs to keep getting better, just have a good week of practice, just lead the team for a good week of practice and continue from there."

(After the two games against Arizona and USC, you played well against Oregon State. After Saturday's win, it would seem to indicate that you're not that far away. How do you sort that all out?) "Well, we played better defensively against Oregon State, I think, was the most significant thing and we also didn't hurt ourselves on special teams."

(Do you feel that you're close, that you're not rebuilding anymore?) "We're improving. We're out there kind of with one layer. We've played some of the best teams in America within one score; we just have to finish the deal. The other thing is we have to understand how close we are and stride for that. A lot of it is competing each individual play."

(On Daquawn Brown, I know you like some things about him but there are also some things you don't like. Can you put that in perspective?) "He needs to be a more disciplined player. He's explosive, he's competitive, but he's not as disciplined as he needs to be."

(What have you seen from film on Arizona State?) "They're a very good team in all phases and they've kind of continued from last year. They had a good season last year and I think they've drawn from that, they've got plenty of players back and I think that's fueled some of their success this year."



This post was edited on 11/11 11:34 AM by Britton Ransford