According to Rivals analyst Jason Howell, Washington State is making a late push for Dallas (TX) Skyline Rivals250 receiver Carlos Strickland. The four-star prospect is rated the No. 12 receiver and No. 132 overall prospect in the country.

California, Texas Tech, UCLA and Texas are also in the mix for Strickland, who has officially visited Cal, Texas Tech and UCLA, whom he visited last weekend. Skyline recruiter coordinator Eric Mims says Washington State has made a push lately.

"He has talked to Washington State about going on a visit," Mims said. "I'm not sure if he's going to. I don't think he's really interested in any of those other schools who have and sold that pitch to him. I think the two he's considered would be Texas and Washington State.

"I'm not sure if he's going to actually do either of those and just make a decision from that pool of Texas Tech, UCLA, and Cal or if he's going to actually go out to Texas this weekend with (Anthony) Wheeler. I'm not sure right now."

Strickland previously committed to Texas Tech, and it appears the Red Raiders are still in contention. He's reportedly going to be making a college decision on January 27, which is next Tuesday, so the Cougars will likely have to get him on a plane to Washington State this weekend to have a chance to sway him late.

"Carlos is kind of a secretive kid. He said the 27th is the big day," Mims said. "He kept everybody guessing the first time when he committed to Texas Tech and kept everyone shocked. He enjoyed California when he was there to visit Cal.

"He enjoyed California when he was there for the Semper Fi Bowl. He said he enjoyed UCLA. He likes California. I don't know if that's going to be the tipping point, but he likes being on the West Coast."

Link: https://washingtonstate.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1728120

Notes:
It appears Washington State is taking another receiver in this class, as they are still after Lavan Alston and George Wilson. The staff, including Mike Leach, had an in-home visit with Alston last night and they'll visit Wilson tonight.
This post was edited on 1/22 12:29 PM by Britton Ransford

you're tearing it up! There was a couple of times someone has asked me if I'd be interested in possibly doing one of these sites and I'd have to say that the job you are doing is what I'd aspire to be. You are doing an awesome job and I hope you prosper and we get to keep you as long as possible. If I were Rivals (and of course I'm not) I'd set you up with a partner like Braulio (sp) and just let you two have at it. Podcast...spots wherever and you'd really have something fresh for the next decade. Invite some regular/long time posters to call in or in studio and you'd capture "the intrigue" that many paying members have for for these websites. I'd guess an episode with YakiCoug or CougEd would draw quite a few view count. Have them on together and you'd have a WSU poster Super Bowl. There's many very knowledgeable and insightful fans that are members or who post on a regular basis.

Thank god almost wet my pants

Andre, Bender, Canada, Dillard, Evers, Fernandez, Green, Griffin, Hameed, Harrington, Hoyd, Krepz, Luvu, Mata'afa, Porter, Singleton, Tapa, and Ware. Pippins, Leniu and Farrar were late additions. There is also Begg and Hanser. Canty signed, but never stepped foot on campus.

I even went back a few years because as we know, January enrollee's can be applied to either the current or prior year. I may be missing someone I guess.

Thank you, Rick "I'm paid by the word" Neuheisel and Ronnie Lott. I had no idea new DC Alex Grinch and AC Roy Manning aren't going to be allowed to practice defense at WSU. I suppose all those coaches from Mike Leach's coaching tree also don't allow defenses to practice. Neuheisel is a smart guy, but at times he's simply more of a smart ass. And Ronnie Lott? The guy devalues a USC degree (did he ever get one?) every time he opens his mouth.
At least Slick didn't tell us all again that HE was the one who recruited Brett Hundley.

I don't know if this has been reported fully yet but Toki just told me he's no longer looking at any other programs and he is 100 percent committed to Washington State.

Alex Grinch is doing in-home tonight.

Washington State has extended an offer to Honolulu (HI) St. Louis 2017 quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, he confirms to me via Twitter message. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound dual-threat quarterback also holds offers from Colorado, Hawaii, Texas Tech, UCLA, USC and Ole Miss.

Britton, in your opinion if we get no other recruits and we keep everyone we have who plays in year one...I can't see Toki not playing especially with Cooper gone. Give us your thoughts.

I am quite annoyed at the lack of follow up posts on the stupid bball board about my man crush Aron Baynes. So, we will try here. Tonight (1/20), Baynesie went 3/3, 9/9 from the line, and scored 15 points in 15 minutes in the Spurs win over Denver. Hard to be better than that, aye?

Per an article in the SR, Shailie's WSU career is over. Too bad. She was a strong force in the middle. Cooks hasn't been nearly as effective. Hopefully one of the younger centers will be able to step up. Very unfortunate for her to have to end her career that way.

Leach works his magic.....

Steilacoom (Wash.) linebacker Fotu Leiato's coach Williams Garrow confirms he'll officially visit Washington State on January 16. He has a busy month, which includes several visits and in-home visits from a number of programs, and I'll have all of that put together this weekend for an article. Sounds like he could make a decision at any time and Washington State will get the first crack.


This post was edited on 1/16 11:54 AM by Britton Ransford

Picked up an Oregon offer. I'm pretty sure this is where he ends up. Heard he was a big fan of Oregon.

And apparently our coach is using this philosophy. To what degree? Who knows. Interesting that it's being used in sports recruiting.

Meaning control of emotion is a good thing.

good face or bad face determines your lot in life

Poulsbo (Wash.) North Kitsap receiver Andrew Hecker has committed to Washington State as a preferred walk-on. Coach Mele had an in-home visit with the 6-foot-1, 180-pound receiver last night. Hecker also played safety and handled all kicking duties for North Kitsap.

Update: Hecker says he's coming to Washington State as a defensive back.

Highlights: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/755760/highlights/200530387


This post was edited on 1/21 1:24 PM by Britton Ransford

Salt Lake City (UT) Cottonwood defensive end T.J. Fehoko has de-committed from Colorado, according to our Colorado site. The 6-foot-1, 245-pound defensive lineman is rated three-stars by Rivals and the No. 13 prospect in Utah. He's already visited Washington State is very close with Washington State commit Thomas Toki.

At the time of their visits, Toki said he would be "surprised" if Fehoko didn't flip to Washington State. Is it too late now? Maybe. But he's a top defensive end in the West and if they could possibly find room, he'd be a welcomed addition. He's visiting UNLV this weekend and is also hearing from Texas, our Colorado site says.

The Cougars were a favorite since his visit and I'm surprised it took this long for him to de-commit. I'll reach out to see if the Washington State staff has been in for an in-home visit lately, which would indicate whether they're still after him.

Link: http://sports.yahoo.com/lsu/football/recruiting/player-T.J.-Fehoko-153566

what a train wreck their lives have turned out to be.

Another arrest....

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Report-Rowdy-Hope-Solo-hassles-cops-as-husband-arrested-for-DUI-289196861.html

This post was edited on 1/20 2:13 PM by 79COUG

A few weeks after posting what I think was his first NBA career double-double, I thought our fellow Coug Aron Baynes had landed in the Spurs doghouse, and didn't play for several games. However, he came out of hibernation the other night and had 5 offensive rebounds against (I think) Charlotte. Last night (Jan 18), Baynesie played 23 minutes against Utah, led the team with 11 rebounds, scored 12 points to complete the double double as the Spurs won by 20.With the waiver of former 1st round pick Austin Daye of Gonzaga, looks like Baynes has solidified his spot as a top backup for the Spurs. Good job Baynes!!!! Now that (thanks to Baynes and the Spurs) I have gained an appreciation for the NBA, I think it is very interesting how important it is to have a second team. The starters cannot play for 48 minutes without getting gassed and eventually worn down. The Spurs do a great job of platooning with their roster. While a second strimger like Baynes isn't going to make $10 million/year, his 10-20 minutes/game are important and meaningful. Especially when he is subbing for 38 year old future hall of famer Tim Duncan.

Next topic - it is so hard to be a Coug. Maybe not as hard as being an Idaho Vandal, but still. This past Fall - volleyball startes out good, then runs in to the Pac-12 schedule. Boom. Soccer - great season again - get to the playoffs. Then the big choke job - again. Football - high hopes after last year. Choke choke choke, ripped by the refs, mor choking. That was fun - not!

On to basketball. Women finally appear to be getting good - in what, June's 7th, 8th year? Then the Pac-12 starts. Lose, lose, lose. She is simply a bad coach, technically. Ratball at its finest.

Then the men. Suck to start. The ultimate shame of losing to Idaho. Then all of a sudden, we beat the mutts and - OMG - Oregon!! Wow wow wow. So we get Oregon State at home, looking at going to 4-1 in front of a still-pathetic but season-high 5,100 fans. Oh no - we shoot 29%, get outrebounded 37-22, and score a Dick Bennett-like 47 points in a blowout loss.

And ya wonder why I now follow the Spurs........

Pasadena (Calif.) Muir cornerback Taeon Mason confirms that he is de-committing from USC and while he did not immediately say he's going to flip his commitment to Washington State, I would expect it to happen sooner or later.

Mason informed me earlier today that Mike Leach, Alex Grinch, Dennis Simmons and Ken Wilson had an in-home visit with him last night.

The four-star cornerback, rated the No. 47 prospect in California, has been committed to USC since last February and also holds offers from Notre Dame, Oregon State and UCLA. The Trojans picked up a number of defensive backs in this class and I've been told the staff has backed off their recruitment of Mason, which opened the door for Washington State.

Mason officially visited Pullman for the Apple Cup. I'll have more as this develops.


This post was edited on 1/20 12:25 PM by Britton Ransford

It appears we are "full" with our class with the number of commits we have. Now that can change with greyshirts and what not. With Sykes does that mean Lewis is out or will he have a spot? You said Leiato has a spot as well if he wants one and then there is Paulo who definitely has a spot I'l assume. We also have King visiting next week.

Any idea where WSU is going these final weeks? Any potential greyshirts to make way for the three I listed?

I added Beltsville (Md.) High Point defensive end Nnamdi Oguayo to the Cougars' hot board. A prep source says Washington State has been out to High Point to meet with Oguayo and a visit could be in the works.

I'm still working on confirming whether an offer has been extended. The source says Oguayo "thinks he's officially visiting" Washington State this weekend and his coach said "in the upcoming weeks," so we'll see.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound defensive end has visited Indiana and Pittsburgh thus far and also holds offers from Louisville, Illinois, South Florida and Temple. I'll have more on this as soon as possible.

Link: http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Nnamdi-Oguayo-167802?colleges=show

Spring (TX) cornerback Willie Sykes has committed to Washington State, per a source. The 5-foot-11, 183-pound cornerback is rated two-stars by Rivals and picked the Cougars over offers from Purdue, Nebraska, Oregon State, Fresno State, Minnesota and Utah.

Washington State is the latest offer for Houston (TX) Westside defensive tackle Jordan Elliot, according to Rivals.com analyst Matt Clare. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound junior also holds offers from Baylor, CSU, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky and Washington.

Link: http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Jordan-Elliott-170665

9ers looking like a organization in complete disarray.

Washington State extended a preferred walk-on offer out to Folsom (Calif.) Vista del Lago quarterback Matt Jimison.