Danny Freund - Offensive coordinator / QBs coach
Jesse Bobbit - Defensive coordinator / LBs coach
Robbie Rouse - Running backs coach
Mike Iupati - Co-offensive line coach
Taylor Lucas - Co-offensive line coach
Everrette Thompson - Co-defensive line coach

I like Iupati because he's going to bring him credibility and being able to sell something to recruits.

The rest of the SDSU staff is a big question mark as to whether what they did at South Dakota will translate into the new Pac-12. I'd like to see us get some power 4 experience guys to balance this staff out and who bring recruiting connections.

7 of the last 13 possesions, disgustingly poor coaching

Check out the replies to this clown.

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Tough week, especially with the herky jerky scheduling of one on the road, 1 at home. Anyone have a private jet to offer up for the SC trip?

Any word on I Watts being back this week? If SC shoots anything close to how they did vs gu Cougs will need all the help they can get.

Oh, some new news to round off the evening.

Per the usual source (Brand X) we picked up:

Our first non-SDSU transfer (!), apparently reeled in from newly hired recruiting savant (and now former Cal Poly coach) Everette Thompson. This Poly behemoth, Nilasoni Finau, comes to WSU from FBS - oops - FCS powerhouse - oops - doormat Cal Poly! A RS Senior-to-be, Finau was recruited to Cal Poly prior to Paul Wulff becoming HC. So rest easy.

And Rogers has flipped another SDSU 2025 recruit, Connor Sullivan, making it 4 new HS signee transfers to date.

Cal Poly does have quite a few Poly players, including two from Samoa (not Finua). I wonder if the fact that the school name is "Poly" helps with recruiting Poly players? And I just saw that Timm Rosenbach and Steve Broussard are now Cal Poly coaches. Cougar connections all around.

I’m not in favor of this , if true. Get a team in TX first or UNLV or AF.

Read up on our new D-line coach yet? Per Brand X:

"(Everette) Thompson is a Renton native and played his college football at UW from 2008-11."

2008-2011. Why does that time frame ring a bell?

He is Polynesian, which does not overcome the fact that he is a mutt. And look him up. Who goes from N. Arizona to Cal Poly, where he was, and I quote: "Special teams coordinator & assistant offensive line coach". Perfect fit, eh? Wait - he's going to coach the D-line. And OMG, I just realized - Cal Poly's HC is none other than - wait for it - PAUL WULFF!

Ok Anne McCoy/ Kirk Schulz/Jimmy Rogers lovers. Go ahead and attack me!

edit - I don't think Frank Maile went with Dickert? What was wrong with him?

So the reported 1.57 million dollar a year contract for new head coach Jimmy Rogers makes him the sixth highest paid coach out the seven current Pac 12 coaches. That is our "commitment" to excellence? We are watching the orchestrated downsizing of our football program. Effectively throwing in the towel while paying lip service to the promise of funding a Pac 12 level program. There is no commitment. What a sham.

Rumors are circulating that Rogers is bringing in Mike Iupati as Offensive Line coach. If true, this would be a significant hire IMO. 1st round draft pick with the 49ers and an 11-year NFL vet. Only 37 years old.

Iupati rose up from a 2-star recruit and became a consensus All-American at Idaho. Interesting that Johnny Nansen discovered him when he was coaching at Idaho. He had a lot of academic difficulties due to the language barrier, but Nansen convinced him Idaho would be better than going the JC route. His family had to take out a loan his first year because he wasn't eligible for a scholarship.

Not sure if he can coach, but his road traveled makes him a perfect fit for WSU on the recruiting trail.

This is getting out of hand

Ewers has a 6 million dollar offer?


a few side notes

Steve Sarkisian’s Supplemental Salary by Year​

2022: $3,240,000
2023: $3,360,000
2024: $3,480,000
2025: $3,600,000
2026: $3,720,000


Caleb Williams, last years number 1 pick signed a fully-guaranteed contract worth $39 million, according to the outlet. It includes a $25.5 million signing bonus and a fifth-year team option, per ESPN sources.

7:00 min mark

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GET EXCITED. COUGS are improving!

I will be glued to the TV tonight for the BSU-Penn State game, and much as I can't stand BSU will be rooting for them. This game, IMHO, is pretty critical for the G5 going forward for obvious reasons. A win would show that indeed G5 schools deserve at least one seat at the big boy table.

I don't agree with the notion of the G5 breaking off and having their own playoff. That is going the wrong way. What I would like to see is a mandate that FBS schools can only play FBS schools. F- this Alabama vs Mercer crap. "Body bag" games or not, give G5 schools those $1M+ payoffs for playing the P4 big boys. Winning a few of those adds legitimacy to the G5.

I had not realized that there are 129 FCS FB schools, and that Division II has 161 teams. Only about 100 FCS schools are actually in line for the playoffs (the HBCU leagues play their own "championship" game). That said, maybe a bunch of the G5 bottom dwellers should form another conference and drop to FCS. Idaho seems to have survived.

I have more to opine on but will start there. I will also be rooting for ASU. Poke a hole in the B1G/SEC balloon.

Always liked him, a catcher from a different time...when you could hit .240 and still find work if you could call a game well (he played in roughly the same period as my great uncle, Sammy White). RIP.

WSU lands three more transfers, plus Jimmy Rogers’ first high school commit​

Greg Woods
Jan. 5, 2025 at 8:15 pm
The Spokesman-Review

PULLMAN — Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers is keeping himself busy bringing his South Dakota State players over to the Palouse.

The Cougars landed three former SDSU players on Sunday: Linebacker/cornerback Caleb Francl, defensive lineman Max Baloun and safety Matthew Durrance, which makes four former Jackrabbits who have publicly announced they’re becoming Cougs, joining running back Angel Johnson, who committed on Saturday.

WSU also secured a commitment Sunday from three-star linebacker Isaiah Hung, who was committed to Rogers at SDSU, now following him to WSU. Hung, a native of Kansas City-area Liberty, Missouri, had offers from Kansas State, Air Force, Army and several FCS programs including South Dakota, Northern Iowa and Central Missouri State.

Hung, 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds and a product of Liberty High School, is Rogers’ first high school recruit since accepting the WSU job on Dec. 28. Hung also earned an individual state wrestling title in the 215-pound division.

Francl and Baloun will have one year of eligibility each, while Durrance will have two.

Matt Zimmer, who covers SDSU sports for Sioux Falls Live, reported Sunday that safety Cale Reeder, running back Kirby Vorhees and kicker Jack Stevens had also jumped from South Dakota State to WSU. Those players have not made public announcements.

That’s on top of two former SDSU coaches who Rogers has hired from the Jackrabbits, offensive coordinator Danny Freund and defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit. The Cougars have also hired Taylor Lucas as their new offensive line coach and Mike Iupati as their assistant offensive line coach.

In the Jackrabbits’ FCS national semifinal year this fall, Fracnl started all 15 games, totaling 61 tackles to pair with four pass breakups and no touchdowns allowed. A native of Grand Island, Nebraska, Francl notched one sack and earned Stats Perform first-team All-American honors this season, also becoming a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the top defensive player in the FCS.

Francl played a bit of a hybrid role for SDSU, often using his athleticism to cover slot receivers in the middle of the field. He helped anchor a Jackrabbit defense that led the FCS in scoring average, allowing just 12.4 points per game, and ranked in the top 10 in rushing defense, permitting only 90.5 yards per game in the regular season.

Francl is joining a WSU linebacker corps in the middle of a retooling. The Cougars are losing both of their starting linebackers from last season — Buddah Al-Uqdah transferred to Washington and veteran Kyle Thornton exhausted his eligibility — but they do return Keith Brown and Parker McKenna, both of whom came on strong toward the end of the season.

How does Francl fit in alongside those guys? He might have the edge in experience, playing in 44 games across four seasons. In 2021, he played mostly special teams, playing in 14 of 15 games with one start. He sat out all but one game of the 2022 season after suffering a knee injury on an interception, then returned in 2023 to play backup linebacker in 14 games.

A native of Redfield, South Dakota, Baloun spent four seasons at SDSU, playing in the final three. In 2024, he tallied 17 tackles (eight solo) and pocketed two sacks. He picked up 10 total pressures, per Pro Football Focus data, including three in a win over Western Illinois. At 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds, Baloun gives the Cougars some size and strength on the interior.

That became a need in recent weeks, when WSU lost each of its top three defensive linemen to the transfer portal: David Gusta committed to Kentucky, Ansel Din-Mbuh went to TCU and Khalil Laufau signed with Houston, leaving holes to plug on the interior defensive line. The only returning WSU DT with any experience is redshirt sophomore Bryson Lamb.

The Cougars are also filling a need with the addition of the safety Durrance, who hails from the Tampa area. Starting 13 of 15 games this season, Durrance piled up 63 tackles, seven passes defended and three interceptions, including two picks in a win over Southern Illinois. He added two tackles for loss as well.

WSU could use more of that from Durrance. Gone from the Cougs’ 2024 safety corps are Tyson Durant (graduated), Adrian Wilson (transferred to Arizona State), Tanner Moku (graduated) and Jackson Lataimua (transfer portal).

So far, the Cougars have hung on to all six DBs in their class of 2025: Gaylon McNeal Jr., Aiden Knapke, David Kuku, Jamarey Smith, Ishmael Gibbs and Kyle Peterson, all three-star prospects.

Greg Woods: Washington State beat writer for The Spokesman-Review