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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Still Looking For A Few Good Men Recruiting Against Best Programs Has Put WSU In A Hole, Price Admits

Steve Bergum Staff Writer

The unexpected success experienced by Washington State on the football field this fall has apparently not carried over into the recruiting arena.

Cougars coach Mike Price admitted Wednesday that early recruiting returns have not been as encouraging as in recent years. And he fixed part of the blame on a decision to go head to head against some of the nation’s elite college programs for some of the nation’s top high school prospects.

“We tended to bite off a little more than we could chew,” Price said in an interview conducted on a car phone while he was recruiting in Los Angeles. “We were competing for talent against some of the top 10 programs in the country and we didn’t come out on top.

“We gave it the effort and we were in the hunt. We got visits, but we got disappointed.”

As a result, only a handful of prep recruits have gone public with plans to attend WSU. And next Wednesday is the national letter of intent signing day.

In addition, Price has learned that neither John Tialavea nor Dorian Boose, a pair of junior-college players who originally signed with the Cougars out of high school, will enroll as expected this semester.

Both failed to obtain their AA degrees.

Boose, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive lineman from Walla Walla, might still complete his degree over the summer and enroll next fall. But Price indicated Tialavea, a 6-5, 250-pound defensive end from Snow (Utah) Community College, was no longer in the Cougars’ plans because of his grades.

The only in-state high school players who have publicly made oral commitments to WSU are Gonzaga Prep linebacker Steve Gleason and Torry Hollimon, a defensive back and running back from Everett Cascade.

Price said, however, that at least six other high school prospects have indicated their intentions to sign with the Cougars. And he added that as many as a dozen recruits are expected on campus this weekend.

“It’s coming down to this weekend,” Price said. “It’s real important to us.”

But he added that it was also important to refocus last-minute recruiting efforts on the type of athletes that have served WSU so well in recent years.

The Cougars went 8-4 this season after beating Baylor in the Alamo Bowl, and finished the year ranked 21st in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

The bowl trip was WSU’s second in three seasons. So was the national ranking.

“We’ve got to remember what got us into the Top 25 - guys like Torey Hunter and people like that who might not have been the most highly recruited athletes in the country,” Price said. “We have to remember where we’re from and who we are and concentrate on just doing the best job we can.

“We’re beating some good schools on the field, but we’re still not beating everybody in recruiting.”

On the positive side, the Cougars have picked up some transfer recruits who are already on campus and eligible to participate in spring practice.

Among them are Shad Hinchen, a 6-0, 175-pound defensive back from Saddleback (Calif.) Junior College and David Evans, a 6-5, 255-pound defensive end from Phoenix Junior College.

James Curtis, a highly touted 205-pound running back from San Diego State University, is also on campus. But WSU officials said they are still awaiting word on when he will become eligible under the NCAA’s transfer rule.

In addition, Michael Jackson and Jon Ottenbreit, who signed with the Cougars out of high school last year but opted to sit out the fall semester, have enrolled at WSU.

Jackson, a 6-3 tight end, has put on almost 30 pounds and is up to 280, according to Price.

The Cougars also landed one of the top in-state lineman from last season when Cascade’s Paul Mickelbart, a 6-4, 285-pounder, decided to transfer from Notre Dame. Mickelbart can participate in spring drills, but will not be eligible to play until the 1996 season.

Price said he plans to sign 18 high school prospects next Wednesday, which will bring his number of new recruits to 24, one under the NCAA limit.

He added that several of those prospects will be running backs, but he indicated he has been unable, thus far, to land the big, power runner that he so sorely needs in his one-back spread passing game.

“We are going to sign some running backs,” Price explained, “but they’re going to be running-back, wide-receiver, defensive-back types - athletes. So it might be hard to tell which ones are going to stay at running back and which ones are going to move to A back, linebacker or defensive back.”

Price said did not recruit any high school lineman.

“We don’t need them,” he said.