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Washington State lands oral pledge from four-star wide receiver Drue Jackson

Washington State oral commit and four-star wide receiver Drue Jackson (From Twitter)
By Theo Lawson theol@spokesman.com(509) 459-5584

The Cougars caught a big fish on the recruiting trail earlier this afternoon.

Drue Jackson, a four-star wide receiver according to Scout and Rivals, orally committed to Washington State at the end of a pep rally at Sachse High School (Texas), giving the Cougars even more depth at a position that should be plenty competitive in the coming years.

WSU beat out Utah and Texas Tech, the other schools Jackson listed as finalists prior to making his big announcement Friday afternoon.

Jackson had just three other suitors in the Pac-12 Conference – Oregon State, Utah and Colorado – but a handful of Power Five programs showed their interest in the Sachse receiver. He listed offers from Duke, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Louisville, Texas Tech and Wisconsin.

Jackson is the 42nd-ranked wide receiver in the country and 25th-ranked recruit in the state of Texas. At 6-1, 180 pounds, he’s primarily played on the outside for Sachse. Jackson’s caught 24 passes for 393 yards for three touchdowns this season and has led the Mustangs to a 7-0 start.

Cougars inside receivers coach Dave Nichol, a native of Dallas, was Jackson’s primary recruiter. Sachse, Texas, is situatued just outside of Dallas.

“Me and (Nichol) built a real good relationship throughout these last few years,” Jackson told Rivals. “He came out here last year in the spring talked in the talked for an hour, and he was just real.”

Jackson’s commitment gives WSU two four-star receivers in the class of 2018. Spokane’s Rodrick Fisher (East Valley) committed to Mike Leach and the Cougars in May and was tabbed a four-star recruit by 247Sports. The EV senior was recently selected as an U.S. Army All-American and will play in the East vs. West game on Jan. 6, 2018.

Jackson and Fisher will have to scratch and claw for playing time next season. The Cougars only lose two rotational wideouts – Robert Lewis, a slot receiver who hasn’t played this season because of an injury, and C.J. Dimry, who’s made only 10 catches in 2017.

Earlier this week, WSU also got a commitment from three-star defensive back D’Angelo McKenzie.