Price Lauds Recruiting Class As Among His Best At WSU
Coach Mike Price readily admitted Wednesday afternoon that his latest Washington State football recruiting class might look a bit unorthodox on paper.
But he warned against translating “unorthodox” into “can’t play.”
“We’ve had the worst weather we’ve had in the seven years I’ve been here and we’re coming off one of our worst records (3-8),” Price explained, “but this is one of the best recruiting classes we’ve ever had.
“It’s just unusual and a little bit unorthodox, but it’s a really good class. Being unorthodox doesn’t mean bad around me.”
The Cougars announced the signing of 21 recruits to national letters of intent Wednesday, including five who enrolled in school last month.
Those five - which include junior-college transfers Jeff Banks (punter), Michael Black (running back) and Kevin McKenzie (slotback), along with 287-pound offensive lineman Bryan Chiu, a junior transfer from Pacific, and Ivan Mercer, a 6-foot-7 freshman tight end who did not attend college last semester - do not count against this year’s limit of 25 scholarships.
The other 16 include 14 high-school recruits and junior college transfers D.J. Mitchell, a big-time cornerback prospect from Sacramento (Calif.) City College, and Mickey Long, a 6-5, 285-pound defensive tackle from Orange Coast (Calif.) JC.
Not included on the list of new signees are four Prop 48 casualties from last year’s class - defensive linemen Malcolm Stewart, Eboni Wilson and Jesse Radcliff and defensive back Nian Taylor - who are paying their own way to attend WSU this year and who count as members of this recruiting class.
It all means that Price has five more scholarships to give and he said he hopes to announce three or four more signees by the end of the week.
WSU’s latest recruiting class does not contain any highly sought prep stars like those of recent years, but it does boast fewer prospects who are at risk academically.
Price said all but one of his new recruits has already qualified academically. He refused, however, to name the recruit who has not qualified.
Price said the most impressive thing about his new recruits is that that 10 or 12 could contribute as early as next fall.
“Sometimes you can say, ‘Hey, they’re going to win four years from now,’ ” he explained, “but these guys are going to help us win games next year.”
All 14 of the prep signees have been pencilled in for redshirt seasons next fall. But Price said the five players who enrolled last semester, along with the Prop 48 additions, the two new JC transfers and a couple of other transfers who will be announced later, will probably make the depth chart by the start of the 1996 season.
“I guess you would prefer to just go out and recruit 25 high school kids - all qualifiers - that have a 1200 (SAT) and a 3.4 grade point,” Price said. “But that’s not the way it worked out.
“We just can’t go to Parade Magazine and pick out 25 (prep all-Americans) and say, ‘Let’s recruit these 25.’ We’ve had to turn over every rock and do things different. But I feel like this recruiting class is really, really good.”
Price said he was unable to recruit any high-profile prep quarterbacks because of the presence of redshirt freshman Ryan Leaf, who performed splendidly after taking over the starting job late last fall.
But he added that he felt the signing of Lewis and Clark’s Paul Mencke, a physically gifted 6-5 slinger, was “a steal.”
“I think this kid is going to fill out and be a helluva quarterback,” Price said of the 205-pounder. “I’m sure glad we got him.”
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