Lineman Picks WSU Vancouver’S Billy Knotts Breaks Silence; Cougars Still In Running For Other Recruits

UNPUBLISHED CORRECTION: The name of football player Jeremey Williams is misspelled in this story. The correct spelling was confirmed by his mother.

Billy Knotts tried to keep his oral commitment to Washington State a secret.

And for the better part of five months he was successful.

But the 6-6, 230-pound lineman from Columbia River High School in Vancouver, Wash. finally let it slip out over the weekend that he would be a Cougar next season.

“I didn’t want to worry about it during the football season so I just committed over the summer and then didn’t tell anyone about it,” he said. “But it finally got to the point where people kept talking and asking, so I thought it was time to just go ahead and say something.”

Of course, Knotts never really debated going anywhere else. Both his parents graduated from WSU. And by the time he came to WSU football camp over the summer he knew Pullman was where he wanted to go.

“No question,” he said. “I knew the camp would give them a good chance to look at me and when they offered I knew it was where I wanted to go.”

Knotts is currently working on adding considerable weight to his frame and might be tried out as an offensive tackle for the Cougars.

Washington State also remains in the running for several other players. Tight end Josh Shavies (6-6, 240), the brother of current Cougar Fred Shavies, visited during Apple Cup weekend and has said WSU is the leader over Cal, Washington, Arizona and USC.

Deon Burnett, a 6-foot, 185-pound running back from Claremont, Calif., is scheduled to visit WSU this weekend. Burnett, who runs a 4.4-second, 40-yard dash had 2,568 yards and 29 touchdowns this season.

Jeremy Williams, a 6-5, 250-pound tackle from Spokane’s Ferris High, also had Washington State atop his list but still has several visits left.