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Washington State’s Jamire Calvin to enter portal as graduate transfer

In his final season with Washington State, wide receiver Jamire Calvin totaled 17 receptions for 183 yards and one touchdown.  (Associated Press)

Washington State went to extreme lengths to convince Jamire Calvin to begin his college football career in Pullman, but it appears the former four-star receiver will finish it elsewhere.

Calvin, one of the highest-rated recruits to sign at Washington State and someone who was projected to reclaim his starting position in the fall, announced Friday night he’ll be entering the NCAA transfer portal as a graduate transfer.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank the Washington State coaches, staff, fans and faculty for everything that they have done for me in the last couple years,” Calvin wrote in a Twitter graphic. “It has been a great ride and I have had some of the most memorable moments and will cherish them forever! With that being said I have to do what is best for me and my future and I am announcing that I am officially in the transfer portal as a grad transfer.

“This was one of the hardest decisions I have had to make. I will dearly miss the town of Pullman and all the people and fans who supported my teammates and I… I will always be a Coug for life!”

Although his career in Pullman was shortened by injuries, Calvin took advantage of his time in the Air Raid and run-and-shoot offenses, catching 92 passes for 980 yards and five touchdowns.

Under first-year head coach Nick Rolovich, Calvin won a starting spot at the “Z” outside receiver position, reeling in 17 passes for 183 yards and one touchdown in four games last season.

WSU’s season opener at Oregon State marked Calvin’s first football game in 680 days. A Jones fracture in his foot, sustained during the team’s winter workouts, caused Calvin to miss spring camp in 2019. Calvin reinjured himself over the summer, keeping him off the field during what would’ve been his junior season.

“The hardest part was honestly just being where your feet are, because you can look forward and say when I heal up, it is what it is,” Calvin told The Spokesman-Review before the 2020 season.

“It’s easy then, but when you’re in it and you have to live it day by day, you’re on campus with the scooter and stuff, it’s just being where your feet are was the hardest part.”

The Cougars won a competitive recruiting battle with Nebraska to land the services of Calvin, a Pasadena, California, native who decommitted from the Cornhuskers and Oregon State before that. Calvin committed to WSU on national signing day in 2017, becoming the 13th highest-rated player to join the Cougars and the fourth highest-rated receiver.

Although Calvin was projected to be one of the team’s top four receivers, along with Travell Harris, Renard Bell and Calvin Jackson Jr., the Cougars should have plenty of depth at wideout in Rolovich’s second season. Along with the three mentioned above, WSU should return Lucas Bacon, Joey Hobert, Jay Wilkerson, Donovan Ollie, Billy Pospisil, Brandon Gray, Cedrick Pellum and Marshawn Buchanan. In the 2021 signing class, the Cougars added four more receivers: CJ Moore, Orion Peters, Joshua Meredith and De’Zhaun Stribling.

Since the 2020 season ended, five players other than Calvin have entered the transfer portal: kicker Blake Mazza, offensive guard Hunter Mayginnes, fullback/running back Clay Markoff, safety Tyrese Ross and quarterback Gunner Cruz.