Washington State notebook: Cougs juggling transfers, coaching departures, recruiting trips and bowl prep

PULLMAN – Washington State coach Jake Dickert has mixed feelings about the transfer portal.

Over the past two weeks, 12 of his players announced their intentions to leave WSU and joined the NCAA’s version of a free-agency market, which has reportedly claimed more than 1,500 players nationwide since the start of the month.

“That’s the new college football we all wanted, I guess,” Dickert said Friday during a news conference. “The grass isn’t always greener.”

Eight of those Cougars in the portal had yet to earn significant playing time at WSU, and are searching for new homes where they might see the field earlier in their careers.

“A lot of those guys … haven’t played here and want new opportunities,” Dickert said. “I support that.”

The other four had assumed key roles for the Cougars, but elected to give up their spots atop WSU’s depth chart and will now have to prove themselves elsewhere.

“When you earn your way at a place, at a Power Five (program), it’s not always easier to just go somewhere else and restart it,” Dickert said. “The guys in that locker room are what we’re focused on. We’re excited about building off of the foundation that we really laid this year, and we want to do it with the people that want to be here.”

The Cougars (7-5), like many teams around the country, will take a shorthanded roster into their season finale. WSU meets Mountain West champion Fresno State on Dec. 17 in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

The Bulldogs (9-4) have lost three players to the transfer portal this month, including just one player of note , starting cornerback Cale Sanders Jr.

For WSU, two position groups were ravaged by the portal.

Outside receivers De’Zhaun Stribling and Donovan Ollie, two-year starters who combined for over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns this season, both said goodbye to the Cougars earlier this month.

So did Francisco Mauigoa and Travion Brown, who shared reps at middle linebacker this year and totaled 109 tackles and 10½ tackles for loss.

“It does suck seeing guys leave, especially guys that you have built a relationship with over the years,” said tailback Nakia Watson, who spent his first three collegiate seasons at Wisconsin before transferring to WSU in 2021. “But I transferred, and at the end of the day, it’s business. You gotta do what’s best for you, so I definitely respect their decisions.”

WSU will also be missing All-Pac-12 linebacker Daiyan Henley, an NFL draft prospect who opted out of the LA Bowl, and senior slot receiver Renard Bell, who is still dealing with the lingering effects of an injury and doesn’t want to risk any further damage. Dickert said no other players have opted out of the bowl game.

“Everyone eventually has to do what’s best for them,” edge rusher Ron Stone Jr. said. “If you have a bright career or have a promising career elsewhere, or you plan on going elsewhere, I see no fault in it. I’d love to see some of those guys play in the bowl, but if they don’t think it’s the right decision, I won’t hold them to it.”

The Cougars are promoting veteran backup linebackers Kyle Thornton and Ben Wilson to make their first WSU starts.

Senior Robert Ferrel, the Cougars’ No. 2 receiver this year (517 yards, four touchdowns), will be the best option in the passing game. Otherwise, the Cougars will count on junior reserve Lincoln Victor (216 yards) and several young receivers to fill the void.

“There was a little bit of uncertainty over the past couple of days, just kinda weird vibes,” Victor said. “Obviously, (we were) just unsure of what could happen next.”

Victor, a team captain, addressed the recent attrition during a player-led practice, held this week while WSU coaches were out on the road recruiting.

“I got up in the circle and told the guys, ‘Hey, if you want to be here, be here. But if you don’t, get out.’ That’s the honest truth,” he said. “If you’re not willing to work hard and sacrifice time … then this place ain’t for you. We’re not gonna get the big NIL (name, image and likeness) deals. We’re not gonna get the big-time recruits. We’re gonna get guys who work hard and guys who have that chip on their shoulder and can get it the grimy and tough way.

“It was a little confusing at some points, but I think we got it cleared up and guys are ready to play.”

On the bright side, the transfer portal is sure to benefit WSU at some point during the offseason. After all, a few of the Cougars’ best players this year began their collegiate careers elsewhere – such as Watson, Ferrel, Henley and quarterback Cameron Ward.

Busy stretch for WSU

The Cougars are juggling transfers, coaching departures, recruiting trips and bowl prep.

“You just keep putting one foot in front of the other,” Dickert said. “We’re looking out the windshield, looking out at the opportunity that’s ahead of us and we’re looking forward to doing that with the people that are in the locker room. There’s been a lot of things that have happened in the last seven days.”

Dickert is getting reacclimated to his former role. The first-year head coach and former two-year WSU defensive coordinator/linebackers coach will call plays for the Cougars’ defense and mentor LBs at the LA Bowl in place of Brian Ward, who served as WSU’s DC and LBs coach this season but recently left the program to take the DC position at Arizona State.

A.J. Cooper, the Cougars’ edge-rushers coach over the past three seasons, is reportedly joining Ward at ASU.

Dickert, defensive tackles coach Pete Kaligis and grad assistant Max Silver are working together to keep the “edges” sharp until WSU finds Cooper’s replacement.

“Just as players need to do what’s best for them, coaches need to do what’s best for themselves,” Stone said. “That’s (Cooper’s) home state. It happens all the time. It’s great that players have the opportunity nowadays to face the same realities, and coaches kinda have to share in those pains that players used to always have to deal with alone.”

The Cougars returned to a regular practice schedule on Friday. Coaches devoted the past week to recruiting. Considering everything that’s on his plate, Dickert admitted that WSU is a little behind on game-planning for Fresno State.

“We’re still working on that,” he said. “I’ve been watching a lot of tape through a lot of plane rides. I’ve really been all over the country recruiting in the last seven days.”

After the Cougars head to L.A. on Tuesday, the recruiting work won’t end for Dickert. He’ll split his time conducting pre-bowl practices and visiting with prospects as he tries to lock down commitments ahead of the NCAA’s early signing period, which opens Dec. 21.

“It’s gonna be incredible to be flying in and out of LAX and still being in people’s homes, and trying to balance both things,” Dickert said. “It’s all about balance, then to (sort out) some coaching changes and to jump back into the game-planning part.

“Never lock your knees. I know this – when Dec. 22 comes, I’m not moving from the couch. Until then, it’s 24/7 and we’re rolling.”

Unfortunately for the Cougars, the LA Bowl lands in the middle of an official visit weekend (Dec. 16-18). Dickert said the NCAA will not provide WSU an extra day for visits, “as of now.”

“I think the NCAA needs to look at moving signing day before the bowl games,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a great idea to have signing day after it. You get excited, you earn a reward, then somehow you get penalized in recruiting.

“We lost an official visit weekend and we also lost a week of recruiting on the road,” he added. “There’s some challenges to this bowl week and the bowl prep, but we’re going to have our guys ready to go out there and play, and they’re going to be excited to take the field as a team one last time in ’22.”

Reserve cornerback enters portal

Justin Anderson, a deep-reserve cornerback at Washington State, has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

Anderson appeared in three games over the past two seasons. He recorded two tackles, broke up one pass and forced a fumble against Arizona in 2021. Anderson joined the team in 2020, but did not play in his first year at WSU.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder from Palo Alto, California, joined the Cougars out of Menlo-Atherton High as a three-star prospect and the No. 94 cornerback in the country, according to 247Sports.com.

Anderson is the 12th WSU player to enter the transfer portal since the regular season ended.

Linebacker Bohannon commits to WSU

Washington State’s football program secured a commitment Saturday from Tristan Bohannon, a prep linebacker out of Tennessee.

Bohannon, who has yet to receive a star rating from 247Sports.com, chose WSU over offers from Memphis and five FCS suitors.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder earned all-region honors as a senior this season at Munford High – just north of Memphis. He helped his team to an 11-1 record. The Munford Cougars fell in the second round of the Tennessee Class 5A state playoffs.

Bohannon joins 15 other commits in WSU’s 2023 recruiting class. The NCAA’s early signing period opens Dec. 21.