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Washington State recruiting director Josh Omura leaves program for Arizona

Washington State head coach Jake Dickert directs his team during a game against BYU on Oct. 23 at Gesa Field in Pullman. (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
By Colton Clark The Spokesman-Review

PULLMAN – With national signing day on the horizon, Washington State’s recruiting department is being reshaped.

Josh Omura, the Cougars’ recruiting director, has been hired by the University of Arizona to serve as the Wildcats’ point man on high school recruiting.

Arizona confirmed the development Tuesday – a little more than a week before college football’s signing day on Wednesday. Based on his Twitter activity, Omura was still working with WSU up until about midway through this month.

He’ll be joining quarterback Jayden de Laura in Tucson. De Laura, WSU’s starter the past two seasons, transferred to Arizona on Jan. 11.

Omura had been hired out of Hawaii by the Pullman school last February to fill a new position in former coach Nick Rolovich’s staff: director of transfer recruiting. About five months later, Omura was moved into the director’s role.

It’s not clear who will replace him. WSU’s staff features two recruiting assistants in Marco Regalado and Ray Clark, but their duties for 2022 haven’t been revealed.

Regalado oversaw the Cougars’ on-campus recruiting efforts last season after five years working various jobs at the prep level in his home state of Texas.

Clark’s hiring hasn’t been made official by WSU, but he recently updated his Twitter bio, which reads “Washington State Football Recruiting.” He spent last year as a secondary assistant at Idaho after a year in a similar role at the University of San Diego, his alma mater.

Clark also made stops at NAIA Montana State-Northern in 2018 and Division II Augustana (South Dakota) in 2019. First-year WSU coach Jake Dickert coordinated Augustana’s defense in 2013.

WSU staffer Justin Mesa, who took over as director of transfer recruiting last summer, has made the move to offensive analyst, according to his Twitter page.

The Cougars seem to be progressing well on the recruiting trail despite the recent shuffling in their recruiting department. WSU has secured commitments from four prep prospects in the past week. The program’s staff members are spread out around the country , scouting for talent.