Washington State safety Hunter Escorcia enters NCAA transfer portal

PULLMAN – Hunter Escorcia, who served on Washington State’s scout team this year as a deep-reserve safety, entered the NCAA transfer portal on Tuesday.

Escorcia appeared in seven games between 2020-21 but did not see the field this season.

The 6-foot-1, 198-pounder out of Murrieta, California, worked primarily on special teams as a true freshman in 2020 and made his first career start at strong safety in the Cougars’ season finale at Utah that season, recording four tackles and recovering a fumble. Escorcia was one of just three scholarship safeties available for that game. WSU’s 2020 season was heavily affected by coronavirus-related absences.

He played in three games the following season, mostly on special teams, and redshirted. Escorcia took reps at safety off the bench late in a blowout win over Arizona.

He rotated in with the Cougars’ first team at free safety during spring camp last year but fell out of the race this fall.

Escorcia was a three-star recruit and the No. 76 prep safety in the nation (247Sports) coming out of Vista Murrieta High. He chose WSU over Utah and several Group of Five offers.

Escorcia is one of 16 Cougars players to enter the portal since the end of the season. The majority of them were reserves at WSU. Five starters left the program over the past month – left tackle Jarrett Kingston, receivers De’Zhaun Stribling and Donovan Ollie, and linebackers Travion Brown and Francisco Mauigoa.

Mauigoa signed with Miami, Brown went to Arizona State and Stribling joined Oklahoma State. Kingston and Ollie are still looking for new homes.