So here we are, signing day is upon us. All the hard work from Paul Wulff’s staff over the last year or more, and it all culminates today when 25 or so young men will fax their letters of intent, agreeing to join the Cougar family for the next 4-5 years. But the reality is that the choice they make today will stay with them for the rest of their lives, one way or another. So while some may downplay the excitement and extravaganza over a day like this, all the fawning and slurping of decisions 18-year old high school hotshots make today…..well, above all that it truly is the lifeblood of every program in the country. No games are played today, nobody truly wins or loses. But things that happen today will help shape the fortunes of the program for multiple seasons down the road. Love signing day or hate it, it’s a BIG day for WSU football.
With that, Longball has agreed to live blog the day’s events for you today. When announcements are made or rumors are floating out there, he’ll update this post with everything that is going on! And all of us will drop by throughout the day to belly up with some thoughts. Finally, Longball will be in Spokane tonight for the signing day announcements with Paul Wulff, and we should have a recap of that event by tomorrow.
And yeah, we know you are going to make several stops all over the internet today. There are some outstanding options for you, including the WSU official site with Signing Day Central, plus, ESPN, Cougfan, Cougcenter, etc. But we’ll do our best to add our 2 cents. So check back throughout the day, we’ll be here!
Read on for the latest updates…..
Update at 6:00 AM – Cougfan reported last night that offensive guard Alex Mitchell has committed to WSU. Mitchell is a 6-3, 300-pound guard from Portland, OR. Per Cougfan, Mitchell has a “nasty” disposition and was credited with 150 pancake blocks his senior year (wow!). He had some interest from a lot of Pac-10 schools, including some early interest from USC. Mitchell came in as the #99 guard in the country, so, it’s a nice get late in the game. Meanwhile, a JC offensive guard from Texas, Matt Goetz, has committed to WSU. Goetz is a former Texas Tech signee from 2009 who ended up going the JC route, and now, he’s headed for Pullman. Goetz is a former teammate of current WSU early enrolee Rico Forbes, an offensive lineman already taking classes in Pullman.
Update at 7:45 AM – Per WSUCougars.com Twitter feed, WSU has now received three LOI’s:
Spencer Waseem, 5-10 170 CB from Apopka high school in Orlando, FL
Max Hersey, 6-2, 233 MLB from Tacoma
Lenard Williams, 6-2, 245 DE JC transfer from Iowa Western JC
Update at 8:15 AM – Tim Huddleston
David Davis (DT) and Logan Mayes (OLB) are in. These are two of the guys in the class about whom I’m most excited. Just this week, I became even more excited about Davis. I believe it’s common knowledge that he’s the grandson of NFL Hall of Famer, Willie Davis. What I didn’t know until this week is that his dad is Duane Davis, AKA Alvin Mack, stud middle linebacker from “The Program”.
Of course, you may have heard of Logan Mayes’ dad, Cougar legend Reuben Mayes. That now concludes the awesome bloodlines portion of NLI day.
Update 8:28 AM – Longball
Just added DT TJ Polai and speedy safety Max Gama, who after the defection of Bishop Sankey, was our 2nd earliest commit in this class.
Update 8:50 AM – Longball
Matt Goetz and Tana Pritchard are IN! Goetz is a 6’4″ 270lb OL who was an 11th hour commit to Coach Wulff last night. Tana Pritchard is the athletic younger brother of former Stanford QB and USC slayer, Tavita Pritchard and the nephew of none other than… Jack Thompson. So we were not quite done with the awesome bloodlines portion of NLI day!
Update 9:05 AM – Longball
There is a guy on ESPN right now choosing between Auburn, Alabama and… New Mexico!?!?!?! Huh? Yeah, he did NOT choose New Mexico.
Update 9:12 AM – Longball
Mammoth OT Wendell Taiese is officially a Coug. This is my personal favorite signing of the day. I have never enjoyed watching film on a recruit this much. You actually feel sorry for the guys he’s up against. Check it out for yourself:
We also have added Brock Lutes, an athletic DE from Newberg, OR.
Update 9:20 AM – Longball
LB Darryl Paulo is a Coug! Paulo is one of the now famous “Grant 4”, once thought to be a package of friends who played together at Grant High in Sacramento. Alas, they have all ended up in different places, but all in the Pac-12 North. Paulo will be an intriguing prospect because of his size, a lot bigger than your usual Cougar linebacker, so some speculate that he ends up at DE.
Update 9:29 AM – Longball
We have landed Marcus Mason, a speedy RB from Entiwanda, CA.
Update 9:33 AM – Longball
DE Ian Knight, C Taylor Meighen, and OT Rico Forbes all have signed LOI’s in the early signing period for JC transfers. So I am adding them to the list below.
Update 9:51 AM – Longball
And there it is! Perhaps the most anticipated LOI of the day, Chester Sua is a Coug! The #15 LB in the country according to Scout, but Mr. Sua could aso star on the offensive end as a RB. Welcome aboard Chester, Mahalo!
Update 10:10 AM – Longball
Nothing has been more important to the Cougars success over the years then great QB play. Rejoice, Coug fans, cause we just landed a great QB, Cody Clements is a COUG!
Update 10:15 AM – Sean Hawkins
Grippi linked to a Sacramento Bee blog posting that the Cougs may have nabbed a last minute tight end commit, Mansel Simmons. We’ll see when the LOI is announced but Simmons was headed to Portland State before apparently changing his mind, per his high school coach.
Update 10:35 AM – Longball
A recruit on ESPN just anounced he is signing with Georgia (over Alabama) by pulling out a real live bulldog puppy. Cute and all, but dissapointing because if he chose Alabama it would have been a baby elephant!
Update 10:50 AM – Longball
Still waiting on DT Demtrius Cherry, DE Niko Aumua, WR Dominique Williams. Did I miss anyone? Cherry and Williams are especially big for us, so fingers crossed on those 2. Aumua is one of about 40 JC DE recruits in this class, but is an intersting pass rushing prospect so would love for him to get to a fax machine, STAT.
Ooops, forgot Eli Edwards. Still waiting on him too.
Update 11:05 AM – Longball
Dominique Williams is a Coug! The long, athletic wide receiver has been the subject of a lot of “Marques Wilson”-typs buzz. An under the radar guy who seems to have attracted a lot of attention form other schools once the Cougs uncovered him. Well we held on and he is a Coug!!!
Come on Demtrius Cherry!!!
Update 11:30 AM – Tim
Dockery Watch 2011: Our first real suspense of the day as we await the decision of Rahmel Dockery, WR/CB/Playmaker extrordanaire from Tacoma. I’m destroying refresh buttons right now. Come on, Rahmel. Do the right thing!
Update 11:36 AM – Longball
Preliminary reports that Demtrius Cherry is IN! For some reason he is not required to sign an LOI. Not sure why just yet.
Update 11:48 AM – Longball
WOOO HOOOO! Rahmel Dockery is a Coug! The WR from Tacoma was thought to be an Oregon State lean, but we reeled him in! Great athlete, he could be returning kicks for us on opening day. Update: Apparently Tana Pritchard was at Dockery’s announcement and they are cousins. The awesome bloodlines portion of NLI day just won’t stop!
Update 12:30 PM – Lucas Coug
Here are some Dockery highlight tapes for your viewing pleasure
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OCuUtsu1DMo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZnPqeQFqQac
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ruC_hcBV-5w
Per Wulff’s live chat, he expects to sign 26-28 kids. By my count that means 1-2 more, with Edwards and Aumua still outstanding from our commit list.
This cup of coffee is for Paul Wulff… Closer.
Update 2:37 PM – Longball
We have confirmation that Alex Mitchell, a big OL form Portland, has signed on with the Cougs. This was another late commit for coach Wulff and while he looks like just what the doctor ordered, a physical high school O-lineman, there are some questions about his academics.
The 2011 Class:
- Spencer Waseem, CB Orlando, FL
- Max Hersey, S Tacoma, WA
- Lenard Williams, DE Iowa Western JC
- David Davis, DT Palos Verdes Estates, CA
- Logan Mayes, LB Eugene, OR
- Max Gama, S La Mirada, CA
- TJ Polai, DT Sacramento, CA
- Matt Goetz, OG Cibolo, TX
- Tana Pritchard LB, Lakewood, WA
- Wendell Taiese OT, Oakland, CA
- Brock Lutes DE Newberg, OR
- Darryl Paulo LB, Sacramento, CA
- Marcus Mason RB, Entiwanda, CA
- Rico Forbes OT Corsicano, TX
- Taylor Meighen C Kilgore, TX
- Ian Knight, DE El Dorado, KS
- Chester Sua, LB Honolulu, HI
- Cody Clements QB Whittier, CA
- Dominique Williams WR Pamona, CA
- Demetrius Cherry DT Oak Ridge, CA
- Rahmel Dockery WR/CB Tacoma, WA
- Alex Mitchell OL Portland, OR
Note: Keep in mind folks, we have 7 guys already enrolled, so if you are keeping count, that means we are actually at 26 commits so far, since their LOI is a forgone conclusion.
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