Groups to
tackle discrimination at WSU
Five
groups will address student demands for inclusiveness
By Taylor
Nadauld, Moscow Pullman Daily News
Feb 8,
2018
Nearly six
months after Washington State University student groups made demands for a more
inclusive campus climate, the university announced working groups will begin
addressing those demands and making recommendations on improvements throughout
2018.
Five
groups, consisting of more than 110 WSU faculty, staff and students, have been
assigned to address five priorities identified by the community to improve
campus climate, according to a news release from WSU News.
Those
priorities include examining WSU's Executive Policy 15, which prohibits
discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct; reviewing cultural
competency and ally trainings offered by WSU; reviewing campus cultural and
resource centers; diversifying WSU faculty and staff; and focusing on
gender-inclusive and trans support.
WSU Vice
President of Marketing and Communication Phil Weiler said the topics the groups
will tackle are issues faced by many universities across the country, including
WSU.
"We
want to be able to deal with this in a way that will result in meaningful
change for the university," Weiler told the Daily News. "I think that
we have laid the groundwork to make sure that these different groups are going
to be successful."
The
announcement comes nearly eight months after WSU President Kirk Schulz
announced an institutional initiative to address campus climate and culture
issues last June.
Since
then, Schulz and other community leaders traveled to American Samoa to
understand the needs of Samoan students on campus after a series of arrests of
Samoan Cougar football players sparked an outcry against racial bias from the
WSU community.
Last
August, WSU minority groups and allies held a sit-in outside the Office of the
President, where they shared stories of racism they had experienced on campus
and criticized administrators for a perceived lack of action taken to prevent
racism at WSU.
There,
members of the Black Student Union, the Gender and Sexuality Alliance, the
Asian Pacific American Student Coalition and other minority groups called upon
the immediate action of Schulz, Kimberly Anderson of the Office of Equal
Opportunity, Board of Regents Vice Chair Ron Sims and Provost Dan Bernardo to
implement five actions to reduce racism at WSU.
Those
actions included creating policy defining free speech versus hate speech;
implementing cultural competency and ally training for all first-year students,
faculty and staff; retaining and protecting critical culture, gender and race
studies and resource centers; hiring more staff and faculty of color; and
creating more gender-inclusive facilities.
Student
group leaders have since openly criticized the administration for failing to
meet their demands on time.
Weiler
said there had been back and forth email communications between student group
leaders and WSU administrators regarding the issue last year, and that the
administration did not hear back from student leaders on a draft rewrite of
Executive Policy 15 that Weiler said was sent in October.
Weiler
said while he supports what the students are asking for, some demands have been
difficult to address, including defining free speech versus hate speech.
"Legally
(hate speech) doesn't have a definition. Most of the time, what people would
identify as hate speech is actually protected speech," Weiler said.
"You can say really horrible, horrible things and still be within the
bounds of the law."
/////////////
New
signing system rules? Even WSU’s Leach might like it
By Dale
Grummert, Lewiston Trib
8 Feb 2018
Because
the early signing period in college football involved a rule change by the
NCAA, Mike Leach was predisposed to dislike it.
But after
completing what he considers his best recruiting class as Washington State
coach, he spoke almost fondly of the new arrangement.
“Typically
these rules are lousy or temporary,” said Leach, a frequent critic of NCAA
legislation. “I think this one went remarkably seamless (for his program), all
things considered. You’re talking about a pretty far-reaching rule that
encompasses a lot of things. But I thought it really did go quite smoothly —
smoother than I thought it would, too.”
The
Cougars announced the acquisition of four players as the traditional signing
period opened Wednesday, nudging the total WSU crop to 24.
Signed
from the junior-college ranks were defensive lineman Misiona Aiolupotea-Pei and
receiver Calvin Jackson Jr. Entering the Pullman school as freshmen are
offensive lineman Blake McDonald and defensive back Tyrese Ross. All are
three-star prospects.
The
Cougars had announced 20 acquisitions during the new early signing period in
December, including four-star quarterback Camm Cooper and highly regarded
running back Max Borghi, who listened to 11th-hour overtures from Stanford for
a couple of days before committing to WSU.
So the
class includes one QB, one running back, five receivers, five offensive
linemen, four defensive linemen, two linebackers, one rush specialist, four
defensive backs and one “athlete.” (It also includes three players named
Jackson.)
Leach,
entering his seventh season at WSU, reiterated his opinion that “it’s the best
class we’ve had since I’ve been here. ... I think it’s a pretty complete class,
as far as the positions, and again size and speed. I think we did a pretty good
job of covering that.”
The early
signing period perhaps mitigated the effects on recruiting of four recent
departures from Leach’s coaching staff. The latest to leave is offensive-line
coach Clay McGuire, who is headed for his alma mater, Texas Tech, as
co-offensive coordinator and running-backs coach, the Texas school acknowledged
Wednesday.
The
departure no doubt drew a wince from Leach, who has employed McGuire for a
decade and also coached him at Texas Tech — a school Leach wound up leaving in
messy circumstances. Asked about the move, Leach alluded to the
less-than-secure job status of Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
McGuire
“has to figure out if that’s a good decision,” Leach said. “I mean, from his
standpoint, he’s going back home. But then also they’re on thin ice around
there, and if you fall through the ice then you’re leaving home pretty quick
too probably. I just wish him the best of luck.”
Earlier,
Leach lost defensive coordinator Alex Grinch to Ohio State, utility defensive
coach Roy Manning to UCLA and running-backs coach Jim Mastro to Oregon.
Three prep
signees — Cooper, Borghi and receiver Rodrick Fisher — have already enrolled at
WSU and will participate in spring drills. The early arrival should be
especially valuable to Cooper, a gifted 6-4 quarterback from Utah who will
probably draw consideration for active duty this year.
“Real hard
worker, smart, continuing to grow,” Leach said of Cooper. “Inordinately fast
for a guy built like him. Just a very alert, on-top-of-it, committed player.
And explosive too.”
Borghi, a
versatile running back from Colorado, dismayed Cougar fans with his hesitation
when the early signing period began, but he wound up sealing his commitment two
days later.
“The two
days were just a matter of constant communication — it came down to us and
Stanford,” Leach said. “Max really liked the setting here — the campus and the
closeness that exists. You’d have to ask him, but I felt like the chemistry
that everybody had was one of the big factors.”
One of the
more intriguing new Cougars is Aiolupotea-Pei, who grew up playing rugby in New
Zealand and is relatively new to football.
“Athletically,
he’s really good,” Leach said. “... We’ve just got to teach him the game.”
Leach held
back one scholarship from the yearly maximum of 25, possibly earmarking it for
another quarterback in light of the recent death of presumed starter Tyler
Hilinski.
Wednesday’s
signings
Misiona
Aiolupotea-Pei — DL, 6-3, 260, Keebra Park State High, Gold Coast Australia, Riverside
(Calif.) City College … second-team All-Southern California JC as soph, made 41
tackles and 5.5 sacks.
Calvin
Jackson Jr. — WR, 5-11, 175, Pompano Beach, Fla., Coral Springs Charter,
Independence CC … 25 catches for 381 yards and four TDs as soph … three stars
by ESPN.
Blake
McDonald — OL, 6-5, 315, Danville, Calif., San Ramon Valley High … three stars
by 247Sports, which ranked him No. 31 among guard prospects nationally.
Tyrese
Ross — DB, 6-0, 180, Jacksonville, Fla., Westlake High, Atlanta. … three stars
by 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals ... No. 66 safety prospect by ESPN.
////////////
SPOKANE
School
officials ponder football fields and the future of Joe Albi Stadium
Thu., Feb.
8, 2018, 6 a.m.
By Thomas
Clouse Spokane S-R
As city
and school officials in Spokane study plans to build a downtown stadium for
football games, two other local school districts are asking voters to take
matters into their own hands.
The two
biggest bond requests that go before area voters for the Feb. 13 special
election are the $114.5 million bond request by the Mead School District and
the $129.9 million bond by the Central Valley School District. Both include
building new football stadiums.
The Mead
bond includes a $21.67 million proposal to build a performing arts/athletic
stadium that would house football games for both Mt. Spokane and Mead high
schools. Both schools now rely upon scheduling games at the 68-year-old Joe
Albi Stadium.
“This is a
process that started a couple years ago,” Mead Superintendent Tom Rockefeller
said. “This isn’t just a football stadium. It includes three soccer fields, a
baseball/softball complex and two gym structures that we are going to keep and
update.”
For
Central Valley school officials, the proposal for a new high school would also
include a football stadium and facilities for soccer, baseball and softball, just
like those provided at Central Valley and University high schools, Deputy
Superintendent Jay Rowell said.
“We want
to make sure each school has the same amenities so students have the same
opportunities,” Rowell said.
Central
Valley spokeswoman Marla Nunberg said sharing a stadium, like Spokane schools
share Joe Albi, would be counter to the goals of creating a new kinship for the
school, which would be built at 16th Avenue and Henry Road in the Saltese area.
“It allows
us to build an identity and culture around the new high school,” she said.
“Clearly, we have huge traditions with our Titans and our Bears. There would be
new traditions with the new school.”
Albi
uncertainty
The
unknowns surrounding Albi Stadium were a consideration – but not a driving
factor – in the decision to ask voters to pay for the new Mead stadium,
Rockefeller said.
“Joe Albi
is just one piece of the bigger puzzle we are trying to solve,” he said. North
Spokane does not have “a lot of parks out here so we become the place where all
the club sports are playing soccer, baseball, football and lacrosse. We are
becoming a big enough community that we need to provide that.”
As Mead
and Central Valley voters decide on the new stadiums when ballots are counted
Tuesday, Spokane Schools officials continue to look at the concept of either
downsizing Albi, or abandoning the stadium and building a new venue downtown.
The Albi
question is unrelated to Spokane Schools’ levy request that would continue
funding staffing levels, extracurricular activities including sports and school
safety officers.
Spokane
Schools officials are expected as soon as March to hear back from consultants
and architects about the feasibility and cost of building a new sports stadium
in downtown Spokane that would be located on city-owned land bordered by Boone
Avenue to the north and east of the Spokane Arena.
If built,
it would allow the city to demolish Joe Albi Stadium and build more soccer
fields to expand the potential of the Dwight Merkel Sports Complex. The plan
would still leave the school district 20 acres near Albi to build a new middle
school, said Mark Anderson, associate superintendent for the Spokane School
District.
While the
plan would rely on existing parking at the Spokane Arena, the district hired a
consulting firm out of Florida, Sports Facility Management, to help leaders
determine how much the stadium would be used and the potential for other events
that it could provide.
“Parking
is part of the solution,” Spokane Schools spokesman Kevin Morrison said. “That
comes up in every conversation. At Albi, there is no restriction on parking.
But parking is at a premium downtown. What kind of additional facilities would
it require?”
Rick
Romero, the city’s former utilities director, recently rejoined the city to
handle special projects, including the options for a potential downtown
stadium.
But
Morrison and Anderson said school officials have been clear as to their
expectations: The downtown stadium must have enough parking for visiting and
home parents and be free, just like the parking at Albi Stadium.
As the
feasibility study continues, school officials also asked Spokane-based ALSC
Architects to update the projected cost of the stadium. In 2013, the firm
estimated the stadium would cost $23.7 million.
“We’ve
asked them to update their cost analysis and determine whether there is a big
enough footprint of land the city owns for a downtown stadium,” Anderson said.
Facelift
for Albi
1951: The
stands are packed with spectators during a football game at Memorial Stadium,
now known as Joe Albi Stadium.
1951: The
stands are packed with spectators during a football game at Memorial Stadium,
now known as Joe Albi Stadium.
The other
option would be to dramatically downsize 28,626-seat Albi Stadium, which once
regularly hosted football games for Washington State University, Eastern
Washington University and even preseason games for NFL teams. The Seattle
Seahawks last hosted a game there in 1976.
As part of
this option, Spokane Schools would pay to reduce the stadium to about 7,000
seats at a time when schools have been struggling to fill the stands.
The
downsizing would reduce the need for parking and allow room on 20 acres for one
of three proposed middle schools that officials say they need to reduce number
of students in classrooms in elementary schools throughout the district.
Anderson
said the same architectural-firm study from 2013 put the cost of stadium
renovation at $18.1 million. That cost analysis is being updated.
“We are
hoping that both of these (studies) come together by the first of March,” Anderson
said. “Where Albi is located currently, they may not be able to bring as many
other activities as you would to downtown. That’s why the city is interested.”
When the
consultants and architects bring back the potential uses and costs, school and
city leaders will then turn to taxpayers for funding.
“Once we
have the facts, we will be asking the community what they think,” Anderson
said. “We either need to downsize Albi or build it somewhere else. We want the
community to be behind either option.”
Photo shows Spokane’s Joe Albi Stadium during a WSU spring
football game:
///////////////////
Washington
State heads to Oregon State hoping to snap out of five-game skid
UPDATED:
Wed., Feb. 7, 2018, 4:35 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson Spokesman-Review
WSU at OSU
men’s basketball
PAC-12
CONFERENCE
Oregon
State’s Gill Coliseum, Corvallis
➤ Thursday, Feb. 8:
Washington State Cougars at Oregon State Beavers, 7:30 p.m. PT TV: Pac-12
Networks
PULLMAN –
Washington State basketball players are cognizant of the fact that they sit in
the Pac-12’s basement, and it’s not much use reminding them of all the ways
they’ve regressed since their golden month of November.
Yes, the
Cougars (9-13, 1-9) know where they stand. While brief film reviews of their
five-game Pac-12 skid might help correct a few errors, simply dwelling on the
past won’t help them heal.
“We can
look at tapes and see mistakes again and again and again, and we can correct
them as best as we can,” WSU coach Ernie Kent said Tuesday during his weekly
news conference. “… We’ve gotten to the point where we don’t let the players
look at a lot of film.
“When you
talk about going through the losses, you talk about academics, you talk about
practice, you talk about rehab and then let’s sit in a dark room, turn the
lights off and let you see all the negative stuff on the screen. That’s not a
very good way to coach all the time. … They know they turned the ball over too
much. I don’t need to tell them.”
Turnovers
were fatal for the Cougars Sunday in an 88-78 home loss to then 25th-ranked
Arizona State. WSU committed 18, leading to 34 Sun Devils points on the other
end.
The
Cougars believe, and with good reason, they could have staged an upset of ASU
had they committed only a fraction of those turnovers. They were in command of
the game early, leading by as many as eight points, and had the Sun Devils in a
deadlock with 5 minutes, 53 seconds to play.
“We’re not
that far off, either, as I look at tape and see the little things that we still
need to constantly clean up,” Kent said.
“I
definitely think we’re very close,” WSU forward Robert Franks said. … “We’re a
couple missing things away from having a perfect game.”
After
consecutive games against ranked foes, the degree of difficulty should at least
become a tad easier for the Cougars, who head to Oregon for games against the
10th-place Oregon State Beavers (11-11, 3-7) and sixth-place Oregon Ducks
(15-8, 5-5).
Neither
has been overtly dominant this season, but both are formidable in their own
venues, combining to go 21-6 at home. Corvallis’ Gill Coliseum and Eugene’s
Matthew Knight Arena are two of the seven Pac-12 buildings in which the Cougars
are winless in four years under Kent.
On
Thursday, WSU will face Tres Tinkle for the first time since the redshirt
sophomore was a true freshman. The son of Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle was hit
hard by injury his first two seasons in Corvallis, missing 31 games, but he’s
been fortunate to have a clean bill of health this season and leads OSU with 18
points per game and nearly seven rebounds.
“Very
heady, very smart and he knows how to score,” Kent said of the Beavers forward.
“It’s not just him when you look at when you need to do to Oregon State. We
need to make sure we neutralize three or four players on that floor, too.”
Stephen
Thompson Jr. averages 16.3 ppg and lanky big man Drew Eubanks contributes 12.6
points to go with 6.6 rebounds for the Beavers.
//////////////////
FOOTBALL
Washington
State fills in remaining gaps, adding four more on National Signing Day
UPDATED:
Wed., Feb. 7, 2018, 9:19 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson S-R of Spokane
PULLMAN –
Mike Leach firmly believes the 2018 recruiting class is his best at Washington
State, and the sixth-year Cougars coach isn’t just saying it for effect.
Highlighted
by a running back who chose WSU in favor of Stanford and a quarterback who
spent his summer slinging footballs at the prestigious Elite 11 camp, the
Cougars’ 24-player haul appears on the surface to be stronger than any Leach
has assembled during his tenure on the Palouse.
It’s an
impressive group, no doubt, and certainly not suggestive of a program that’s
dealt with hardship at almost every level since losing to Washington in late
November at the Apple Cup. The Cougars had to deal with the distraction of Leach’s
rumored departure to Tennessee, then the actual departure of four assistant
coaches, including defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. Two top wide receivers
were on the roster when December began, but not when it ended, and in
mid-January, WSU tragically learned about the suicide of the quarterback whom
most anticipated would start for the Cougars this fall.
Despite
all that, Leach pieced together the country’s 44th-rated class, according to
ESPN, and one that ranks seventh in the Pac-12. WSU signed four more players on
Wednesday to supplement the 20 high school and junior college prospects that
inked with the Cougars during the early signing period.
Leach
intentionally left a few more scholarships open, potentially so the Cougars can
bring another quarterback on board before spring camp. Tyler Hilinski was
previously the only one of the group who’d taken a collegiate snap and his
death left WSU especially young and inexperienced at the position.
Former
Syracuse quarterback Mo Hasan recently visited Pullman and the Cougars
reportedly have shown interest in Penn State’s Tommy Stevens as a potential
transfer.
“We
might,” Leach said of bringing in a quarterback. “We deliberately held a few
scholarships back and we’ll see what’ll surface from there.”
On
Wednesday, the Cougars added a variety of positional players from a variety of
backgrounds. Two were previously committed to other Power Five programs before
coaching changes. One was plucked from the Juco ranks. The other has only a few
years of American football under his belt.
The fax
machine in Pullman lit up early Wednesday morning when WSU received its first
letter from Tyrese Ross, a defensive back from Jacksonville, Florida, who
played his final high school season at Westlake High in Atlanta. Ross initially
planned on playing for Dan Mullen at Mississippi State but reopened his
commitment when Mullen accepted the job at Florida.
“Very
explosive defensive back, he plays extremely hard,” Leach said of Ross, whose
father, Dominique, played for the Valdosta State teams coached by Leach and Hal
Mumme in the early 1990s. Leach believes it might be the first time he’s inked
the son of a former player.
Calvin
Jackson Jr., a wide receiver from Independence Community College in Kansas
whose father played for the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, officially joined the Cougars
on Wednesday, giving WSU its fifth pass-catcher of the 2018 class. A one-time
Toldeo commit, Jackson Jr. maintained a relationship with former Rockets
assistant Derek Sage – a bond that proved handy when Sage left to become the
outside receivers coach at WSU.
The
Cougars filled another positional need by adding their fifth offensive lineman,
Blake McDonald, out of San Ramon Valley High in Danville, California. McDonald
decommitted from UCLA when former coach Jim Mora was fired and gave his oral
commitment to WSU on Saturday. McDonald, at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds, is a “big,
strong, nasty offensive lineman who I think is going to get stronger and
better.”
WSU’s most
intriguing pickup was a defensive lineman who’d not stepped onto a football
field in the United States up until two years ago. Misiona Aiolupotea-Pei, a
transfer from Riverside City College, played rugby in his native New Zealand
and was only introduced to football when he decided to join a club team in
Australia in 2013. At 6-foot-3, 260 pounds, he projects as a defensive end, but
could move inside to defensive tackle if he’s able to bulk up.
“He runs
real well for a guy his size. He’s really explosive,” Leach said. “The thing
is, is just continue to develop him because athletically, he’s really good. Our
biggest role is to get familiar as quickly as we can with football and the
techniques and the things we want him to do.”
The NCAA’s
installment of an early signing period was ultimately beneficial for the
Cougars – if for no other reason than because they were able to knock out most
of their work before four of Leach’s assistants left for jobs elsewhere.
Running
backs coach Jim Mastro was extremely influential in persuading high-profile
tailback Max Borghi to sign with the Cougars over Stanford, and there’s reason
to think Borghi would’ve given WSU’s Pac-12 North rival another look – or
perhaps flipped to the Cardinal – when Mastro left for Oregon, had the early
signing period not been in place.
“I thought
it worked out pretty well,” Leach said of layering in the early signing period.
“…Typically these rules are lousy or temporary. I think this one went
remarkably seamless, all things considered, because you’re talking about a
pretty far-reaching rule that encompasses a lot of things, but I thought it
really did go quite smoothly. Smoother than I thought it would, too.”
///////////
Analysis |
The early signing period is great for programs like WSU’s, but is it good for
recruits too?
Originally
published February 7, 2018 at 5:21 pm Updated February 7, 2018 at 8:45 pm
WSU
football coach Mike Leach has decided that he likes the early signing period,
and it worked out great for the Cougs. But as this year showed, recruits need
to be careful about how they make their college decisions
By
Stefanie Loh
Seattle
Times
Washington
State closed out its 2018 recruiting season with a solid haul that included a
Mike Leach era-record four four-star recruits (QB Camm Cooper, WR Rodrick
Fisher, RB Max Borghi and DE R.J. Stone), a coveted running back who picked the
Cougars over Stanford (Borghi) and an intriguing Australian former rugby star
(Misi Aiolupotea-Pei) with a high ceiling.
But what’s
perhaps more impressive is that the Cougars managed to hang on to the class
despite losing almost half their assistant coaches from last season.
WSU has
the inaugural early signing period to thank for that.
WSU signed
20 of its 24 2018 recruits during the early signing period from Dec. 20-22.
Defensive
coordinator Alex Grinch, the first of the Cougars’ four assistant coaches to
leave for other jobs this offseason, did not leave the team until after the
Holiday Bowl on Dec. 28.
Thereafter,
the Cougars lost rush linebackers coach Roy Manning to UCLA, running backs
coach Jim Mastro to Oregon, and on Wednesday, offensive line coach Clay McGuire
to Texas Tech.
Would
every one of those 20 recruits who signed in December have stuck with the
Cougars if they hadn’t had to sign until Wednesday? Unlikely.
Borghi,
for one, might well be at Stanford instead of WSU.
Recruits
like Borghi, who stressed that he signed with WSU in large part due to his
strong relationship with Mastro, who would have been his position coach, have
to live with their binding college decisions regardless of whether the coach
who recruited them has left.
Of course,
that’s always been the case. Regardless of any promises made during recruiting,
coaches can leave a school at any time during a kid’s college career. It’s part
of the game.
But as we
saw this year, the introduction of the early recruiting period, and the number
of recruits who will likely sign scholarship papers before the coaching
carousel truly gets underway after bowl season, makes it’s more important than
ever for parents and high school coaches to emphasize to high school players
that they should not make college decisions based solely on their relationship
with a specific coach.
Leach
indicated Wednesday that while Borghi’s relationship with Mastro influenced his
decision, the running back also picked WSU for other reasons.
Leach said
he has spoken with Borghi several times since Mastro announced his departure
for Oregon last month, and that he believes Borghi is in a good place.
“We talk
all the time, about a ton of subjects, and coaches throughout our staff do
because we are ‘open door’ as far as a staff,” Leach said. “I do think he likes
coach Mastro, but in particular he likes what we do offensively and how we’ve
utilized our backs. But also, he had close relationships with other people in
the class, so that all worked together.”
It’s not
to say that the early signing period won’t help kids at all. For one, it’ll
motivate kids to graduate from high school expediently, enroll in college early
and get a head start on their peers in learning the playbook, working with
their college’s strength staff and getting to know their new teammates.
Borghi,
Fisher and Cooper, WSU have become close friends in the last month, Cooper said
Wednesday in an interview on WSU’s signing day radio show.
The three
freshmen were part of a group of six signees who enrolled early in time for
WSU’s spring semester, and so far, Leach says the extra time on campus and in
WSU’s strength program has been beneficial for them.
“I think
it’s really good. I think those three guys pair up really well,” Leach said of Borghi,
Fisher and Cooper. “It helps everybody adjust to the newness of being on campus
for the first time.”
After this
first year, Leach has decided he likes the early signing period, saying, “I
thought it worked out pretty well.”
“The one
thing that’s most difficult (about the early signing period) is that literally
the day the season is over, a bunch of fatigued coaches are hitting the road
full speed,” Leach said. “Typically, rule changes are horrible ideas. But I
think this one really went remarkably seamless, all things considered.”
The early
signing period made it tougher for competitors to poach WSU’s recruits, WSU
football Chief of Staff Dave Emerick said on the Cougar’s signing day radio
show.
“For the
Cougs, it’s worked great. It eliminates a lot of the drama with high school
kids in Janaury. Sometimes, the big schools lose out on someone and want to
cherry pick other people’s rosters,” Emerick said. “It makes sure that the guys
who want to sign, do sign. Some of the kids might think it’s unfair because
it’s done before the assistant coaching turnover.
“But I
think most schools are taking the stance that if they’re not signed by the
early period, then they’re not really committed to you.”
Cases in
point: Bolles School (Fla.) offensive lineman Nick Lewis and Cy-Fair (Texas)
defensive back Erick Hallett were both committed to WSU by last fall, but did
not sign with the Cougars in December.
Both ended
up going elsewhere. Lewis signed with Kentucky, while Hallett signed with Pitt.
The early
signing period is good for schools, especially programs like WSU which have to
constantly guard their recruits against overtures from bigger powerhouse
programs like the Ohio States and Alabamas of the world.
But
recruits need to also realize going in that now, more than ever before, there’s
no guarantee that the guy who recruited you to a particular college will be
there when you arrive on campus.
