Washington State Cougars football 2022 recruiting – Plenty of work to be done
Jake Dickert’s first National Signing Day is in the books. The Washington State Cougars landed some good recruits but are behind most of the Pac-12.
Recruits signed their letters of intent this week across college football. As of now, the Washington State Cougars have 11 members for their 2022 class in the bag. It’s an interesting group of young men coming to The Palouse. Even so, the Cougs trail the rest of the Pac-12.
Part of a trend
So far, 2022 is a down year for recruiting in the Pac-12 overall. Head coaching changes at conference stalwarts USC, Oregon, and UW certainly had plenty to do with it.
It was no different at Washington State. The University terminated head coach Nick Rolovich mid-season. Defensive coordinator Jake Dickert took over on an interim basis, and it wasn’t until after Thanksgiving that he got the job permanently.
As a result, Wazzu’s class didn’t rank very highly nationally or in the Pac-12. ESPN ranked the Cougar’s 66th nationally and 10th in the conference. Rivals had them 86th and 10th, while 24/7 placed WSU 74th and 10th.
That’s not great and certainly behind the curve, but Dickert did an admirable job considering the aura of uncertainty surrounding the program for most of the season. He landed some quality talents.
Number one
The Cougs top recruit is somewhat of an anomaly. Andre Dollar, a tight end from Mustang, Oklahoma, is a borderline four-star recruit (depending on the rating source). It’s been at least a decade (pre-Mike Leach) since bringing in a tight end was a big deal in Pullman.
Over the last ten years, the Cougs used the Air Raid offense under Leach, then went to the Run and Shoot with Rolovich last season. Neither system used a tight end. The Air Raid is coming back under new OC Eric Morris, a Leach disciple. The biggest difference is Morris’ version includes a tight end and/or H-Back.
In Wazzu’s new offense, Dollar has the chance to make a huge impact. Think players like Eric Ebron, O.J. Howard, and Evan Engram. How Morris uses the versatile TE should be extremely entertaining.
“Not a big-name type class but four-star Dollar was a huge pickup down the stretch and will add versatility to the passing game. His length and catch radius is outstanding and he’s also a physical and willing blocker” – Craig Haubert, ESPN.
Number two
Linebackers Jahad Woods, Justus Rogers, and Jaylen Watson have been the heart of Washington State’s defense. Dickert may have found their heir apparent in High School All-American Bowl invitee Taariq Al-Uqdah. Wazzu beat out USC for the Inglewood, California star.
Time to get busy
As mentioned earlier, Dickert and assistants have plenty of work left to do. At the top of their wish list has to be more offensive linemen. Both 2021 starting tackles Abe Lucas and Liam Ryan are headed to the NFL. So far, Eric Wilder (Syracuse, Utah) and Jihad Lateef (Lubbock, Texas) are the only Ols in this class; neither rank in the top 50 at their position.
One other area Washington State has to improve on is in-state recruiting. Of the top 20 recruits from Washington, only two are headed to Pullman (Chance Bogan and Djouvensky Schlenbaker). That’s one fewer than Oregon State.
With only 11 incoming players so far, the Washington State Cougars still have scholarships left to offer top players. Plenty of good recruits remain available.
What do you make of the Washington State Cougars 2022 recruiting class? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.