It’s a new era in Pullman as Jake Dickert became the Washington State Cougars‘ permanent head coach after the Apple Cup. Dickert has plenty to do rebuilding the program. One of those duties is managing the transfer portal. As the Cougs start the 2022 calendar year, we look at who’s out and who’s in.
After the coaching purge, Dylan Mayginnes was the first Washington State Cougars player to put his name in the portal. Other than the offensive line taking a depth hit, this isn’t a big loss.
Safety Halid Djibril played in seven games over four seasons in Pullman. He even started a gave early this season before a knee injury took him out of action. With the Cougs losing several members of the secondary to graduation, Djibril had a chance to compete for a starting job next season.
James McNorton is now a San Jose State Spartan. The offensive tackle hasn’t played much since arriving in 2019, and like Mayginnes, he is a depth loss.
This one hurt a little bit, especially in the Sun Bowl. Cammon Cooper was Jayden de Laura‘s backup for a good part of the season. Despite performing reasonably well when he got a chance to play, Cooper didn’t get many opportunities. It was a big blow to his standing with the team when Jarrett Guarantano transferred in from Tennessee last spring.
Cade Beresford heading to Boise State is a big loss. He split time this year at right guard with Ma’ake Fifita. The Cougs not only could have used him in the Sun Bowl, but Beresford also would have competed to start in 2022. His brother Jack should have more opportunities at Boise than he did at WSU.
Freshman walk-on Giovanni Iovino was a popular scout team player. Maybe he gets a chance to play at a smaller school.
A converted high school quarterback, Marshawn Buchanan hadn’t seen game action in two seasons at Washington State.
Daiyan Henley came to Wolf Pack in 2017 as a wide receiver. After two seasons on special teams, he converted to defense for his junior year. Over the last two years, Henley played in 20 games and made 143 tackles. This year he was arguably Nevada’s best defensive player, Henley even ran back a fumble for a touchdown against Air Force.
A big load at 6-6, 275-pounds, Nusi Malani, appeared in 15 games his first two seasons at Virginia, mostly as a sub. He has five career tackles. Malani will add to what should be a very good Cougars D-line in 2022
The Washington State Cougars benefited from an experienced secondary this year. Safeties George Hicks and Daniel Isom will graduate this spring. Jordan Lee, a pending redshirt senior will ease the loss. In 2021, Lee made 86 tackles, including five for a loss He also recovered five fumbles and forced four.
What do you think about the Washington State Cougars’ recent transfer portal activity? Let us know in the comments section below.