Where does WSU stand after the first day of the transfer portal opening?

Dec. 9—PULLMAN — After one day of the transfer portal opening, Washington State could have fared better.

But the Cougars could also have done much worse.

On Monday, the first day of a three-week transfer portal opening that ends on Dec. 28, WSU lost 15 players to the portal. The list includes starters like defensive tackle Ansel Din-Mbuh and punter Nick Haberer, plus backups like defensive lineman Khalil Laufau and cornerback Warren Smith.

Those amount to costly losses for the Cougs, who got a meaningful boost in their pass rush from Din-Mbuh and valuable depth from players like Laufau. In recent days, they also lost starters in freshman running back Wayshawn Parker and redshirt freshman cornerback Ethan O’Connor to the portal.

But besides those, four portal entrants were walk-ons, two didn’t play this season and one had already been dismissed from the team during fall camp. In that way, it adds up to an OK day for WSU.

Perhaps more importantly, it adds up to what head coach Jake Dickert predicted last weekend. On Friday, he said he anticipated around 15-20 players to hit the portal. After one day, 15 have done so. If Dickert is right, if the Cougars can hang on to most of the rest of their roster, they might survive the worst of the portal.

Still out of the portal, after all, are many key pieces: linebackers Buddah Al-Uqdah and Keith Brown, wide receiver Carlos Hernandez, running backs Leo Pulalasi and Djouvensky Schlenbaker, defensive tackle David Gusta, edge Isaac Terrell, plus all four members of WSU’s offensive linemen with eligibility, including Rod Tialavea, Christian Hilborn, Devin Kylany, Fa’alili Fa’amoe and Brock Dieu.

If the Cougars can manage to keep those guys in Pullman, that’s a pretty solid core , especially considering the experience they all bring back. Al-Uqdah, Hernandez, Gusta, Hilborn, Fa’amoe…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/where-does-wsu-stand-first-045900749.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2024-12-10 04:59:00

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