SPOKANE, Wash. — National Signing Day in February has lost some of its luster for our local college teams, as the early signing day in December has become increasingly more and more important.
However, it is definitely interesting for Washington State football fans, who are getting their first taste of Nick Rolovich as a recruiter.
The Cougs signed two cornerbacks in Chau Smith and Alphonse Oywak this period.
Oywak is the big name most are talking about. He's a four-star recruit that Rolovich and his staff got to flip commitment from Arizona to Washington State.
"He enjoyed his time when he had come and visited before," Rolovich said. "I think it was a place where he could really see himself be successful."
The team also signed wide receivers Mike Pettway and Jay Wilkerson. Wilkerson was committed to Hawaii before Rolovich and his staff left.
Defensive linemen Antonio Pule III and Fa'alili Fa'amoe round out the class.
This signing period was quite hectic for Rolovich. He was named the new head coach of the Cougs on Jan. 13 and it’s been a blitz to finalize this class by February.
He came late into the mix, but he said it was an enjoyable process
"It wasn't easy, but I enjoyed it because it reminded me of when I first took the Hawaii job," he said. "I had many more doubts if I was good enough to do this. I had the feeling that I had gone through it before, and came out the back end feeling like we were successful."
One note on a recruit who signed in December.
Quarterback Jayden de Laura was recently switched from a three-star to a four-star recruit by some recruiting sites.
Rolovich and de Laura know each other from when the coach recruited him at Hawaii to play in the Run and Shoot offense there.
This is what Rolovich said on the possibility of de Laura starting next season..
“Every quarterback will have a chance to start," Rolovich said. "You have to play the best one. If Jayden is the best one, he's going to play."
Overall, three four-star recruits are coming in with this signing class.