SportSpyder - The Latest Washington State Cougars Football News

[247 Sports] - WSU lands verbal from lanky WR Adrian Barnett cancels remaining trips

Jamey Vinnick — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 22:52:08 GMT

Cougars up to seven known verbals in class of 2027

[The Spokesman-Review] - WSU lands commitment from athlete Adrian Barnett for seventh pledge in class of 2027

Greg Woods — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 21:42:25 GMT

PULLMAN — Washington State is adding some versatility to its next recruiting class.

The Cougars have landed a commitment from class of 2027 athlete Adrian Barnett, who announced his decision on social media on Tuesday, giving his new team their seventh pledge of the class.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, Barnett hails from The King’s Academy in Sunnydale, California, where last fall he played wide receiver and defensive back. He reeled in 36 catches for 583 yards and 9 touchdowns, plus 2 interceptions and 34 tackles on defense. His flexibility appears to be a key part of his game.

That helped Barnett field offers from future Pac-12 members San Diego State and Colorado State, plus UNLV, New Mexico, Florida International, Army and a few FCS clubs including Montana and Sacramento State. His full list of offers included Portland State, Penn, Princeton, Georgetown, Dartmouth and Cornell.

For WSU, it’s the second commitment in as many days. On Monday, the Cougars earned a commitment from class of 2027 tight end Owen Yurosek, whose 6-foot-4 frame figures to make him an imposing presence when he arrives on the Palouse next year.

So far, the Cougars have five commitments from the state of California, perhaps signaling a return to what has traditionally been key recruiting pipeline for the program. Last year under former coach Jimmy Rogers, coaches leveraged their previous connections to the Midwest and Louisiana to recruit players from there, which was a bit of a risk considering how far away those areas are from Pullman.

Now, WSU head coach Kirby Moore and assistants are back to The Golden State, which has produced many of the Cougars’ best players over the years.

WSU’s updated class of 2027:

• Adrian Barnett, ATH, The King’s Academy (Sunnydale, California)

• Owen Yurosek, TE, Bakersfield HS (Bakersfield, California)

• Ryan Harrington, 3-star QB, Anacortes HS (Washington)

• Josiah Rand, 3-star LB, Chaminade HS (West Hills, California)

• Marquez Wimberly, 3-star RB, Nazareth HS (Nazareth, Pennsylvania)

• Lopeti Malupo, 3-star DL, Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco)

• EJ Coleman, 3-star ATH, Folsom HS (Folsom, California)

[247 Sports] - How innovative was WSUs Mike Leach So much so College Hall of Fame changed its rules to get him on ballot

Barry Bolton — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:54:37 GMT

Legendary Coug QB Ryan Leaf also on the HOF ballot

[The Spokesman-Review] - Mike Leach’s Hall of Fame case: Should game-changing innovation outweigh wins and losses? | Commentary

Ralph D. Russo — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 17:50:31 GMT

Mike Leach is now eligible for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

But is the quirky Air Raid pioneer, who died tragically in 2022 at 61, a Hall of Famer?

It’s easy to get behind Leach’s candidacy because he was such a unique character, both entertaining and cantankerous. Controversial yet endearing. His antics could be fun and frustrating (he had little patience for criticism of his program).

Who else was astute enough to recognize the potential of a Sun Devil when handicapping hypothetical mascot fights?

We lost him way too soon.

Based on wins and losses and his on-field accomplishments, Leach is far from a slam-dunk Hall-of-Fame candidate. That should be obvious considering the eligibility standards had to be adjusted by the National Football Foundation just to get Leach on the 2027 ballot. Leach’s case goes beyond raw results. He literally changed the game and helped spark an offensive revolution across all levels of football that lasted for decades.

“I don’t know that anybody had a bigger impact on the game in a very, very long time than Mike did,” said TCU coach Sonny Dykes, one of the many members of Leach’s coaching tree still prominent across college football.

Previously, a head coach needed a minimum .600 winning percentage just to be considered. Leach finished at .596 over 21 seasons leading Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State. The public outcry over Leach barely missing the cut nudged NFF leadership to lower the standard to .595 last year, paving the way for him to be on the ballot this year, along with another former Mississippi State coach, Jackie Sherrill.

Sherrill, the former Bear Bryant assistant whose career includes stints at Wazzu, Pitt and Texas A&M, might have an even better case to be inducted than Leach.

Sherrill’s Pitt teams had four top-10 finishes in five years, from 1977-81, and he had three more top-10 teams at Texas A&M. He’s the only coach to take Mississippi State to the SEC championship game (1998). Sherrill also ran afoul of NCAA rules more than a couple of times, though in the new era of paid players in college football, those transgressions seem quaint.

Sherrill was also quite a character, but for entertainment value, Leach was one-of-one.

Unquenchably curious, Leach loved history and would immerse himself in far-flung topics. Most famously, he had a passion for pirates.

Leach’s off-the-wall news conferences or postgame interviews, covering everything from Halloween candy to wedding planning, will live forever on YouTube. Leach also would publicly call out his players and could get ornery when questioned about his team’s shortcomings.

His tenure at Texas Tech came to a messy and uncomfortable end when he was fired for cause after being accused of mistreating a player with a concussion. That the player was Adam James, son of former football star and then-ESPN broadcaster Craig James, only made the situation more complicated. Leach sued the school, and while the legal challenge did not survive, he never gave up the fight.

Hall of Fame selectors should give none of that more than passing consideration.

Weighing Leach’s case as a Hall of Famer is about context and impact, not personality.

Success for coaches is relative to where you worked. If Leach had fallen just short of winning 60 percent of his games at Texas, Washington and Ole Miss, this would be a very different conversation. Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State have traditionally been at the other end of the food chain in their respective conferences.

Leach was an under-appreciated program builder.

At Texas Tech, he led the Red Raiders to a school-record 10 straight bowl appearances and their first 11-win season in 2008. Before Leach arrived in Lubbock in 2000, the Red Raiders had a run of more than 20 seasons in which they finished ranked just twice.

At Washington State, he led the Cougars to their only 11-win season in 2018, and his .539 winning percentage ranked second in Wazzu history among coaches with at least 35 games.

“It’s a whole lot easier to get in the College Football Hall of Fame when your coaching jobs were Ohio State, Notre Dame, Southern California, those places,” said Dykes, whose father, Spike Dykes, preceded Leach with the Red Raiders. “It’s harder when it’s Mississippi State, Washington State, Texas Tech.”

However, Leach’s teams never won a conference championship, and his record in games against ranked teams was 27-61. More often than not, Leach’s teams were u...

[247 Sports] - Cougars AD Jon Haarlow New Senate bill a step in right direction but fundraising most pressing issue for WSU

Micah Chen — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 17:33:43 GMT

'If we don't fundraise and don't commit to rev share, it's catastrophic for our institution,' says leader of WSU athletics

[247 Sports] - Cali WR says WSU Derek Sage made his official visit best one so far

COUGFANcom — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 23:30:32 GMT

A decision coming soon says the speedster

[Yardbarker] - Late Mike Leach makes first appearance on College Football HOF ballot

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 22:11:12 GMT

The late Mike Leach, who passed away in December 2022 at 61 while coaching at Mississippi State, is on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year.

[The Spokesman-Review] - Former WSU coach Mike Leach lands on 2027 NFF Hall of Fame ballot

Greg Woods — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 22:07:21 GMT

PULLMAN — Mike Leach, one of the greatest coaches in Washington State football history, is eligible to get his due.

For the first time, Leach is on the ballot for the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame, which on Monday released its annual list of 80 players and nine coaches eligible to be selected for the class of 2027. The final class is set to be unveiled in January.

Leach’s eligibility is big news because to land on the ballot, the NFF adjusted its requirements. When Leach suddenly died in December 2022, after his third season coaching at Mississippi State, his career winning percentage was .596 — just below the threshold of .600 required by the NFF to appear on the HOF ballot.

So last year, the NFF moved its requirements down to .595, which allowed Leach to appear on the ballot.

At WSU, where Leach coached from 2012-18, he lifted the Cougars to national heights. Led by the famous Air Raid offense, Leach and WSU made six bowl appearances, highlighted by a 2018 season in which the Cougars won 11 games and captured a victory in the Alamo Bowl and a No. 10 final ranking.

Leach, the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in both 2015 and 2018, used the Air Raid system to pace the FBS in passing yards per game in 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019. He helped develop two of the most prolific quarterbacks in WSU history, Connor Halliday and Gardner Minshew, both of whom broke all manner of records in their time as Cougs.

Also on the ballot is former WSU quarterback and current TV commentator Ryan Leaf, who earned first team All-American honors in 1997 and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting that year, still the highest finish in WSU history. He led the Cougars to their first Rose Bowl in 67 years, and he was named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year.

The ballot also includes the brother of current WSU head coach Kirby Moore, Kellen Moore, the former Boise State QB and current head coach of the New Orleans Saints.

[The Spokesman-Review] - WSU lands commitment from prep prospect Owen Yurosek for first TE in class of 2027

Greg Woods — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 22:07:15 GMT

PULLMAN — Washington State is adding some size to its next prep class.

On Monday, the Cougars reeled in a commitment from prep tight end Owen Yurosek, the team’s sixth pledge in their class of 2027.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Yurosek hails from Bakersfield Christian School in California, where he also fielded offers from Fresno State, San Jose State, Nevada, Hawaii, UNLV and others. He turned those down to join the Cougs’ class of 2027, which features three other players from California, perhaps signaling a shift back to WSU’s traditional recruiting roots.

Under former coach Jimmy Rogers, who left after one season for the same job at Iowa State last winter, the Cougars attempted to establish recruiting pipelines in places like Louisiana and the Midwest, where coaches had connections from their previous stop at South Dakota State.

Last fall, Yurosek caught 13 passes for 153 yards and one touchdown, including a long reception of 48 yards. Yurosek is also the brother of Ben Yurosek, who authored a sparkling career playing tight end at Stanford before signing an undrafted free agent deal with the Minnesota Vikings last spring.

Owen Yurosek still has a visit to Nevada lined up, set for June 12.

WSU’s updated class of 2027:

• Owen Yurosek, TE, Bakersfield HS (Bakersfield, Calif.)

• Ryan Harrington, 3-star QB, Anacortes HS

• Josiah Rand, 3-star LB, Chaminade HS (West Hills, Calif.)

• Marquez Wimberly, 3-star RB, Nazareth HS (Nazareth, Penn.)

• Lopeti Malupo, 3-star DL, Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.)

• EJ Coleman, 3-star ATH, Folsom HS (Folsom, Calif.)

[247 Sports] - Remembering WSU legend Dick Fry Gone at 103 one day before book on his WWII experiences is published

Greg Witter — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 19:38:09 GMT

He arrived in Pullman in 1952 and proceeded to blaze an unrivaled trail of goodwill

[The Athletic] - Mike Leach on College Football Hall of Fame ballot for first time after rules adjustment

Ralph D. Russo — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 15:53:28 GMT

Last year, the NFF adjusted the minimum winning percentage required for consideration down by .005, clearing the way for Leach.

[Scott Fisher] - The Major Coaching Scandal You Totally Forgot About...

Scott Fisher — Fri, 29 May 2026 22:12:37 GMT

In 2021, the state of Washington’s two flagship football programs had coaching scandals that everyone forgets about. Today, I want to talk about the firings ...

[The Spokesman-Review] - WSU Hall of Fame member, former SID Dick Fry passes away at 103

Greg Woods — Thu, 28 May 2026 23:47:12 GMT

PULLMAN — Richard “Dick” Fry, a member of Washington State’s Athletics Hall of Fame and a longtime sports information director, died Wednesday in Pullman.

Fry was 103.

A native of Oroville, California, Fry began working at WSU in 1952 when he wrote alumni news. Five years later, he became sports information director at WSU, and in 1970, he took the reins as the school’s director of news and information services. In all, he spent more than 50 years working at Washington State.

Fry, a 2009 inductee into the WSU Hall of Fame and a 1993 inductee into the Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame Scroll of Honor, made an indelible impact on the Cougar sports community. In 2024, WSU recognized as such by naming the athletics communications office the Richard B. “Dick” Fry Athletics Communications Suite. Additionally, Fry was enshrined into the Pullman Walk of Fame in 2007.

Even after retiring in 1985, Fry remained deeply ingrained with the sports programs. He produced stories that made appearances in WSU football gameday programs well into this century, and he released his first book, “The Crimson and The Gray - 100 years with the WSU Cougars,” which detailed the history of WSU student-athletes, coaches and teams. That was one of three books written for Washington State’s 100-year anniversary, and it was the most popular.

Nearly 30 years later, Fry released a follow-up, “101 Old Re-Fry’d Cougar Tales,” a collection of his stories highlighting individuals and team throughout Washington State’s history.

[247 Sports] - WSU in hunt for towering Seattle twosport prospect Achilles Reyna who notes his crimson roots go deep

Jamey Vinnick — Thu, 28 May 2026 19:04:14 GMT

Two-sports standout's dad and uncle played for Cougs in 1990s; he also holds hoops offers