3 Observations from Washington State's 2026 Early Signing Period Class

Wednesday marked the Early Signing Period for the 2026 recruiting classes and Washington State was as busy as any. 28 prospects signed on to play for the Cougs. Jimmy Rogers brought in a little bit of everything with his latest signees but there are some obvious things to be gleaned about who joined. Here's what we learned from the newest group of Cougars.

The Secondary is Point of Focus

Rogers and his staff have made it clear that bolstering the back end of the defense is priority for the Cougars moving into 2026 and beyond. That makes sense as several big names are set to leave after this season comes to an end. Guys like Tucker Large, Cale Reeder, Colby Humphrey and Jamorri Colson won't be around for a whole lot longer and the team appears to be planning for that eventuality. Of the 27 signees on Wednesday, seven of them were either safeties or corners. That list includes Matthew McClain, Torrence Sanders, Jackson Williams, Amiri Barnes, Willie Breland Jr, Bradley Esser and Bryce Heckard.

All of the secondary pieces that the Cougs inked are three-star athletes per 247Sports and if they end up sticking around might go a long ways in helping the defense down the line. Losing those aforementioned starters is something that is surely going to have an impact on the Cougars. This year, the pass defense has been a strong point as the unit allows well under 200 yards per game. Those standout defensive backs have broken up 26 throws and picked off five more in 2025. The hope is, obviously, that this 2026 class can help maintain that level of success eventually.

MORE: Rogers Using Bowl Game Prep To Develop Washington State's Younger Players

Rogers is Recruiting in the New Pac-12 Footprint

Washington State did not stray too far from its geographic region when it came to this class. A good portion of the class signed from the Pacific Northwest. Most every state right around them got hit and more notably, almost every team in the new version of the Pac-12 saw WSU snag prospects from their area. The team signed five from California, six from Texas as well as a handful of others from Oregon, Idaho and Colorado.

With the team about to link up with the likes of Colorado State, Utah State, Fresno State, Texas State, Boise State and San Diego State, winning recruiting battles in those places will be key for the overall program success moving forward. 16 players from this class come from the states of the new Pac-12 teams and that number will probably increase in the following years.

The Team is Invested in Developing Linemen

The Cougars seem as though they're more interested in potential versus sheer build right now when it comes to their offensive and defensive line prospects, of which they signed four of each. As far as the O line is concerned, Kingston Fotualii, Derek Worden, Cooper Daines and Benjamin Makelela all joined up and none of those guys check in at a weight over 290 lbs. The same can be said for D line prospects Jake Jones, Savion Berthelemy, Tyler Burnstein and Javon Joseph, most of whom wiegh in even lighter.

That is not inherently a bad thing. It simply means that the approach WSU is taking is having these guys hit the weight room and undergo a regimen that prepares them to play at the Division I level in the future. Instead of going after guys who are already bulky and have the size, the Cougars are opting to invest in their own training. It's formula that works well for many teams around the country and it's been an approach that has paid dividends in Pullman, too.

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