COUGAR NOTES: WSU President Kirk Schulz reportedly ‘dragged feet’ on funding football

As the final game of Washington State’s season nears, a Friday matchup with Syracuse in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, the picture of former coach Jake Dickert’s departure is beginning to crystallize.

In a Tuesday piece from Johncanzano.com, in November, WSU’s board of regents instructed president Kirk Schulz to find an additional $2 million in support for the athletics department. It didn’t happen, Canzano reported, citing an unnamed source.

Schulz is set to retire this summer.

According to the report, this dynamic and others played into Dickert’s decision to depart for the head coaching job at the ACC’s Wake Forest last week.

Since leaving last week, Dickert has flipped former WSU commit Jack Foley back to the Demon Deacons, and 28 Cougars have elected to enter the transfer portal.

All are eligible to play in the Holiday Bowl, a policy the team voted to adopt, but the number of portal-bound Cougars interested in doing so isn’t clear. Several have committed to other programs, including Arizona-bound receiver Kris Hutson, defensive lineman Ansel Din-Mbuh (TCU) and safety Adrian Wilson (Arizona State).

Another year of eligibility for two Cougars?

WSU offensive tackle Esa Pole and nickelback Kapena Gushiken might return for another season if they are so interested. That’s because on Monday, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors — composed of university presidents — agreed to a waiver for former junior college players that grants them an additional year of eligibility if they would have exhausted their eligibility this season.

That policy would apply to Pole and Gushiken, both of whom started their careers at junior colleges and would have been out of eligibility this fall. Pole, who began his career with three years at Chabot College in California, finished the regular season with a Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade of 86.2, No. 22 nationally among offensive linemen with at least 400 pass-blocking snaps.

That would make his return the most meaningful of those two. But Pole attracted the attention of NFL scouts at WSU practice throughout the season, and he would likely hear his name called at this spring’s NFL draft if he goes that route. In previous interviews, Pole has indicated his desire to help out his family by reaching the next level.

Gushiken has had more of an up-and-down season. For the regular season, he finished with a PFF coverage grade of 68.3, starting 10 of 12 games. He also allowed 52 receptions on 81 targets. His 52 receptions allowed are the fourth most in the country. But he picked off passes against Texas Tech and Utah State, and he totaled four pass breakups.

More Cougs head to the portal

As of Tuesday, 28 Cougars had entered the transfer portal. The most recent entrants include freshman wide reciver Chris Barnes, who made his announcement on Tuesday, and fellow freshman wideout Isaiah Cobbs, who did so on Monday.

If he does depart — all players who enter the portal retain the option to withdraw their name and return to their school — Barnes’ departure would be more costly. Barnes, an undersized speedster, played two games this season, making a surprise start at running back in a September win over Texas Tech. He finished with one catch on the season, but his soft hands and speed made coaches high on his upside.

Barnes, a three-star prospect from Houston, originally committed to Prairie View A&M and then North Texas out of high school. To become a Cougar, he turned down offers from the UNT, Prairie View A&M, UTSA, Utah State, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Toledo, Texas State, Montana State and others.

Cougs embrace underdog mentality against Syracuse

WSU and Syracuse could hardly be headed in more different directions . The Cougars are approaching nearly 30 players in the transfer portal, including about a dozen starters, while the Orange have only lost 10, no starters. It’s one reason SU is a 16.5-point favorite in many sportsbooks as of Tuesday.

It hasn’t seemed to faze the Cougs set to suit up for the game.

“Syracuse is gonna come in here and think that, ‘Oh, they’re a team that’s struggling. It’s gonna be a cakewalk,’ and they got another thing coming,” Pole said. “Whether we put in our tight end at quarterback, or a quarterback at receiver, or me at D-tackle, whatever we have to do to get this win, we’re gonna find a way to gut it out. And I have no doubt that this team will bond together.”