West Coast recruiting: How Dickert’s departure impacts WSU; key QB pickup for OSU; Stanford dives in; USC’s gains and losses

The Hotline is delighted to provide fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. He submitted the following report on Dec. 19 …

Dickert’s departure: The impact on WSU

It hasn’t been the best of weeks for Washington State.

First, quarterback John Mateer entered the transfer portal. Second, and more notably, Jake Dickert left to take the head coaching job at Wake Forest.

Through all the chaos on the Palouse, what struck me the most was a comment Dickert made at his introductory press conference in Winston Salem.

“When I was at Washington State, we’re surrounded by Canada, Oregon and Idaho,” Dickert said. “Not exactly the recruiting mecca.

“Here I’m surrounded by Virginia, Tennessee and South Carolina. I can’t wait to meet the high school coaches in our state.”

Sure, Tennessee, the Carolinas and Virginia have their share of talent. But I’m pretty sure Washington doesn’t border Utah and, even if it did, there is plenty of talent in the Pacific Northwest.

What’s more, Dickert had access to California, home to a number of players in every WSU recruiting class.

Excuses be damned.

But let’s forget about Dickert’s departure and avoid bemoaning the transfer portal. The bigger issue, which comes a year after Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith left his alma mater — and with neither the Cougars or Beavers finding a seat at the Power Four table — is whether the new WSU coach can recruit.

We’ve said it in this space before:

With Boise State, San Diego State and Colorado State joining the Pac-12 in the summer of 2026, and with their desirable locations to live and attend school, the trump card that Washington State and Oregon State always held over that trio was membership in a power conference.

But now Boise, San Diego and Fort Collins may become more desirable than Pullman with recruits given a competitive playing field that is suddenly even and with the newcomers possessing access to bigger media markets.

Dickert’s successor will need to recruit Washington — there’s still plenty of talent in the state and across the region. (The Cougars have also recruited hard in Oregon the last couple of classes.)

NIL (name, image and likeness) is an obstacle for WSU. But there’s nothing preventing the Cougars from recruiting as well as any school in the rebuilt Pac-12.

Stanford’s course adjustment

Is that the Cardinal dipping into the transfer portal? Indeed it is.

Stanford has been surprisingly active with portal visitors and targets. This week alone, coach Troy Taylor landed a pair of in-state products who began their careers in the Mountain West.

Offensive lineman Tyson Ruffins, who played at Nevada, announced he would transfer to Stanford.

Then Julian Neal, a safety from Fresno State who attended high school in San Francisco, followed suit.

Stanford has also pushed for Princeton offensive tackle Will Reed, who’s originally from Washington, and is in the mix for receiver Mark Hamper, a freshman All-American at Idaho (FCS).

The transfer portal giveth …

For all the players that Oregon State has lost to the portal since Smith left for Michigan State at the end of the 2023 season, the Beavers got a huge boost on Thursday.

Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy announced he would transfer to Oregon State, giving the Beavers an experienced starter behind center.

UCLA was the runner-up for Murphy out of high school — he chose Texas instead — and Bruins playcaller Ryan Gunderson served as the primary recruiter.

Gunderson is now Oregon State’s offensive coordinator. He convinced Murphy to visit Corvallis last year, before Murphy transferred from Texas to Duke. He did the same this month and, finally, reeled him in.

USC had two portal wins recently, as well. First, the Trojans grabbed a commitment from running back Eli Sanders, who played for New Mexico — and rushed for 1,063 yards this season.

Then they pulled in one of the best defensive linemen in the portal, Keeshawn Silver (from Kentucky).

… And the portal taketh away

USC’s addition of Silver was overshadowed by the departures of Zion and Zachariah Branch.

The former was injury-riddled at USC but has serious talent. The latter was the No. 1 receiver in the country in high school and a freshman All-American for the Trojans.

But with Zachariah Branch joining receiver Kyron Hudson (to Penn State) and tight end Duce Robinson (uncommitted), the Trojans’ vaunted group of pass catchers took a major hit.

Another notable departure: Washington lost linebacker Khmori House, a true freshman described by coach Jedd Fisch as the future of the Husky defense.

Both UCLA and USC have offered scholarships to House, a product of Los Angeles power St. John Bosco.

But North Carolina will host House for an official visit on the heels of hiring Bill Belichick. There is loads of speculation that his son, Steve, who was UW’s defensive coordinator this season, will join Belichick in Chapel Hill.

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