PULLMAN — Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers isn’t done bringing over players from South Dakota State.
That became clear Monday, when WSU added two SDSU transfers: senior safety Cale Reeder and freshman defensive lineman Fernando Lecuona, both of whom were announced by the Cougars’ program. They make up the eighth and ninth Jackrabbits Rogers has turned Cougs.
They join running back Angel Johnson, defensive lineman Max Baloun, safety Matthew Durrance and cornerback/linebacker Caleb Francl, all of whom have made announcements. The Cougars are also adding running back Kirby Vorhees, safety Tucker Large and linebacker Carsten Reynolds, a source confirmed to The Spokesman-Review on Monday, though those players have not gone public with their decisions yet.
All of Rogers’ nine transfers are from his old school of SDSU. He has secured one high school commitment, which came from three-star linebacker Isaiah Hung, who was previously committed to the Jackrabbits under Rogers.
On the coaching front, Rogers has also brought over two assistants from SDSU, offensive coordinator Danny Freund and defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit. The Cougs have also hired defensive tackles coach Everrette Thompson plus offensive-line coaches Taylor Lucas and Mike Iupati.
Reeder, a veteran with one more year to play, missed nearly all of the 2024 season with an injury he suffered in the Jackrabbits’ season-opener against Oklahoma State, taking a medical redshirt season. Before that, he started the final 14 games of SDSU’s 2023 national championship season, registering 58 tackles, fifth-most on the team.
With 1,814 snaps under his belt across four seasons, Reeder’s main asset seems to be his experience. He may not have played FBS football before, but he’s helped SDSU earn an FCS national title, and he’s played a lot of snaps doing it. He started his career in the spring of 2021, when SDSU played its COVID-delayed 2020 season, and he’s appeared in 43 total games — with 31 starts.
A native of Yorkville, Illinois, Reeder is 6-foot and 190 pounds, giving the Cougs a bit of size and speed across the middle of the field. The addition of Reeder (and Durrance) also fills a need for WSU, which is losing Tyson Durant (graduated), Adrian Wilson (transferred to Arizona State), Tanner Moku (graduated) and Jackson Lataimua (transfer portal) from its 2024 safety corps.
Lecuona played in four games in 2024, his true freshman season, maintaining his redshirt season. He totaled two tackles and one pressure. With the addition of Baloun, a veteran, the Cougs might stand to cushion the losses of DTs David Gusta (transferred to Kentucky), Ansel Din-Mbuh (transferred to TCU) and Khalil Laufau (transferred to Houston).
Vorhees, who was a sophomore in 2024, logged 75 carries for 581 yards and eight touchdowns, an average rush of 7.7 yards. Hailing from the Tampa area, Vorhees is 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, giving the Cougs some size at that position — perhaps in the same vein of holdovers Leo Pulalasi and Djouvensky Schlenbaker, both of whom are set to return. Schlenbaker was used primarily as a lead blocker and short-yardage power back in 2024.
Last season, Large appeared in 11 of 15 games, making nine starts at safety. He recorded 26 tackles (16 solo), four passes defended and three interceptions, tied with Durrance for most on the team. At 5-11 and 185 pounds, Large is a little smaller, but Durant made a similar size work with speed and a sharp nose for the ball.
Reynolds, a redshirt freshman in 2024, appeared in one game on special teams. He is 6-3 and 205 pounds. He’s a native of Sedro-Woolley, outside of Mount Vernon.
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