WSU football transfer portal tracker: Starting LB Schlimgen latest to make plans for portal
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Dec. 29—PULLMAN — At Washington State and across the college football ecosystem, it's transfer portal season.
For the second straight year, the Cougars are in the same position, getting ready for a bowl game without a head coach in place. Former coach Jimmy Rogers left for Iowa State on Dec. 5, and defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit took over in the interim, but now he is Iowa State's defensive coordinator.
The Cougars' new head coach is former Missouri offensive coordinator Kirby Moore, who was hired on Dec. 12.
As the Cougs' coaching staff changes, so too does their roster. The transfer portal doesn't open until Jan. 2 — even for teams waiting to hire a new coach, like WSU — but several players have already announced they're planning to enter.
Below is a live tracker of Cougs in the portal. First is a list of the names, and further down are capsules on each player and their backgrounds. It will be updated with each player who enters the portal and, after WSU hires its next coach, with each player who commits to the Cougs.
It's important to keep this in mind: Players can choose to withdraw their names from the portal. It may be likely that the players listed below have played their final snaps at WSU, but it's no guarantee.
Outgoing (15)
Sullivan Schlimgen, LB, fr.
Kirby Vorhees, RB, rs-so.
Malaki Ta'ase, DE, so.
Jesiah Cornwell, TE, jr.
Max Baloun, DT, rs-sr.
Tony Freeman, WR, jr.
Mike Sandjo, DT, rs-sr.
Jaxon Potter, QB, rs-so.
Carter Pabst, WR, fr.
Anthony Palano, LB, rs-fr.
Kenny Worthy, CB, rs-fr.
Devin Ellison, WR, rs-jr.
Jovan Clark, LB, fr.
Dalton Anderson, QB, fr.
Cameron Weir, WR, fr. (walk-on)
Incoming (0)
The Cougars have yet to land any new commitments, but they have re-signed three players this offseason, including offensive linemen Ashton Tripp and Jaylin Caldwell and linebacker Keith Brown.
Dec. 29
Sullivan Schlimgen, LB
New school: TBD
Starting the final five games of the season at middle linebacker, Schlimgen totaled 43 tackles with one for loss. He was one of the Cougars' better tacklers, which is why Rogers elevated him to a starting role mid-season, and he delivered. He collected nine tackles along against SEC power Ole Miss.
A class of 2025 prospect, Schlimgen initially committed to Rogers at South Dakota State, making Iowa State a possibility for him.
Dec. 18
Kirby Vorhees, RB
New school: TBD
After spending the first two years of his career at FCS South Dakota State, Vorhees followed former coach Jimmy Rogers to WSU, where he totaled 576 rushing yards and five touchdowns in his one season with the Cougars. Vorhees didn't take over the starting job until Week 8, but even in the few games prior, he was becoming the team's go-to running back.
Listed at 5-foot-11 and 208 pounds, Vorhees averaged 4.2 yards per carry this fall. His best game came in a close loss to SEC power Ole Miss, which he burned for 88 rushing yards and one touchdown, which came on a 46-yard burst to take the lead in the third quarter. On the year, Vorhees forced 30 missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus, which led the team.
"Kirby runs hard," Rogers said after that game. "When you run behind your pads like that, you're really physical. He's really elusive. Kid cares just as much as anybody on this team. One of the first guys in to do everything. He's one of the last guys to leave, and he's battle-tested, for sure. He's a winner."
Dec. 17
Malaki Ta'ase, DE
New school: TBD
After spending his freshman year at New Mexico State, Ta'ase transferred this spring to WSU, where he totaled 16 tackles (four for loss) and 2.5 sacks. He played in all 12 games, including one start, which came against Toledo.
A native of the Phoenix area, Ta'ase played about 21 snaps per game for the Cougars, whose defense benefited from the depth he helped provide.
Dec. 15
Tony Freeman, WR
New school: TBD
Freeman led the Cougars in total receptions this season, hauling in 51 catches for 557 yards and three touchdowns. He is expected to play in the bowl game, a source told The Spokesman-Review, giving quarterback Zevi Eckhaus and the team's offense a lift in the passing game.
A Bay Area native, Freeman started his career at nearby College of San Mateo in 2023 before transferring to WSU ahead of the 2024 season. That year, he found a niche as a punt returner. This fall, the undersized Freeman kept those duties and became one of the Cougs' go-to receivers. His best game came in WSU's close loss to Ole Miss, when he reeled in nine catches for 92 yards and a touchdown.
Mike Sandjo, DT
New school: TBD
A former transfer from SMU, where he spent the 2022-24 seasons, Sandjo was limited by injuries for much of his one season with the Cougars. All told, he started two of four games, logging four total tackles.
His only appearances came in four games: against San Diego State, North Texas, Colorado State and Washington.
Max Baloun, DT
New school: TBD
After starting each of the first four games of the season and totaling three tackles for loss, Baloun went down with a season-ending knee injury in the Sept. 20 Apple Cup. He's expected to obtain a medical redshirt, Rogers said earlier in the season, giving him a chance to play a seventh season. He played his first five at South Dakota State with Rogers.
Jesiah Cornwell, TE
New school: TBD
Cornwell, who started his career with two seasons of junior college ball, never got on the field at WSU.
Dec. 11
Carter Pabst, WR
New school: TBD
Pabst is expected to enter the portal, according to a source familiar with the situation, ending his one-year stay with the Cougars. As a true freshman, Pabst played in nine games, totaling nine receptions for 168 yards and one touchdown, which came in a win over Toledo.
All told, Pabst played 203 snaps of offense, earning playing time with his reliable hands and solid blocking skills. A Kansas native, Pabst was once committed to North Dakota before flipping to South Dakota State, where former WSU coach Jimmy Rogers was coaching at the time. Pabst then flipped to the Cougars, following Rogers.
Cameron Weir, WR, walk-on
New school: TBD
As a true freshman walk-on, Weir never saw the field as a Cougar. He played his high school ball at Skyline High School, under former WSU linebacker Peyton Pelluer.
Dec. 10
Dalton Anderson, QB
New school: TBD
Anderson announced he's transferring in an Instagram post, leaving WSU after his first season in Pullman. A three-star prospect from Roosevelt High in Seattle, Anderson was once committed to Utah State before flipping to WSU. He also held offers from Montana and Boise State, the latter of which got him on a visit.
Anderson never saw the field as a Cougar.
Dec. 8
Anthony Palano, LB
New school: TBD
A native of the Chicago area, Palano started each of his first seven games at middle linebacker, earning coaches' trust even as a redshirt freshman. On the season, he totaled 63 tackles (25) tolo, 0.5 sacks and broke up two passes. By the end of the season, he was losing snaps to true freshman Sullivan Schlimgen, who looked like the sharper tackler, especially in space.
At South Dakota State, Palano was recruited by Bobbit, who grew up just down the road from Palano's hometown. Listed at 6-foot-1 and 224 pounds, Palano followed Rogers from WSU to SDSU in large part because of the connection he shares with Bobbit.
Palano is expected to play in the Idaho Potato Bowl, Bobbit said on Monday.
Palano's tackling issues may have cost him his starting spot — he missed 17 tackles in 11 games, per Pro Football Focus — but for WSU, his departure amounts to one of the bigger ones thus far.
Jovan Clark, LB
New school: TBD
A class of 2025 signee from the Chicago area, Clark never saw the field at WSU. Listed at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, Clark will look for a fresh start another institution.
Dec. 4
Jaxon Potter, QB
New school: TBD
In his third season at WSU, Potter won the starting QB job out of fall camp, emerging victorious from a competition with veteran Zevi Eckhaus and transfer Julian Dugger. But after Potter threw three interceptions in the first half of WSU's blowout loss to North Texas on Sept. 13, he was benched for Eckhaus, who took over the QB reins for the rest of the regular season.
A third-year sophomore from Huntington Beach, Califorina, Potter went 2-1 as a starter. All told, he completed 67 of 95 passes (71%) for 604 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. In his debut, Potter helped WSU sneak by nearby Idaho in a 13-10 victory. A week later, in the Cougars' blowout win over San Diego State, he connected on 28 of 42 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns, torching an Aztec defense that went on to blossom as one of the best in the nation.
Potter has lots of great qualities as a quarterback, but mobility is not one of them. WSU's coaching staff under Rogers valued that trait in a big way, which was another reason they pivoted away from Potter after Week 3. Potter is a true pocket-passer, which he showed to good effect, but the Cougars' offense wasn't the same with a QB who didn't feel comfortable running the ball.
Kenny Worthy, CB
New school: TBD
Worthy played backup cornerback this season, his first playing meaningful snaps at WSU, and he acquitted himself well. A redshirt freshman from the Phoenix area, Worthy totaled 23 tackles (13 solo) and one pass breakup in all 12 games, logging 348 total snaps on defense. He allowed 15 receptions on 28 targets, which is a respectable rate.
Worthy looked to be carving out an even more prominent role in the years ahead, but he may be spending those at another school.
Devin Ellison, WR
New school: TBD
After playing only 19 snaps in two games at WSU, Ellison departed the team in mid-November, rendering this less newsworthy. He totaled three catches for 52 yards and a touchdown, all of which came in WSU's loss to rival Washington in the Apple Cup on Sept. 20.
The Ellison saga will go down as one of the more fascinating in recent memory at WSU. Last winter, the former junior college star turned down recruiting finalists UCF and Boise State to commit to WSU, which was seen as a splash get for Rogers and the Cougs. He looked poised to thrive in Pullman.
Instead, he played in only two games, missing some because of injury and others because he was simply out of the rotation.
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