WSU recruiting notebook: Cougars land commitment from Cali WR, lose one WR to Oregon

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Jun. 8—PULLMAN — Washington State's recent influx of visitors has begun to bear fruit.

The Cougars have secured a commitment from wide receiver Tomas Dixon, who announced his decision on Monday afternoon, becoming the 10th member of WSU's class of 2027. Listed at 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds, Dixon comes from San Joaquin Memorial High in Fresno, California.

Last weekend, a host of prospects made their official visits to Pullman, and some have decided to commit to coach Kirby Moore and the Cougars. That list now includes Dixon, who hauled in 30 catches for 779 yards and eight touchdowns last fall, his junior season. Dixon also plays defensive back, where he posted 35 total tackles and two interceptions last season.

Dixon turned down a handful of offers to choose WSU, including hometown Fresno State, plus Colorado State, San Diego State and Texas State, all future members of the new Pac-12. Dixon's full list of offers also includes UNLV, New Mexico, San Jose State, Hawaii and FCS clubs Idaho, Montana State, Sacramento State and Northern Arizona.

For WSU, Dixon's pledge is the latest in a recent string of them. On Saturday, the Cougars earned a commitment from three-star edge rusher Colton Richter, and a day later, they reeled in one from tight end Jettson Gillam. Both Richter and Gillam made their official visits to WSU last weekend.

Dixon is also the second WR in the Cougs' class of 2027, which also includes California native Adrian Barnett, who announced his commitment last week.

WSU loses 3-star WR after four-day commitment

Also on Monday, the Cougars lost three-star wide receiver Malachi Garlington, who announced he's flipping to Oregon. He spent all of four days committed to WSU.

Here's the sequence of events: Late last week, the 6-foot-3, 180-pound Garlington committed to WSU, becoming maybe the gem of the Cougars' class. Then he took an official visit to Oregon, which is only a short drive from Garlington's hometown of Happy Valley, in the Portland area.

On Monday, he announced his decision to decommit from WSU and pledge to Oregon. Exact details of the development are unclear, but it is another instance of the Cougars losing a high-profile recruit to a Power 4 school with more resources and name, image, likeness dollars. Washington State long has been at a disadvantage in that area, but the gap has become even more clear in the years since the traditional Pac-12 dissolved.

A product of Adrienne C. Nelson High School in the Portland area, Garlington fielded offers from incoming Pac-12 programs Oregon State, Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State and others.

Garlington also competes in track and field at Adrienne Nelson High, where he recorded one first-place finish in the 100-meter dash this spring, a time of 11.71 seconds. He recorded two first-place finishes with his 4×100 relay team, plus two more first-place finishes in the long jump. His best long jump was 21 feet, 10 inches, which got him second place in one invitational in early May.

Garlington's size and speed made him a hot commodity in the Northwest recruiting market, which was one reason Oregon extended an offer.

WSU's updated class of 2027:

—Tomas Dixon, WR, San Joaquin Memorial HS (Fresno, California)

—Jettson Gillam, TE, Mountain View HS (Bend, Oregon)

—Colton Richter, 3-star DE, Shadow Ridge HS (Las Vegas, Nevada)

—Adrian Barnett, ATH, the King's Academy (Sunnydale, California)

—Owen Yurosek, TE, Bakersfield HS (Bakersfield, California)

—Ryan Harrington, 3-star QB, Anacortes HS (Washington)

—Josiah Rand, 3-star LB, Chaminade HS (West Hills, California)

—Marquez Wimberly, 3-star RB, Nazareth HS (Nazareth, Pennsylvania)

—Lopeti Malupo, 3-star DL, Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco)

—EJ Coleman, 3-star ATH, Folsom HS (Folsom, California)

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