The Hotline is delighted to provide West Coast fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Phoenix-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. He submitted the following report on Nov. 13 …
West Coast exodus: rinse, repeat
Another year of the West Coast teams targeting Californians.
Another year of those Californians leaving the region.
First, three-star recruit Jaxsen Stokes, Sierra Canyon High School’s class of 2027 running back, announced his commitment to Oklahoma. (Sooners recruiting staffer Stacey Ford had been at UCLA and is a Los Angeles native; he was heavily involved with Stokes.)
Second, Khalil Terry, a four-star safety from Tustin HS, picked Notre Dame after much buzz about him opting for USC (after decommitting from Michigan State). Terry had been leaning to the Trojans, but the Irish brought him to campus last weekend and were able to land his commitment.
His Tustin teammate, four-star linebacker Taven Epps, de-committed from Texas and drew interest from both USC and UCLA. But the recruiting grapevine expects him to follow Stokes to Oklahoma.
If that isn’t enough West Coast misery, three-star prospect Tradon Bessinger, the top uncommitted passer quarterback in the West in the 2026 class, de-committed from Boise State, turned down BYU (his in-state school) and UCLA, and committed to Iowa over the weekend.
The story stays the same even though the year changes.
Cougars stay crimson hot
Its been a roller coaster week for Washington State, which fired athletic director, Anne McCoy, on Wednesday.
But on the recruiting trail, the Cougars landed three commitments.
They flipped offensive lineman Derek Worden from New Mexico.
His pledge was sandwiched between commitments from Texas receiver Jamal Polite Jr. and Louisiana athlete John Johnson.
For as inconsistent as the season has been for WSU, coach Jimmy Rogers and his staff have recruited extremely well.
According to the 247Sports database, the Cougars have 24 commitments in the 2025-26 recruiting cycle, all from three-star prospects.
ASU’s big weekend
The Sun Devils, who remain alive in their defense of the Big 12 title, play their penultimate home game this weekend against West Virginia.
Two of the top-10 junior college players in the country will be making official visits.
One is the No. 1 prospect in the country, according to the 247Sports composite rankings: East Los Angeles Community College defensive lineman David Chukwuemeka.
He will be joined in Tempe by the No. 3 defensive lineman in the class: New Mexico Military Institute’s Kirtland Vakalahi.
The Sun Devils also have an intriguing official visitor from New Zealand in tight end Nathaniel Salmon.
Salmon has a basketball background and never played football, but he came to the U.S. to take a shot at the NFL following an intensive 10-week training program.
While he never made an NFL roster, Salmon discovered he had full NCAA eligibility and now will visit Arizona State in advance of trips to North Carolina and Utah.
Washington: flip time in the Northwest?
The Huskies have made a habit out of recruiting Oregon.
Two of the top-four recruits in the state play for schools in Lake Oswego: Lakeridge running back Ansu Sanoe and Lake Oswego athlete Sam Vyhlidal.
Both of the three-star prospects are committed to Washington.
Right behind those two in the Oregon state rankings is Sanoe’s teammate at Lakeridge, edge rusher Noah Tishendorf.
Tishendorf was a one-time commit to Oregon State, then flipped to West Virginia in the spring.
But this week, the Huskies offered a scholarship. They are counting on Sanoe and Vyhlidal having room in the carpool to Seattle come January. They will host Tishendorf on Saturday when UW faces Purdue.
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