Mike Leach is at it again, picking up a commitment (Washington State’s 4th of 2014) from a nice looking receiver out of Inglewood, CA this morning. His name is Zaire Andre and he fits the mold.
Washington State has been stockpiling of late on taller receivers, trying to add to their perimeter presence, but Andre is the prototype “big” inside receiver that Mike Leach and new inside receivers’ coach David Yost covet. At 6’0″, 170 lbs Andre is physical and shifty with soft hands and can turn on the burners in the open field. Adding 10-15 lbs, he’ll be a perfect compliment to the smaller guys like Robert Lewis on the inside. Also, he should fit right away into the special teams plans, as the Cougars really haven’t figured anything out there yet and Andre is a natural up-the-field returner who can fit through small seams and turn a 5 yard return into a house call.
Zaire Andre is a 3-star prospect who had offers from Nebraska, Houston, Nevada and SJSU. He was also getting plenty of other attention from the Pac-12, but is “solid” in his commitment at this point in the game. In the end, the coaching staff seems to have been the biggest draw for Andre, who said he realized he fits in well with the offense and has special relationships with Yost and Dennis Simmons that will help him avoid the homesick feelings of being away from family.
He is likely one of two receivers we expect to see in this class, barring a surprise standout from either the high school or junior college ranks. The Cougs are just loaded with young talent at receiver and have no senior graduations in 2013/2014.
ACU will have a video breakdown of Andre within the next day or so.
Go Cougs!