I hear you. I guess for me, the proponent of staying in FCS/Big Sky football for at least another four years, is that we're not going to compete on this level for certain players and we have to accept the fact that a few are going to leave. The secret sauce is in recruiting/developing/retaining at a high enough level to compete for conference/national titles on an annual basis. "Davis guy" will still mean something to Davis guys.

If he's any good at WSU, he's not going to stay there either, just like his predecessors. It's just a stop.

They don’t exactly mention if they gave him truck (in which case he may owe taxes as income) or if this is more of a lend/lease as long you play here arrangement. I won’t wish him ill or well. I will just wish for him to earn what he deserves and deserve what he earns.

A tacky ad. But that is kind of Wazzu brand. If you imagined the old PAC12 having a BBQ, everyone else would be grilling ribs and briskets in the backyard while WSU and ASU were blaring country music and shotgunning Natty Ices in the driveway. So I guess the truck tracks.

These are leases.

Man some of you are salty. Have none of you left a current job for one that pays you more or provides you a better opportunity to get to where you hope to go in life? Because let's be honest here, college football is essentially a job at this point. We can call them "student-athletes" all we want but it's different from what it used to be.

Be thankful he gave us the 2025 season. It was very enjoyable. It will also likely help us get more quality players going forward so hopefully we'll have more seasons as good or better than 2025.

Wish him well. Root for the best for him. Hope he succeeds.

His choice is rational, he might bounce next year, too. He may have a possible CFL career if the long shot NFL doesn't work.

?? Why? He isn't an Aggie. In 3 years from now, nobody will remember him. I'll put up money that CP's replacement will be a better football player once their careers are over and the a Davis degree is much more valuable than a WAZZU degree, especially if he want to live in California.

Why not root for him? Because he left? That's the nature of the game. Good for him. Yeah, it sucks that he won't be here the next three years. But one guy said he's "persona non grata" and another guy said he won't wish him well or ill. There's no reason to not just wish him well and root for him to succeed. It's not like he left and went to Sac St.

Let me break it down for you, CP is irrelevant. He isn't an Aggie. He didn't get his degree here. I think most are like "Whatever" he is irrelevant. Come this fall, nobody will be thinking about him at all.

From my perspective, I'm not rooting against him and I wish him the best. But I'm not going to follow him and go out of my way to root for him, because he's irrelevant to the cause at hand. The only thing he did to attract a good player here was leave, and that opened the door for the Minnesota/Orange County QB to come in and compete. Nobody on the roster or signing this year came because of him. It's not a matter of dislike or ill feelings towards CP, rather, I'm moving on from him and don't really concern myself with Washington State football. My feelings on the matter, over it.

The only thing he did to attract a good player here was leave — Pacifico2

He helped us make the FCS quarterfinals. With a worse QB, we probably don't get a bye and probably don't make the quarterfinals. Making and advancing in the playoffs helps gets your name out there and makes recruits want to come to your school. Therefore, he will undoubtedly help us getting better players in.

And yes, I know this is a team game and it's not all about one player. But the QB has the most impact of any player on a team.

Pinnick as a first year starter, led an offense that was marginally more effective than the prior year where we had an all conference QB and an all american running back. I feel like rooting for Pinnick but I’ll have some mixed emotions. I hope he does well because if he doesn’t the narrative will be that this FCS star can’t play at FBS level. The whole FBS/FCS distinction is the most irritating yet omnipresent theme in college football.

I'm just excited to watch Fisher hit holes like his hair's on fire

Stretching it, but there's merit to what you're saying. Plough & staff are a greater draw than the previous season's QB, in my opinion.

Not really a stretch.

We beat Utah Tech 31-24 after trailing 24-7. Pinnick went 21-31, 253, 3 TD, 1 INT and rushed for 41 yards.
We beat Cal Poly 34-27. Pinnick went 21-26, 313, 3 TD and rushed for 68 yards and a TD.
We beat Sac St 31-27. Pinnick went 24-30, 306, 2 TD

We were an 8 seed this year (and not a clear cut one either). Our defense wasn't very good which means we got to where we were on the back of our offense. If we lose one of those three game, we don't get a bye. Lose two and we're out of the playoffs.

We're not an FBS team where you can just spend a bunch of money, hire a decent coach and become successful. We're not North Dakota St, South Dakota St or Montana St either. You have to win games to get the attention of recruits. More wins = better recruits. Better playoff results = better recruits.

I never said he was the sole reason or even the biggest reason we might get better recruits. But his season undoubtedly helped us. You can make the same case for Lan last year. Maybe we get to a point where getting the 12 seed is considered a down season. That would be awesome! At that point, one player probably won't matter all that much as far as recruiting goes. But we're not there yet.

I agree with you man. If I was 20 I’m taking the cash. Like I said before, in this shit economy you have Harvard guys that are unemployed. It’s not 20 years ago. Rooting for the kid and hope he has a Cam Ward trajectory, that would look really nice for Plough and serve as a nice recruiting pitch. I’ll absolutely be tuning into a Wazzu game or two pulling for the kid.

Not arguing his contributions, his abilities, or what he meant to the 2025 football team and it's success. We'll obviously never know what might have happened if he wasn't the starting QB, but we were 1-0 against Northern Colorado with the "other guy", and I would rate UNC on a similar scale as Utah Tech (a game we should have won by 4 TD), Cal Poly (played out of their minds while the Aggies were a little flat), and Sacramento "we set the forward pass back 100 years that game" State.

I think Davis being the 8 seed was a bit of a reach in hindsight, but we take it.

Our Defense "wasn't very good" is misleading. Missing players like the Connors bros., key edge players, and, at times, 3/5 of the original starting secondary (with one starter being a true freshman) would challenge any program, with the potential of every game becoming a track meet. Yet, despite the injuries, the Ags managed to be in a position to win every game except Washington, contended for a Big Sky title, and earned an 8 seed. That is impressive. Stats are misleading. (Note: I didn't think Illinois State was our best defensive game on many levels)

Conversely, the offensive injuries came at positions where we had outstanding depth (Running Back, Tight End). The Offensive Line was a solid, veteran group. The frontline Tailback was dynamite, the "other" Tight End was an all-American, and the receiving corps stayed healthy all season. That typically equates to putting the QB in a position to be successful, which he was. He was better than "successful"; he was a freaking freshman all-American and had some incredible games and individual plays.

Davis has a proven recruiting model that has worked for a long, long time: recruit good players and people, develop them, and, in today's college football, fight like hell to retain them. This is a classical model for building a program, but it still works. And the system will generally be prepared with depth to replace departing players (graduation, transfers, injuries). That's why it has proven successful. Next man up. CP won't be the last guy to take money and run. And I don't blame him or judge him. I just won't take the time to follow his progress or be cheering for the Cougs, but I wish him all the personal success and happiness in the world. Go Ags!

He used Davis a stepping stone, and Plough can use him as an example in the recruiting game. The relationship can be mutually beneficial.

Its all good. He has friends on the team that will stay friends, I'm sure. Fans are going to fan, either way...

We can call them "student-athletes" all we want but it's different from what it used to be. — cmt

I disagree when it comes to Davis and it's why I donate and am so passionate about our athletics programs. I love hearing all of the stories about kids who stopped playing after college, then went on to do something else that is equally remarkable. I truly believe in the "Aggie guy" mantra.

Cal Poly’s 2026 Transfers (9 four year and 10 JC):

O-line:
Davit Boyajyan: 6’5” 315 - Washington
Nick Brown: 6’6” 315 - Saddleback JC
Noah Delvin: 6’6” 275 - Santa Monica JC

RB:
Jaden Green: 5’9” 185 - Lehigh
Koen Glover: 5’10” 205 - Ventura JC

QB:
Demaricus Davis: 6’4” 200 - Hawaii

WR:
Ray Hall: 6’0” 175 - Western Michigan
Tayvion McCoy: 6’0” 180 - Ventura JC

TE:
Gavin Nelson: 6’4” 240 - Sac State
Ryan Gillum: 6’3” 240 - Ventura JC

DL:
Nicholas Fernandez: 6’4” 305 - UTRGV
Jared Cuenca: 6’1” 300 - Shasta JC

Edge:
Gavin Molloy: 6’3” 240 - American River JC
Jaloon Booth: 6’3” 230 - Modesto JC
Kade Millard: 6’3” 250 - American River JC


LB:
Chase Martin: 6’1” 225 - Boise State

DB:
RL Miller: 6’3” 194 - Fresno State

Punter: Dean Scrivner: 6’1” 210 - Fresno JC

Long Snapper: Payton Hoff - 6’0” 225 - Grambling State

Cal Poly departures in the Portal:

DB Jeremiah Bernard - Washington State
QB Ty Deiffenbach - UCLA
DB Brian Dukes - San Jose State
CB CJ Solis-Lumar - Washington State
OL Charlie Adams - Kansas State
OL Trevor Newkirk - Portland State
OL Racin Delgatty - Alabama
TE Reese Brooks - Montana

Thanks for the update SLO!

I believe Jaden Green was looking at Davis too - but when Tim signed Sylvester, I imagine it was an easy choice to go to the Mustangs.

3 Offensive Linemen transferring is interesting. Did any see significant playing time in 2025?

Weird that ON3 which is supposedly the best source for transfer portal tracking has not listed Caden Pinnick as either transferring from Davis or to Washington State.
247sports.com rates Pinnick and Jaden Rashada about the same as transfers, which seems obtuse.

It is possible that CP got the NIL offer directly from the collective which required no negotiations and thus no agent was needed. Which also means the agent was not there to crow about “his client” getting such a “Great deal” on social media or elsewhere. It is certainly not in the best interests of WSU a at this point to advertise the deal was done until as late as they can. I.e after the portal has closed. Just a thought.

he definitely had a ‘representative’ helping with his transfer

Yeah, but if he got the NIL offer that he was happy with and that he accepted it directly from the collective, he did not need his agent to get this done and it would be unethical for the agent to even ask for his percentage (Usually 5-20%). Although some unscrupulous agents have been caught trying to do just that. Hey, I’m just trying to figure out why no announcement. Just a theory. Boring Saturday!

The Caden Pinnick signing was noted in a lot of articles including the Seattle Times, Sacramento Bee sports illustrated and social media. It is just On3 that missed it,

But not an official announcement from WSU. Or am I missing something?

You’re missing a lot of things. He has an agent, his signing was announced by WSU, etc.

Spending some dough down there... I've noticed all the transfers heading to CP, going to be an interesting chemistry experiment. Reminds me of Sac State last year. Also, easier to get into Poly as a transfer than out of HS. I remember that from my recruitment 100 years ago.