Nick Rolovich, Washington State hit Texas again for 17th commitment

Nick Rolovich and his staff returned to one of the country’s most fertile recruiting areas to pick up Washington State’s 17th commitment in the 2021 class.

Joseph Manjack, a big wide receiver from the Houston metropolitan area, announced his commitment to the Cougars in a tweet Friday afternoon, nearly 24 hours after Rolovich hinted at the program’s 17th commitment with his usual bat signal.

The Tomball, Texas, native held a few other offers from Power Five schools and chose WSU over Pac-12 foes Arizona and Colorado, along with Wisconsin and Kansas. He also held offers from SMU, Arkansas State, Colorado State, Louisiana, Tulane, Tulsa and UTSA.

Manjack committed to SMU on May 5 but reopened his recruitment on July 19. WSU became the 13th school to offer Manjack on April 4.

The Lone Star State was a hot spot for WSU’s last coaching staff, partially the result of Mike Leach’s history there.

It’s been an important region for Rolovich’s staff, as well, and Manhack becomes WSU’s fourth commitment from Texas in this class, joining defensive end Raam Stevenson Jr., linebacker Jayhvion Gipson and safety Adrian Shepherd.

Rolovich signed Jay Wilkerson, a receiver from the Dallas area, in February nearly one month after arriving at WSU.

Of the three receivers committed in the 2021 class, the others being California’s Orion Peters (5-foot-10, 170 pounds) and Tsion Nunnally (6-2, 195), Manjack has the best size at 6-3, 200.

He was the top offensive player at Alief Hastings High as a junior, accumulating 1,695 all-purpose yards and 22 touchdowns. Manjack’s offensive numbers : 69 receptions for 1,246 yards and 15 touchdowns; 28 carries for 232 yards and three touchdowns; and 11-of-17 passing for 217 yards and four touchdowns.

Manjack was also a major special teams contributor, serving as his team’s primary punter with 16 punts for 574 yards and an average of 35.9 yards per punt. He returned seven kickoffs for 188 yards and an average of 26.9 yards per return. As a sophomore, Manjack had 649 receiving yards, 272 rushing yards and 269 passing yards, compiling 13 touchdowns.

The receiver, who earned first-team, all-district honors as a junior and carried a 3.32 GPA, transferred to Tomball Memorial for his senior season. The Wildcats open their season Sept. 17 against Kingwood.