Mike Pettway becomes third Washington State WR in as many weeks to enter transfer portal

Whenever Washington State does return to a football field, its wide receiving corps will look different than most expected it would earlier this year.

Mike Pettway, a three-star receiver who signed with new coach Nick Rolovich on Feb. 5, has reportedly entered the NCAA transfer portal, according to 247Sports.com.

He becomes the Cougars’ third receiver in as many weeks to enter the portal, joining former starters Tay Martin and Rodrick Fisher. Martin recently transferred to Oklahoma State and announced earlier this week he’d been declared eligible to play immediately. It’s unclear where Fisher, a Spokane native and East Valley graduate, will land.

A 6-foot 170-pound receiver out of Alabaster, Alabama, Pettway committed to WSU on Feb. 4, less than 24 hours before national signing day, then inked with the Cougars despite holding other Power Five offers from Mississippi State, Cincinnati, Louisville, Indiana and Virginia.

Pettway was one of two receivers to sign with the Cougars in February, joining Texas’ Jay Wilkerson.

While WSU has sufficient depth at the inside receiver positions, bringing back three players – Renard Bell, Travell Harris and Jamire Calvin – who’ve combined for over 2,900 career receiving yards, the Cougars appear to be thin at the outside spots.

Other than Calvin Jackson Jr., who has 404 career receiving yards and played in four games during a redshirt season in 2019, the Cougars have just one other returning outside receiver in Brandon Gray. The redshirt sophomore caught only two passes in limited field time last season.

In Mike Leach’s final season at WSU, outside receiver was one of the team’s most loaded positions. The Cougars rotated between Martin and Fisher at the “X” position, and had the luxury of flipping between Dezmon Patmon and Easop Winston Jr. at “Z.”

Kassidy Woods, another player capable of playing on the outside, indicated earlier in the summer he was opting out for health reasons. It’s unclear if Woods would return to the Cougars to play a late fall season, now that the Pac-12 Conference has partnered with Quidel Corporation, a company that will supply the league’s members with machines that give football programs rapid COVID-19 testing. Woods told The Spokesman-Review the league’s lack of uniformity in testing procedures was one reason he chose to opt out of the 2020 season, which was ultimately postponed to Jan. 1.