WSU RB Wayshawn Parker announced he’s entering the transfer portal. How will the Cougs manage the loss?

PULLMAN – Washington State has suffered its first big loss of the offseason.

True freshman running back Wayshawn Parker is entering the transfer portal, he announced Thursday morning, dealing a costly blow to the Cougars. The first WSU player to publicly announce he’s entering the portal this year, Parker spent one year in Pullman.

The portal does not officially open until Monday, when NCAA rules dictate coaches can begin contacting players in the portal, but plenty of players around the country have announced their plans to enter.

“I want to thank the whole Wazzu organization, coaches, and Ms. Aria my advisor for believing in me and giving me this opportunity to show my talent on the field for the past year I have been here. I will never forget the time I had here with Wazzu,” Parker wrote on social media.

For all intents and purposes WSU’s starting running back, Parker piled up 735 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 137 carries, good for an average rush of 5.4 yards.

Speedy and elusive, Parker unlocked the Cougars’ rushing attack in a way few running backs have recently, breaking free for long scoring runs like a 43-yarder against Texas Tech and a 75-yarder against Utah State.

Doing it all in his first year of college action, Parker’s quick ascent suggested he might be better in the years to come.

Three days after offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle left WSU for the same job at Oklahoma, Parker said he’ll be spending those seasons with another school.

There may be no way to replace Parker’s production on an individual level, but the team appears to have a solid group of running backs behind him.

Rising junior Leo Pulalasi appeared ready to take the reins this season before Parker eclipsed him. Fellow rising junior Djouvensky Schlenbaker – who was used primarily as a power back in short-yardage situations this fall – also remains available.

On Wednesday, WSU also signed incoming freshman running back Jamar Searcy, a 5-foot-8 speedster out of the California Bay Area. With offers from schools such as California, San Diego State and UNLV, Searcy’s recruitment amounted to a “heck of a battle hanging on to Jamar this whole way,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said, “but he’s gonna be a special one.”

Named the North Coast Section Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Searcy had 151 carries for 1,414 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior. He averaged 9.4 yards per rush, with eight 100-yard games . Searcy’s Pittsburg High club is in the playoffs. Searcy is not one of nine early enrollees in the class, which means he’ll arrive on campus in the summer.

On today’s roster, the Cougars also feature rising senior Dylan Paine, who missed most of this season with a torn ACL.

There’s also rising sophomore Josh Joyner, a former three-star prospect from the class of 2024 who turned down offers from Arizona, Colorado, Oregon State, Boston College, Nevada, Utah State, San Diego State, UNLV, Colorado State and Portland State to become a Coug.

It’s also possible that WSU checks out the transfer portal for a running back. The Cougars might feel good about their tailbacks, but they are also a largely unproven bunch, at least in a starter’s capacity. It’s up to WSU coaches to determine if Pulalasi, Schlenbaker or Searcy can carry 12 times a game, Parker’s average this season, or if they try their luck out of the portal.

Parker, a three-star prospect from Grant Union High in Sacramento, California, fielded offers from Washington, San Jose State, UNLV and Sacramento State out of high school. At one point a heavier kid who played fullback and linebacker, Parker worked to lose weight and increase his speed, which is when he started to collect more offers – and that led him to WSU.

Like all transfer portal entrants, Parker retains the option to withdraw his name and return to WSU.