Cougars add five to football roster

PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University football has signed five student-athletes to a National Letter of Intent or Financial Aid Agreement, Cougar Football Head Coach Mike Leach announced Wednesday. All are expected to enroll in classes at WSU for spring semester, which begins Jan. 7, 2013.

Those student-athletes signing a letter of intent include Lyman Faoliu, Ivan McLennan and Jacob Seydel. Robert Lewis and B.J. Salmonson, who were a part of Leach’s 2012 signing class and delayed enrollment, signed a financial aid agreement.

“We are excited about the start to this class,” said Leach. “Our coaching staff has worked extremely hard over the past year and this class is going to be key for us in the future,” said Leach. “Lyman and Jacob give us added size on both lines which is always a priority and Ivan gives us another athletic playmaker on defense. Robert will certainly add speed to our receiving unit and B.J. is a person who is physical and embraces contact.

“Having all five in school in January gives them an opportunity to adjust to a new environment and have the benefit of going through winter conditioning and spring practice.”

Faoliu is a 6-2, 275-pound defensive end from the College of San Mateo. In 2012 he recorded 46 tackles, including 3.5 tackles-for-loss and two sacks, while being named to the All-NorCal Conference team. He had a season-high nine tackles against DeAnza while leading his team to a 7-4 record.

McLennan is a 6-3, 220-pound linebacker out of El Camino Junior College. During his two seasons at El Camino McLennan collected 156 total tackles, 20 tackles-for-loss and 4.5 sacks. He was twice named to the all-Central Coast Conference team and most recently was rated as the No. 2 outside linebacker prospect by 247Sports.com.

Seydel is a 6-6, 285-pound offensive lineman out of Riverside Community College. He anchored an offensive line that helped Riverside to a 9-2 record in 2012 and led the conference in scoring, yards per game and passing yards. He garnered All-Central Coast First Team honors will being rated the No. 14 offensive tackle prospect by 247Sports.com. Seydel enrolled at UCLA following his freshman year but returned to Riverside prior to the 2012 season.

Lewis originally signed a National Letter of Intent in February, 2012, but delayed his enrollment at WSU until the 2013 spring semester. A 5-10, 160-pound wide receiver out of South East High School in South Gate, Calif., he led his team to a 13-1 record and the City Section D-II Championship in 2011. Following the season he was named the Player of the year in the division, league and region and was an All-Area First Team selection by the Los Angeles Times.

Salmonson is 6-5, 285-pound offensive lineman from Nooksack Valley High School in Everson, Wash. He also was a member of Mike Leach’s inaugural signing class in 2012 before deciding to delay enrollment until spring, 2013. He was a two-time All-State honoree by the Associated Press, first team as a senior in 2011, and was selected to the All-Northwest Conference first team on both lines each of his final two seasons.