Meet the 16 SDSU to WSU Transfers


Meet the 16 SDSU to WSU Transfers

WSU Football had 16 players follow Jimmy Rogers and staff from South Dakota State to Pullman. A lot of these players will be big contributors for the Cougs this season and in the coming seasons as well.


Kirby Vorhees (RB)

Vorhees comes to WSU as a redshirt sophomore after spending the last two years at SDSU. Vorhees is an extremely talented back who provided a great one-two punch with Angel Johnson at SDSU. Vorhees had 75 carries last season and averaged 7.7 yards per carry. He also added 8 rushing touchdowns to his impressive freshman season. Vorhees should compete for the RB2 role this season and looks to build off a very strong redshirt freshman campaign.


Tucker Large (S)

Tucker Large is another high-level addition to the WSU roster. Large was a big part of the 2023 SDSU team that won an FCS national championship. Large comes to WSU after taking a redshirt season, spending the last four years at SDSU. Multiple coaches have raved about him, and he had a very strong spring. He projects to be one of the leaders on a WSU defense that lost most of its starters from last year. Large knows the defensive system very well and will be a very important piece of the secondary.


Matthew Durance (S)

Durance joins the Cougs as a redshirt senior after spending his whole career at SDSU and winning two FCS national championships. Durance is another guy with a ton of experience in this defensive scheme and figures to be a key part of the secondary this season. He had a very good spring camp and looks to carry that momentum into the season.


Trey Ridley (S)

Ridley comes to WSU after redshirting at SDSU last season. He did see the field in a couple of games for SDSU. I project him as a backup this season and a likely starter come 2026. Coming out of high school, Ridley received an offer from Iowa State but chose to commit to Jimmy Rogers and SDSU instead. I think one more year of development and learning the system will do wonders for Ridley. I would not be surprised to see him get some snaps this year as well.


Caleb Francl (LB)

Francl comes to WSU as a fifth-year senior, spending his whole career at SDSU prior to transferring. He was named to the FCS All-American team last year. He recorded 78 total tackles and had 8 tackles in SDSU’s game against Oklahoma State. Francl projects as a guy who will get a lot of snaps this season and be a key part of the defense. He is familiar with the defensive scheme and plays extremely hard.


Carsten Reynolds (LB)

Reynolds comes to WSU as a redshirt freshman after redshirting at SDSU last season. At 6'3", 215 pounds, his frame projects well for this level. It may be hard for him to work his way into a crowded linebacker room this season, but he will most likely look to back up Caleb Francl. After another year developing under Jimmy Rogers, he could be a monster in the coming years.


Cale Reeder (S)

Reeder joins WSU as a redshirt senior after spending the last four years at SDSU. He has been a very important part of multiple SDSU defenses that were among the best in the FCS. Reeder projects as a starting safety on this WSU team. He took a redshirt season last year and did not participate in spring ball this year, so hopefully he will be able to get his feet under him quickly when the season starts.


Angel Johnson (RB)

Angel Johnson is a do-it-all, three-down back who was one of the highest-level additions to the WSU roster this offseason. Johnson rushed for over 600 yards and three touchdowns on just 91 carries last season — that's more than 7 yards per carry! He was also effective catching the ball out of the backfield and contributed on kickoff returns as well. Johnson projects as the Cougs’ RB1 this season, but the staff seems to like using a running back committee. So, he might carry the ball a similar amount of times as last season and not see his workload increase very much.

Max Baloun (DL)

Baloun finds his way to WSU as a redshirt senior, having spent the last five years at SDSU. He had a great spring and figures to be a contributor on the defensive line this season. At 6'6", 285 pounds, he has a great frame for a defensive tackle. It will be interesting to watch how he adjusts to the FBS level this season.


Fernando Lecuona (DL)

Lecuona comes to WSU as a redshirt freshman. He has put on around 10 pounds this offseason as he looks to make an impact on a new-look defensive line. Lecuona was a guy who caught my eye during the spring game. He was quick off the line and found himself in the backfield a few times. I’m looking forward to watching him develop this season.


Colby Humphrey (CB)

Humphrey joins the Cougs as a fifth-year senior. He’s a physical corner and should make an impact on this Cougar team. Last season for SDSU, Humphrey had 40 tackles, 5 pass breakups, and 1 interception. I expect to see him competing for a starting CB role this season and would not be surprised if he won out.


Jack Stevens (K)

Stevens comes to WSU after redshirting at SDSU last season. It seems he and Ryan Harris will be battling for starting kicking duties in fall camp. A fun fact about Stevens: his older brother, Drew Stevens, is one of the better kickers in the country, having been Iowa's placekicker for the last three seasons. I believe we will learn more about where the kicker situation stands as fall camp goes on.


Beau Baker (TE)

Baker comes to WSU after redshirting at SDSU last season. He was a four-star recruit out of high school and could be a very high-upside guy. The tight end room is very deep this year for WSU, so it could be tough for Baker to see a lot of snaps this season. As a redshirt freshman, Baker still has a lot of time to develop, and I will definitely be keeping an eye on him.


Anthony Palano (LB)

Palano redshirted last year at SDSU, so he enters WSU as a redshirt freshman. He did appear in three regular season games and three playoff games, meaning he was able to gain some experience last season. Palano projects as a high-level linebacker in Jimmy Rogers’ defense, and he should see the field this year for the Cougs. He has also put on around 15 pounds from where he was last season.


Maxwell Woods (RB)

Maxwell Woods comes to WSU as a redshirt freshman after redshirting last year at SDSU. During his redshirt season, he carried the ball 29 times and averaged over 6 yards per carry. Woods flashed great potential and should find himself with opportunities to grow his role this season. The running back room is pretty deep this year, so Woods will have to play well when given opportunities to carve out a role for himself.


Nick Bakken (OL)

Bakken joins the Cougs as a redshirt freshman. His 6'5", 300-pound frame projects very well at this level. It's also great to see that he added around 25 pounds this offseason. This was a guy the staff is high on, as they prioritized getting him to follow them to WSU. I think this will be another development year for Bakken before he really breaks out in 2026.


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