Washington State Football 2025 Roster Preview: Wide Receivers

One of the deepest position groups on Washington State's football roster going into this fall is the receiver group. Made up largely of guys who have been around the program for a while, the bunch should be enough to help Zevi Eckhaus and the offense maintain a potent attack through the air. That, though, is not to say that some of the biggest names in the room might not end up being guys who transferred in. The nucleus of the starting rotation, in fact, is comprised mostly of transfers. All in all, the receiving corps shapes up to be a good one and it will likely have to be as the offense heads into uncharted waters in the post Kyle Williams-era. Here's who's who as far as receivers go for the Cougars in 2025.

The Starters

Trying to replace a guy like Williams who is now in the NFL is going to be a difficult task but Jimmy Rogers hopes that he has the playmakers to do it between who stayed from last year and who he brought in via the portal. As far as who stayed, Josh Meredith is certainly the biggest name in that bunch. The redshirt senior who started eight games for the Cougs last year is now thrust into a primary role. Meredith saw the most game time of his career last year, catching 39 passes for 472 yards and two touchdowns. Moving forward it certainly seems as though he'll be one of the most looked at targets in the passing game,.

Another notable in the receiving corps will be transfer Devin Ellison. Ellison comes in from the junior college ranks at Monterey Peninsula College where he had a spectacular 2024 season, bringing in 16 touchdowns and racking up 837 yards en route to California Region 2 Offensive MVP honors. Ellison is expected to make a big splash with Washington State this season, especially after a strong showing during spring ball earliler this year.

The third guy who should be in and out of the starting rotation quite a bit this fall will be Oregon State transfer Jeremiah Noga. Noga, a redshirt senior, played more of a complimentary role with the Beavers but still picked up plenty of experience. He averaged 11.6 yards per catch last season and was responsible for 266 yards.

The Reserves

Moving down the depth chart will show Cougars fans some names they are more familiar with. Guys like Leyton Smithson and Tony Freeman who were on the squad last year are still around and should be solid two-spot players when the season starts. Smithson, who saw lots of action as a kick returner last year, has not seen the field much as a wideout in recent years but does have 235 yards and a score. He may certainly an option on trick plays or non-standard passing packages if Rogers so chooses. Freeman, meanwhile, appeared in all 13 games last season and caught eight passes for 125 yards.

Leon Neal Jr. is also one to keep an eye on. A redshirt senior this year, Neal has taken a very similar path as Smithson and carved his way in on special teams. He has not played much as an actual wideout but could start to switch over, at least a little, with a new coaching staff calling the shots now.

The others in the group who may also get a shot to play significant snaps this year are redshirt sophomore Branden Ganashamoorthy and junior Kaden Harken. Ganashamoorthy caught five passes in 2024 for 45 yards while Harken is fresh in from Dordt Universtiy where he had 48 receptions for 751 yards and five scores.

Behind them, six freshman are waiting but will likely not get to play much to meet redshirt requirements. They are Carter Pabst (Eisenhower High School), Cameron Weir (Skyline High School), Tristain Drummond (Eastlake High School), Noah Westbrook (Centennial High School), Landon Wright (Clovis West High School) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Tustin High School).