RB Leo Pulalasi announces he's returning to WSU, reversing course from decision to hit transfer portal

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Jan. 8—PULLMAN — Next season, Washington State's running back corps should be in good shape.

On Thursday morning, running back Leo Pulalasi announced he's returning to the Cougars, reversing course from his decision to enter the transfer portal. It's a massive retention for WSU, whose running back rotation next season will also include starter Kirby Vorhees and key backup Maxwell Woods, both of whom recently re-signed with the program.

WSU hasn't officially announced Pulalasi has re-signed with the team, but the running back indicated he's returning with a social media post. It's likely the Cougars will make things official in the coming days.

A Tacoma native, Pulalasi just wrapped up his third year of action at WSU last season, rushing 38 times for 205 yards, good for an average carry of 5.4 yards. Pulalasi was almost always efficient with his carries, but he battled injuries for part of the year, and he wasn't always at the top of the Cougars' RB rotation. Pulalasi's best season came in 2024, when he totaled 302 yards and two touchdowns on 65 carries.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 212 pounds, Pulalasi's combination of speed and power made him an effective back, and he leveraged both to good effect. Last season, his best outing came in a road win over Colorado State, which he burned for 50 yards on three carries — most coming on a 45-yard burst.

Based on the way Pulalasi made this announcement, tagging WSU coach Kirby Moore and new general manager Brad Larrondo in his post, it's likely the duo made him a compelling offer. Pulalasi is the third player to exit the portal and return to the Cougars this offseason, joining Vorhees and wide receiver Tony Freeman, although it's unclear if either were ever actually in the portal — they had only decided to enter.

The portal opened Friday and will close on Jan. 16. Pulalasi decided to enter on Saturday.

With a tailback trio of Vorhees, Woods and Pulalasi, the Cougs' ground game should be robust next season. Last fall, Vorhees took over starting duties midseason and went on to total 576 yards and five touchdowns, while Woods broke free for 117 yards on nine carries in WSU's bowl game win last month, highlighting his promising future.

The Cougs' new running backs coach is Justin Green, who held the same position at FCS power Montana for the previous 14 seasons, mentoring several star running backs with the Griz. Will Pulalasi be the next? That much is unclear, but what seems clearer is this: He'll play a key role in what figures to be a versatile WSU running back corps next fall.

Cougars add three more players from portal

Later on Thursday, four more players announced they're taking their talents to Pullman: SMU edge rusher DJ Warner, Arizona edge Eduwa Okundaye, Vanderbilt edge Linus Zunk and Cal defensive lineman Ike Okafor, which makes 11 offseason additions for the Cougars. That includes seven on defense, signaling the importance Moore and coaches have placed on replenishing that side of the ball, where the team is losing several key players.

In that trio, if there's one surefire candidate to earn meaningful snaps right away, it's Warner. As a sophomore last season at SMU, he played in all 12 games, totaling two sacks on 18 quarterback pressures. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 231 pounds, Warner played his true freshman season at Kansas, where he also played in 12 games. That means when he suits up for WSU, he'll have 24 games of Power Four experience to his name, which could help his team establish the same kind of defensive line depth that played a key role in the Cougs' 2025 success.

Warner is a native of the Phoenix area, where he earned offers from Oregon, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, Washington, Arizona, Arizona State and others as a class of 2024 prospect. He eventually took his talents to Kansas, where he picked up five QB pressures in his 12 games, playing in a backup role.

Warner's addition will help WSU shore up its defensive line, as will the commitment from Okafor, who redshirted and didn't play as a true freshman at Cal last season. Hailing from Nigeria, Warner is listed at 6-foot-3 and 280 pounds, the kind of size that could pair well with Warner on the Cougars' defensive line. For Okafor's pledge, WSU might be able to thank new defensive ends coach Andrew Browning, who spent the previous eight seasons with the Golden Bears.

As a class of 2025 prospect, Okafor picked up offers from Texas Tech, Minnesota, Houston, ASU, Pittsburgh, UNLV and a handful of other schools. With his size and raw potential, he had huge upside — and he still does, according to WSU coaches, who might hand him real snaps in short order.

The Cougs added even more reinforcements to their defensive front by signing Okundaye, who played in eight games in two years at Arizona. He played four games on special teams in his true freshman season in 2024, then four more on defense last season, posting one QB pressure. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 243 pounds, Okundaye was a class of 2024 prospect, landing offers from Houston, Kansas State, San Diego State and others at that time. He could compete for a starting role early at WSU.

Finally, late on Thursday evening WSU signed Zunk, who played in 36 games across three seasons of action at Vanderbilt, tallying two sacks on 13 pressure last season. A native of Berlin, Germany, Zunk is listed at 6-foot-6 and 270 pounds, a hulking pass rusher who figures to make an immediate splash with the Cougs. Last fall, he also registered 15 tackles, including 3 1/2 for loss, giving him 38 tackles (7 1/2 for loss) and five sacks for his Commodore career.

All told, it's a massive haul for the Cougs, who are already making bigger splashes in the transfer portal than this program did in each of the previous two seasons. It also comes at a key time for WSU. Veteran defensive tackles Max Baloun and Bryson Lamb, plus edge rusher Malaki Ta'ase, are all following former coach Jimmy Rogers to Iowa State, creating big holes up front for the Cougars. Only time will tell how these new signees will fare this fall, but so far, the early returns are solid for Washington State.

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