Herald wire services
Elijah Jackson is following Lawndale High School teammate Makell Esteen to Washington.
Esteen, a three-star safety in the Class of 2020, committed to UW on Sunday. Two days later, three-star cornerback Jackson (6-foot-2, 175 pounds) picked the Huskies, too.
With Jackson’s commitment on Tuesday, UW has now landed three defensive backs in the past four days. Four-star cornerback Jacobe Covington committed on Saturday.
Jackson is considered by 247Sports composite to be the No. 48 cornerback in the country and the No. 53 player in California. He previously narrowed his list to four schools: UW, UCLA, Cal and Utah, but he also had offers from Arizona State, Boise State, Texas Tech and Oregon State, among others.
Jackson finished his junior season with 64 tackles, three interceptions, six passes defended, four tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries. On offense, he caught 14 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns.
UW’s 2020 class is currently ranked No. 17 in the country and No. 2 in the Pac-12. With the addition of Jackson, the Huskies have eight commits from California — the most from any state. Esteen was the fourth defensive back to verbally commit and the sixth defensive prospect overall.
WSU boots lineman off team
PULLMAN — Christian Haangana, a redshirt junior offensive linemen who would’ve been a primary backup for Washington State this fall, has been removed from the team roster and is no longer a member of the Cougars football team, a source confirmed Monday to The Spokesman-Review.
Haangana’s time at WSU ends 12 days after the Whitman County District Court issued a warrant for his arrest after the player missed multiple court hearings linked to a late-April felony vandalism arrest at the College Hill apartment complex in Pullman.
The fourth-year player didn’t report to any of the team’s fall practices and coach Mike Leach said the player was “working through some things” and anticiapted that Haangana would rejoin the team eventually.
But that happened prior to the player missing his second court hearing, which Pullman Radio News reported on Aug. 12, and a warrant was activated for Haangana’s arrest shortly thereafter. The arrest warrant included standard $1,000 bond and was only active in the state of Washington, according to Pullman Radio News.
Haangana was expected to appear in court after he was arrested in April on felony vandalism charges for stomping on and damaging multiple vehicles at the College Hill complex, Pullman Police Commander Chris Tennant told The Spokesman-Review.
Two other WSU student-athletes — football player Fa’avae Fa’avae and women’s soccer player Makamae Gomera-Stevens — were also arrested, but both have been compliant and are still listed on their respective teams’ rosters. Fa’avae, a redshirt sophomore, is expected to play a key role for the Cougars’ defense this season as a backup “Rush” linebacker.
Haangana, a Milpitas, California, native, was a backup offensive guard for the Cougars who played in each of the past 26 games for the teams, primarily in a special teams role. He likely would’ve been the team’s top backup offensive guard in 2019.
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