Leading tackler Brown booted from Cougars

Happy New Year? Not if you’re a fan of the Washington State football team. A source with close ties to the Cougars said Monday that CB Daquawn Brown, WSU’s leading tackler in 2014, has been dismissed from the team.

The source said there is no truth to speculation that Brown was temporarily suspended. A WSU spokesperson, citing team policy on disciplinary matters, said the Cougars had no immediate comment. Brown presumably broke a team rule.

Brown, a junior-to-be from Los Angeles, was the most consistent player in WSU’s freshmen-laden, mistake-prone secondary. Brown was tied for 12^th in the Pac-12 Conference in tackles (82) and tied for seventh in passes defended (11).

Cornerback Kevin Griffin has already said he will transfer after seeing little action as a freshman at WSU this season. Also, four-star cornerback prospect Austin Joyner from Marysville-Pilchuck High School withdrew his verbal commitment to the Cougars earlier this month.

Joyner, the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in prep football, said he has not ruled out signing a letter of intent with the Cougars in February. He noted that the Cougars have yet to hire a replacement for defensive coordinator /secondary coach Mike Breske, who was fired after the season.

Washington State’s recruiting class is currently ranked 30^th in the nation by Scout.com. That’s one of the highest ranks in WSU history. The Cougars have commitments from five four-star players – five stars is tops – matching the total number of four-stars signed by WSU in the previous five years combined.

One of the incoming four-star players, safety Shalom Luani, signed a letter of intent this month. Luani was the Bay 6 Conference Defensive Player of the Year for City College of San Francisco, the junior college where former USC and NFL star O.J. Simpson played.