The author of one of the most iconic moments in Washington Huskies history is entering the transfer portal.

Cornerback Elijah Jackson, who had the game-winning pass breakup that sent Washington to the national championship last season, announced on his social media that he will search for a new home for his final season of eligibility on Wednesday.

Jackson was passed on the depth chart this season by Arizona transfer Ephesians Prysock and emergent senior Thaddeus Dixon, relegating him to rotational duties on the outside after an injury kept him out for most of spring practice. He played only 152 snaps on defense, with ten tackles and two pass breakups.

His best play of the 2024 season came on special teams against Northwestern when Jackson chased down Wildcats returner Joseph Himon II inside the five-yard line to prevent a kickoff return for a touchdown. The Huskies defense responded with a goal-line stand, preserving critical momentum in what became a 24-5 victory.

Jackson is the fourth member of the Huskies secondary to enter the portal, joining cornerbacks Darren Barkins and Curley Reed III and safety Tristan Dunn. Dixon is also out of eligibility, leaving Jedd Fisch’s squad with Prysock and a cadre of inexperienced younger players at corner heading into 2025.

Alongside those four, Washington has also seen linebacker Khmori House, edge rushers Maurice Heims and Lance Holtzclaw, running back Cameron Davis, wide receiver Camden Sirmon, offensive lineman Kahlee Tafai, punters Jack McCallister and Adam Saul, and long snapper Caleb Johnston enter the portal.

Wake Forest moved quickly to secure its new head coach.

According to the Athletic, the Demon Deacons are hiring Washington State coach Jake Dickert just days after Dave Clawson stepped down. Clawson announced Monday that he was resigning after 11 seasons as the team’s head coach.

Washington State is 23-20 in three-plus seasons under Dickert. He took over midway through the 2021 season after coach Nick Rolovich was fired over a prolonged vaccination fight with the university. The Cougars have posted two winning seasons in Dickert’s three full seasons with the school and were 8-4 in 2024 during their first season in college football’s wilderness.

Oregon State and Washington State were effectively left without a conference ahead of the season when 10 of the Pac-12’s members found other conferences. Oregon State and Wazzu made up the “conference” portion of their schedules via an alliance with the Mountain West and are spearheading an effort to rebuild the Pac-12 with an assortment of current Mountain West teams.

Washington State lost three straight games to end the season after an 8-1 start in 2024, though the Cougars were one of the more entertaining teams in college football. Washington State scored nearly 37 points per game but gave up over 28 points a contest.

QB John Mateer led college football with 44 total touchdowns, though he too is leaving Washington State. Dickert announced Monday that Mateer would be entering the transfer portal.

Mateer’s decision to transfer comes as Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle was hired as Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator. The turnover in Pullman may be indicative of Washington State’s tough future ahead at the top level of college football as the Cougars are no longer part of a power conference.

Wake Forest went 4-8 in 2024 for a second consecutive four-win season. The Demon Deacons won 11 games in 2021 but fell to 8-5 in 2022 before going 4-8 in 2023. In 11 seasons at Wake Forest, Clawson’s teams went 67-69 with seven bowl appearances. He came to Wake Forest after five years in charge at Bowling Green. The Falcons were 32-32 in his time there and went to three bowl games.

(KALB) – State Senator Cleo Fields is getting ready to head to Washington, D.C., as a newly elected U.S. congressman. Fields sat down with KALB’s Jay McCully to discuss his plans to represent Louisianans in Congress.

Click here to report a typo. Please provide the title of the article in your email.

Copyright 2024 KALB. All rights reserved.