Mooney pulls the trigger

Mission Viejo (Calif.) Trabuco Hills tight end Trevor Mooney took visits to Washington State, Oregon and Utah. After narrowing his choices to the Cougars and Utes, the talented athlete decided to make his decision late last week.

"I committed to Washington State," Mooney said. "I actually committed last Thursday. It was tough, I liked all three schools a lot but what it came down to for me was I just wanted to pick the school that I was the most comfortable at and that was Washington State.

"I loved Pullman, it's a great college town and the people really care about football. Plus of the three schools, I felt I got along the best with the players at Washington State. We really hit it off and I felt like a family there. When I was on my visit, the players treated me like I was already on the team and that was a big deal for me.

"I had a home visit with Utah last week and then Washington State came by the school and I talked to them a little there. I was getting a little tired of the whole process and just felt like I knew where I wanted to go. So Thursday night, I decided to get this done and called up my position coach and made my commitment.

"Right now, I'm just really relieved this is over. It was too stressful for me, but the hardest part was just dealing with all the phone calls. Especially with all the homework I have, I didn't have time to spend an hour talking on the phone with the coaches any more. Like I said, it was a tough decision because everyone was great to me but I felt in my heart I would be the happiest for the next five years at Washington State."

As for early playing time, Mooney actually said he would prefer to redshirt if he could.

"I think I need a year to get bigger and stronger," Mooney said. "I weigh about 230 pounds right now so for me to compete at the Pac 10, I want to take a year to really develop physically and then I think I'll be ready to go."