Palacio headed to Pac-12
Kache Palacio took his official visit to Washington State this past weekend and even before his trip he said the Cougars had emerged as one of his favorites.
After de-committing from SMU recently, the three-star defensive end from Gardena (Calif.) Serra was in touch with Washington State's new staff and became intrigued with the program.
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Last weekend's trip with a bunch of other Southern California prospects sold him on Washington State and Monday he announced his commitment.
"I had a bond with the coaches and some of the players and I really liked the community and the town," Palacio said. "I liked everything about it.
"All the Cali guys went up there together. We all saw it and we were talking about it and I liked the school beforehand. When I went up there especially with Mike Leach up there and I was talking to some players and they said they were expecting a change."
Palacio, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound prospect who finished with 92 tackles and 13.5 sacks in his senior season, had been committed to SMU but started looking around after assistant coach Adrian Klemm left for UCLA.
Washington State landed a commitment from four-star wide receiver Gabriel Marks out of Los Angeles Venice this past weekend as well and he was also a former SMU pledge.
Three-star all-purpose back Robert Lewis, a soft SMU commit, also took a visit to Pullman and the Cougars are one of his top teams. Khalil Pettway, a three-star linebacker from Culver City, Calif., was also once a commit to SMU who switched to Washington State.
What Palacio liked most about the Cougars - and what ultimately led to his decision to commit - was that he wanted to play for Leach and that he likes that the players there are expecting to change around the program.
"Everybody was saying how much they were looking forward to playing for Mike Leach and I said I wanted to play for Mike Leach, too," Palacio said. "The players there are looking for a change."