If National Signing Day is like Christmas morning for college football programs, then the Cougars came away with quite a haul.

Head Coach Paul Wulff is calling this the best recruiting class on paper in more than two decades. The Cougars had 22 players sign National Letters of Intent and added three more players who will enroll in the fall as walk-ons.

“I can’t speak for the history of Washington State football in the last 25 years, but I’ve watched it from a far, and I think this is probably as good a class that has come here,” Wulff said. “I think Coach (Mike) Levenseller’s been here 18 years, and he would say those same things.” The Cougars signed five wide receivers, four cornerbacks, three running backs, three offensive linemen, two tight ends, two safeties, a quarterback, a linebacker and a defensive tackle.

“I’m very happy because we brought in some big-bodied guys, particularly on the offensive line,” Wulff said. “We got some great speed and athleticism in our receiving corps and secondary, areas that have been obviously lacking. We’re definitely going to improve our overall size and speed with this class.” The sole linebacker is Tallahassee, Fla., native C.J. Mizell, who shocked the Cougar Nation by coming in under the radar.

Mizell graduated from high school in 2009 and had originally committed to play at Florida State. According to Scout.com, Mizell was the fifth-ranked linebacker in the country in 2009 and had offers from Florida, Florida State, Georgia and several others.

Mizell sat out the 2009 season to take care of some academic issues, but Wulff said the Florida native has qualified and has the potential to play a lot in the upcoming season.

“It will all depend on his shape and to what extent he’s ready to go,” Wulff said. “You watch his film, and there’s no question, athletically, he’s as good as there was. He’s big, he’s rangy, he runs extremely well – he has a good, nice nasty mean streak to him. He’s got an opportunity to be a special player.” Besides Mizell, the Cougars added highly touted players including quarterback Connor Halliday, tight end Aaron Dunn and running back Eric Oertel. Halliday was named to the Associated Press Washington 4A All-State team and was ranked the 25th quarterback in the country by Scout.com. Halliday threw for 4,198 yards and 43 touchdowns, leading Ferris High School to the Washington State 4A state title game.

Dunn was the 9th-ranked tight end by Scout.com and was a Seattle Times Red Chip player alongside Halliday. Dunn also chose the Cougars, despite heavy recruiting from the California Golden Bears.

After his senior year, Oertel was named Wisconsin’s Gatorade Player of the Year and led the state in rushing with 2,731 rushing yards. He also broke the Racine County record with 5,695 career rushing yards.

There was a pair of players who de-committed from WSU to pursue their athletic careers elsewhere.

The 15th-ranked tight end Asante Cleveland is now headed to the University of Miami, and Maxx Forde is traveling across the Palouse to the University of Idaho. Wulff acknowledged this during his news conference on Wednesday and said he doesn’t believe in the philosophy of recruiting kids who have made a prior commitment to another university.

“What are we teaching our young men here,” Wulff said. “These things matter and when you have people who don’t have the scruples or the integrity, who come in regardless of a kid’s decision and they’re going to continue to recruit against you, or get these kids to change their mind on their commitment. I think it’s wrong.” Wulff also noted that there are still some players he is waiting on to hear from that will be part of the 2010 class.

“We also are going to bring in another receiver,” Wulff said. “I can’t say his name because he hasn’t officially signed his Letter of Intent. The only reason is waiting for some signatures. He’s an outstanding football player – he’s going to make an immediate impact with our football team. And there may be one more on the defensive line before the season, so we’re going to have maybe five of the 25 (initials) that will be from junior college.”