Los Angeles Chargers draft WSU’s Daiyan Henley

Daiyan Henley won’t have to go far to start his NFL career. The linebacker, who played his senior season in Pullman after transferring from Nevada, heard his name at the NFL Draft, going in the third round and 85th overall to his hometown Los Angeles Chargers.

Lindsey Thiry of ESPN had this to say about the pick:

My take: The Chargers have yet to announce an official decision on whether they will exercise the fifth-year option on inside linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr.’s rookie contract, but the addition of Henley seems to signal that the 2020 first-round pick’s time with the Bolts could be limited. Henley will have the opportunity to learn at the elbow of veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks, who the Chargers signed to a two-year deal in free agency, and he could play a key role on special teams.

Will he start as a rookie? It’s still unclear how the Chargers plan to utilize Henley in the defense given the addition of Kendricks and the scheduled return of Murray at the position.

Chad Reuter of NFL.com gave the Chargers a B+ for their day 2 draft picks and said Henley “will contribute right away.”

Henley was a a big pickup for the WSU defense last season. He was an All-Pac-12 First Team of defense and was on the All-Pac-12 Second Team for special teams. He finished his one year at WSU with 106 tackles, which led the team.

So congrats to Henley, who, remember, started his college football career as a wide receiver.

Women’s basketball sees Shania Twain

You’ll recall that Shania Twain’s “Man I Feel Like a Woman” was the song this season for your Pac-12 Tournament champions and Washington State women’s basketball team. Last night, Twain was in Spokane for a sold out show and you bet the team was there to have some fun: