Kyrin Priester's abrupt dismissal from Clemson last season remains shrouded in mystery.
Washington State's newest wide receiver refused to answer any questions from reporters about the topic during his first media availability since the NCAA approved his petition to wave the typical one-year suspension for transfer players.
Whatever incident led to his departure, he seems to have turned the page, starting off on a strong note in his new collegiate home of Pullman.
"I can't think of anybody that works any harder than he does, and I think all of them work hard," Cougars head coach Mike Leach said of Priester, according to Jacob Thorpe of The Spokesman-Review. "Besides being fast, he’s big and he’s got a physical quality to him."
A prep school superstar from Georgia, Priester was a highly sought-after recruit who won offers from Ohio State, TCU, and South Carolina, among others. Washington State wasn't on his radar at the time.
Then came the early-season split with his first collegiate team.
Priester was dismissed last September from Clemson for what coach Dabo Swinney called an "attitude that is not acceptable to our standard."
The Cougars soon reached out, namely former outside receivers coach Dennis Simmons, who is now an assistant at Oklahoma.
"He was a good coach but he did what was best for him," Priester said of Simmons. "Everybody on this coaching staff takes me in."
Fast forward one year and his new school appears to be a natural fit.
"I knew (Priester) was eating lunch, I went down there and gave him a big hug, and actually like sprinted down there because I wanted to give him the good news," Cougars quarterback Luke Falk said of his reaction to news Priester would be able to play this season. "It sounds like somebody already broke it to him, but I was pumped.”
