South Dakota State’s Jimmy Rogers has accepted a five-year contract to become Washington State’s next head coach, sources told ESPN on Saturday.

Rogers, 37, coached South Dakota State to an FCS national title in 2023 after serving as the team’s defensive coordinator in 2022 when the team won its first national championship. He is expected to replace Jake Dickert, who left earlier this month after more than three seasons as WSU coach to become the head coach at Wake Forest.

The Cougars ended their season on Friday after losing 52-35 to Syracuse in the DirecTV Holiday Bowl. Washington State has focused its search for Dickert’s replacement on FCS head coaches, sources said.

Rogers played linebacker at South Dakota State and began his coaching career at his alma mater in 2010. He spent two seasons at Florida Atlantic before returning to South Dakota State as linebackers coach in 2013.

Washington State needs to step up after losing Dickert, offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, star quarterback John Mateer and others after a season that started 8-1. The Cougars lost 26 scholarship players to the transfer portal this month, including 11 players who started the team’s final regular-season game.

Sources told ESPN that Rogers could bring a significant number of transfers from South Dakota State to Washington State to quickly rebuild the roster.

South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski, winner of the 2023 Walter Payton Award as the FCS’s top offensive player, is an NFL Draft prospect who can return for an additional season of eligibility if he chooses to bypass the draft .

South Dakota State standout wide receiver Griffin Wilde entered the transfer portal on Saturday with “Do Not Contact” written on his entry.

ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, Pete Thamel and Max Olson contributed to this report.