Story by
The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Countdown to fall camp: How good could WSU's defensive ends be?
- Story byThe Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
- Countdown to fall camp: How good could WSU's defensive ends be?
Aug. 1—Editor's note: This is the fourth in a series of stories that will run each day previewing Washington State's preseason camp before it begins on Aug. 6. This edition covers the Cougars' defensive ends.
PULLMAN — The best players on Washington State's defense might hail from two different parts of the world.
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Their names are Matyus McLain and Linus Zunk, who project to start on either end of the Cougars' defensive line. McLain's home is Priest River, Idaho. Zunk's is Berlin, Germany, a short 5,000-mile jaunt away.
This year, they have converged on Pullman to wreak havoc in opposing backfields. They don't just have the tools. They've already proven they can do so. During the Cougars' spring practices, they made it a habit, using all manner of approaches — swim moves, jukes, power rushes, you name it — to beat offensive linemen and surge into the backfield for simulated sacks. If you dropped by any practice, it would have been one of the first things you noticed.
Listed at 6-foot-6 and 262 pounds, Zunk is a transfer from SEC school Vanderbilt, where he played in 36 games across three seasons of action. He tallied three sacks on 13 pressures last season. A hulking pass rusher who figures to make an immediate splash, last fall he also registered 15 tackles, including 3 1/2 for loss, giving him 38 tackles (7 1/2 for loss) and five sacks for his Commodore career.
McLain, himself listed at 6-foot-4 and 253 pounds, started all 12 games last season at nearby Idaho, where he totaled 42 tackles, including 13 1/2 for loss and 4.5 sacks. That helped him earn All-Big Sky honorable mention honors on defense. McLain spent three years with the Vandals, playing in 24 total games. Last season, he pocketed 34 quarterback pressures, registering at least four in five games — including a six-pressure game against St. Thomas.
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Much could change during fall camp, and those two aren't the only ones who could generate meaningful production in WSU's defensive ends room. Other names to watch: Veteran Michael Hughes, Arizona transfer Eduwa Okundaye and Malachi Wrice, the last of whom capped WSU's spring game with a pick-six on QB Caden Pinnick. Those guys could provide valuable depth, especially when Zunk and McLain need breathers, an effective approach to getting the most out of players that last year's coaching staff wielded well.
But if the Cougs' pass rush winds up as good as advertised, it will likely come from Zunk and McLain, perhaps the team's top two defensive standouts from spring ball back in April. They're big and athletic, and perhaps most meaningfully, they have lots of experience at the college level. Zunk did his thing in the SEC. McLain did his in the Big Sky, which might be an FCS conference, but remember last season when Idaho visited WSU? Remember when Angel Johnson coughed up a late fumble that the Vandals almost returned for a touchdown? McLain was the one who shot through the line of scrimmage and laid the hit on Johnson.
"There was some high emotions," McLain said in April of playing WSU, "maybe a little bit of resentment at the time, because I was like, they didn't want me. That's not really my mojo, though. For the most part, I'm a very happy, easygoing guy most of the time."
"Those guys are great," WSU coach Kirby Moore said, also in the spring. "We have to set edges from a defensive standpoint. We gotta put pressure on the quarterback. They've shown up consistently every day. A ton of communication at that edge position with the front in terms of getting set. And Coach (Andrew) Browning is a very, very elite edge coach, and it's shown up."
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One thing to monitor on this front: How much depth do the Cougs have at this spot? Wrice made a fantastic play to pick off a pass in the spring game, but it's not likely he'll be asked to drop into coverage in any meaningful capacity this fall. Incoming redshirt sophomore Ben Beatty acquitted himself well this spring as well, just not with the consistency that others did. And in his fourth season at WSU, Hughes could be ready for a breakout year.
But none of the Cougars' younger options at defensive end have proven themselves in game settings just yet. They are more than capable of doing so. The interesting part is that if Zunk and McLain turn in the kinds of sterling seasons they have teased in spring ball and their previous spots, for WSU, it might not matter all that much.
