Aug. 19—PULLMAN — Before every Washington State fall camp practice, defensive coordinator Trent Bray likes to tell his group a few things. His Cougar defenders should be the most physical group they know, the one with the strongest communication, that they're going to punch people in the mouth every game
"And I think that that's just how we go day-to-day," WSU linebacker Isaiah Hung said.
That's the way Hung explained the consistency behind the Cougars' defense, which has largely dominated this fall camp, which wrapped up practice 12 on Wednesday afternoon. With the exception of about three days, WSU defenders have earned the edge with remarkable regularity, using a combination of pass rush and sticky pass coverage to force their offensive counterparts into forgettable mistakes.
That trend kept humming in Wednesday's practice, when many of the top 11-on-11 highlights went to WSU defenders. In one 7-on-7 session, Hung corralled an interception of quarterback Owen Eshelman , who seems to be trailing second-teamer Julian Dugger and first-teamer Caden Pinnick in the race for the starting job. In an 11-on-11 period, reserve safety Trey Ridley dropped what looked like an easy interception of Eshelman, and in another, linebacker DJ Warner came inches away from delivering the same treatment to Pinnick.
In fact, Day 12 registers as one of the Cougar defense's best days of practice, which is saying a lot for a group that has dominated more than its fair share of outings. Late in practice, when things had shifted over to Gesa Field, reserve linebacker Carsten Reynolds secured an interception on Eshelman and returned it a long way. Was he touch-tackled before he took off? Was it a clean return? Both belie the point: It was another play made for WSU's defense, another lost for its offense.
The highlights kept coming, a steady stream like coffee pouring into a cup. On one 11-on-11 play, transfer Jeremiah Bernard came on a safety blitz and flooded into the backfield for a simulated sack on Pinnick. In another, Warner showed off his improving coverage skills and made a diving pass breakup. In yet another, defensive tackle Jirah Leaupepetele beat his matchup and blew up a short pass to tight end Jack Pedersen, who will likely start at that position.
Other notable plays from Cougar defenders included some solid pass coverage from redshirt freshman Jamarey Smith, who is line for a key role at nickelback, hanging with receiver Tony Freeman for a slick pass breakup. Earlier in practice, redshirt sophomore defensive end Malachi Wrice also burst into the backfield on two straight plays, once for a sack and once for a tackle for loss, both simulated tackles.
"It just makes everybody in the room better when you've got a guy that can come in and play just as good as you or even better than you," Leaupepetele said after an earlier practice. "It pushes you even harder, and then with those guys getting a summer under their belt, getting in the playbook a little bit more and getting to know it, it just elevates our room to a whole other level."
"They're four deep. They've got four guys that could start at any time," defensive end Matyus McLain said after the team's previous scrimmage, referencing the Cougars' defensive line. "I love the rotation because I get to be next to someone new every single time, and they all have such different play styles that playing off them in the pass or the run, it's so different for each of them."
If anything has become clear across a dozen days of this WSU fall camp, which will continue with its second and final scrimmage on Friday, it's this: The Cougs are deep at the defensive tackle spot. Likely starters are veterans Kaden Beatty and Paul Hutson, but fellow veterans like Damarjhe Lewis and Leaupepetele are likely to see key roles as well, plus some snaps for transfers Balaam Miller and maybe even others.
And that's to say nothing of the fact that the Cougars could bring back defensive tackle Soni Finau, who could regain eligibility thanks to the NCAA's new 5-for-5 eligibility model. Finau's status remains unclear — the school's compliance office is working through his potential eligibility, with some hurdles still to clear — but at Wednesday's practice, he was seen wearing a helmet, cleats and jersey. Afterwards, he was jogging back and forth in the Gesa Field end zone.
Taken a different way, WSU's offense has had better days. In one redzone scenario, tight end Peyton Read couldn't hang on to an open pass, nor could first-team receiver Daniel Blood on another play. To finish practice, Pinnick unfurled a trio of incompletions, though it's possible the drill called for the Cougars to push the ball downfield in a desperation two-minute-drill type of effort. And in another sequence, Eshelman overthrew receiver Branden Ganashamoorthy on a deep route along the sideline.
Still, that group had its moments of promise. In a 7-on-7 period, Pinnick laced a perfect pass to Ganashamoorthy, also near the sideline. Pinnick completed all five of his passes in that period. He also placed a crisp pass on Freeman's chest on an out-route at Gesa Field, the type of throw he's made look easy across most all 12 practices.
Where does that leave the Cougars? They're scheduled for a walk-through practice on Thursday before their final scrimmage on Friday, but because many position battles are effectively over and starters have all but cemented themselves, it's possible first-teamers don't see a bevy of snaps. Look for coaches to protect their starters against injuries toward the end of camp, which wraps up in earnest with a practice Sunday evening.
Notes
—Out of action were running back Kirby Vorhees, likely to start at running back, and first-team offensive lineman Jonny Lester. Vorhees has missed about six straight practices, while Lester has been out for three in a row, but it's likely coaches are resting them to avoid injuries. Also out was Dugger with an undisclosed injury.
—In one 11-on-11 period, linebacker Keith Brown laid out running back Leo Pulalasi with a blistering hit.
—Over at Gesa Field, Pinnick completed a nice backfoot throw to first-team wideout Darrius Clemons .
