Sep. 12—MANHATTAN, Kan. — Jaylen Thomas felt something stir in him, like his Washington State team needed someone to make a key play. The Cougars were looking at a two-score deficit late in Saturday's game, and as the clock ticked under 10 seconds in the second quarter, the Wildcats were looking to add on.
So Thomas followed through on what his brain was telling him. He watched K-State quarterback Avery Johnson 's eyes, watched him load up and target a receiver near Thomas' area. So when Johnson let it go, Thomas leapt in front, snagging an interception and taking off the other way, outrunning everyone to the end zone.
With that, Thomas recorded a 50-yard pick six, handing the Cougars a jolt of momentum headed into the intermission. That was his second interception of the game, the first coming earlier in the second quarter. It helped Thomas finish with by far the best outing among Cougar defenders in this one, earning a Pro Football Focus coverage grade of 91.0, which will likely hold as one of the best coverage marks in the country for this week.
"We needed to make a play on defense," Thomas said, "and I ended up doing my job, which led to an opportunity, and I made the best of that opportunity, as you guys saw. The one thing I was really happy about was the first thing I seen was my teammate P3 (Paul Hutson III) running down the field, going to block for me. So that just made me really excited, really encouraged for the type of camaraderie we have on our defense, on our team as a whole.
"I felt like that switched the whole momentum of the game," Thomas added of his pick-six, the first by a Cougar defender since Ethan O'Connor did it in 2024. "We were going into halftime hype, we were up. But I would just say that was a very positive play for our team, and I'm glad that I was a part of it."
All told, Thomas totaled two interceptions and four tackles — all of the solo variety. He was just about everywhere on defense. That didn't do much to slow the Wildcats' offense, which produced 34 points as Johnson passed for 192 yards and three touchdowns, but there's no denying that Thomas did his part.
If Thomas' production comes as a surprise, check out what he did during the Cougars' fall camp. He piled up three interceptions in team periods, including two on Pinnick. That also includes one pick six. He's a playmaker, so to speak, so the way he stepped up in Saturday's game should not come as a complete and utter shock.
Here's the ironic part: Thomas didn't actually start Saturday's game. He was on the bench to begin the game behind Jackquintin Ball, who wound up playing 20 snaps. But before long, Thomas, who made his coaches look wise, replaced Ball.
Overall, though, WSU's defense will have to be a bit better moving forward. It's important to note that the Cougars played this game without starting cornerback Jalil Tucker, who head coach Kirby Moore said was out with "a little nick." Tucker is expected to be available for WSU's next game, Moore said, a home matchup with FCS Duquesne next weekend in Pullman.
WSU produced just seven pressures on K-State QB Avery Johnson, according to PFF, with only two coming from defensive ends Matyus McLain and Linus Zunk — the two edge rushers the Cougars needed to make a big splash in order to pull this upset. That didn't happen, which goes a long way in explaining how Johnson broke free for 192 yards passing and another 78 rushing.
"All around, we gotta be better," said WSU defensive tackle Kaden Beatty, who picked up two tackles, one for loss. "Again, I gotta watch the tape. I don't know exactly where the holes were, the breakdowns, but 34 points? That's not our standard. We wanna hold donuts on people, and that's what we're gonna do. So we need to get back, watch the tape, and there's no losses. It's only lessons. We're gonna grow from this, and we're gonna be better."
