Washington State defense gets vocal and backs it up on Day 2 of fall football camp
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Aug. 8—PULLMAN — "Saaaack, saaaack, saaaack."
Like the flock of seagulls from Pixar's "Finding Nemo," that chant started with one voice, and grew to many on the defensive sideline during Day 2 of the Washington State football team's fall camp Friday at Rogers Field.
During one of the 11-on-11 team periods, redshirt freshman quarterback Owen Eshelman stood in the pocket for perhaps a bit too long. As WSU defenders burst into the backfield, Eshelman fired a pass to junior wide receiver Branden Ganashamoorthy.
Following the completion, defensive linemen Kaden Beatty and Jirah Leaupepetele shared a differing opinion of the outcome of the play, advocating for and celebrating a would-be simulated sack by chanting "saaaack."
Soon other defenders followed, breaking out into a chorus of "saaaack, saaaack, saaaack."
That kind of competition spilled out onto the field in the form of several standout defensive plays.
Sophomore defensive end Ben Beatty (unrelated to Kaden) enjoyed a simulated sack, sophomore corner CJ Solis-Lumar watched a pass from UC Davis transfer QB Caden Pinnick slip out of his fingers and junior safety Jeremiah Bernard got a little overzealous during the padless-shorts setting by popping a ball carrier to the ground. He promptly extended a hand and helped him back up.
The offense continues to install various plays and concepts during this first portion of fall camp, meaning that the explosiveness and efficiency — or lack thereof — is not necessarily a reflection of the unit's current capability.
However, that doesn't mean that there were no plays to be made.
Toward the end of practice, Pinnick let a cross-body throw fly toward the left boundary for sophomore wide receiver Tank Hawkins to haul in.
Those kinds of vertical shots were precisely what WSU coach Kirby Moore and his staff were looking for.
"I thought (they did a) better job taking those (vertical) shots … and the placement of the ball and being on the same page with the receivers," Moore said of his QBs. "I thought there was some decisiveness in taking off on some scramble-drill opportunities and they all got a lot of athleticism, so it was good to see."
Players of the day
Former WSU coach Jake Dickert had his "Juice Players of the Day," which would recognize standout players directly after practice by giving them a juice box.
Moore isn't handing out juice boxes, but he is still going out of his way to spotlight the "players of the day," with a social media post.
The team will recognize four players from each practice, with honorees from the offense, defense, special teams and a lineman (offensive or defensive), Moore said.
Those declarations aren't made right away, though.
"Coming off the field, it's never as good, never as bad (as you might think)," Moore said. "So we want to make sure we see that all the same way, evaluate the tape offensively, defensively. We have a staff meeting around 4 o'clock and talk through that."
The first batch of players of the day included wide receiver Tony Freeman, linebacker Jack Ellison, linebacker Gavin Fugate and offensive lineman Ashton Tripp.
Day 2's players of the day were running back Kirby Vorhees, defensive end Linus Zunk, punter Max Dean and defensive lineman Josh Wedel, who moved inside to play defensive tackle Friday.
Vorhees broke loose for several sustained runs, Zunk and Wedel wreaked havoc on the edge and up the middle, respectively, and Dean found great success booting the ball during the punt return portion of the practice.
Five Cougs named to 'preseason impact list'
Idaho junior transfer defensive end Matyus McLain, San Jose State sophomore safety Jaylen Thomas, Freeman, Tripp and Vorhees were each named to the Pac-12's "Preseason Impact List," the conference announced Friday.
The honor caught Thomas — who started all 12 games for SJSU last season and recorded 59 tackles, six pass breakups and two forced fumbles — by surprise.
A reporter at his post-practice interviews Friday broke the news to him.
"I'd say that is pretty cool," Thomas said. "I hadn't heard that before today, so I mean, we'll take it as it is, and we'll keep working harder moving forward."
For Freeman, it's the latest in a line of conference recognition, as he was named the Pac-12 Conference Top Special Teams Performer last season after finishing sixth nationally with a 17.3-yard punt return average.
With that average, Freeman set a WSU single-season record. He had five returns for 40-plus yards, which was the third-most in the nation, and he recorded eight returns of 20-plus yards.
Freeman also caught 54 passes for 590 yards and three touchdowns.
McLain, from Priest River, Idaho, earned an All-Big Sky Conference honorable mention last year and recorded 42 tackles with 13 1/2 for loss and 4 1/2 sacks.
Tripp, a junior from Kennewick, Wash, started all 13 games at left tackle last season, played 887 snaps and allowed just one sack on 490 pass attempts.
Vorhees is a junior who appeared in 12 games last season, racking up a team-high 576 yards along with five touchdowns. He also caught 19 passes for 125 yards.
Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2260, staylor@lmtribune.com, or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.
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