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[NCAA: WSU Cougars Athletics] - Cougar Football Spring Practice: Day 8

Washington State Athletic Communications — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 02:06:46 GMT

PULLMAN, Wash. (April 11, 2026) – Washington State Football continued its spring practice schedule Saturday with an hour-long scrimmage on Gesa Field.

[The Seattle Times] - Washington State QBs record uneven showings in first spring scrimmage

Greg Woods — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 00:26:03 GMT

WSU's defense made things difficult on its offensive counterparts during Saturday's scrimmage, including the three quarterbacks vying for the Cougars' starting job.

[247 Sports] - Kirby Moore sees the edge Kirby Vorhees powers WSU offense

Jamey Vinnick — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 00:54:24 GMT

Cougar defensive line was disruptive again in first scrimmage of spring ball

[The Spokesman-Review] - In WSU's first spring scrimmage, defensive line imposes will and QBs record uneven showings

Greg Woods — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 23:49:45 GMT

PULLMAN – Not long after entering the transfer portal in the winter, DJ Warner got a call from a name he recognized. On the other end was Trent Bray, who had recently become the defensive coordinator at Washington State, and he was interested in bringing Warner along.

Warner might not have known much about WSU at the time, but he certainly knew Bray. When Warner was a high school sophomore, Bray became the first college coach to show interest, pitching him on coming to Oregon State, where Bray was the defensive coordinator at the time. In his playing days, Bray was a linebacker, which gave him some credibility with Moore.

Some four years and three schools later, Moore and Bray are back together. Moore spent one year at Kansas, then one at SMU. Bray spent the past two seasons as Oregon State’s head coach. Now the two have joined forces at WSU.

“So this time, it was kind of a no-brainer,” Warner said after Saturday’s WSU scrimmage, the team’s eighth practice of the spring. “Especially just the way my college career has (gone), it showed me that relationships take you a long way, and I feel like I have the closest relationship with him than any other college coach.”

In Saturday’s scrimmage, which included full contact for about the first 30 minutes, Warner and the Cougars’ defense imposed their will with regularity. A likely starter in WSU’s 4-2-5 defensive scheme, Warner made several plays and found himself in the offensive backfield, as did several of his teammates, including defensive ends/linemen Matyus McLain, Ben Beatty, Kaden Beatty, Paul Hutson III, Michael Hughes and Linus Zunk.

That crew made things hard on its offensive counterparts, including quarterbacks Caden Pinnick, Owen Eshelman and Julian Dugger, who are competing for starting honors this fall. All three turned in somewhat uneven showings. On two occasions, Pinnick overthrew targets on deep passes along the sideline, missing receiver Branden Ganashamoorthy one time and Daniel Blood on another. Later in the scrimmage, Eshleman fired too far in Ganashamoorthy’s way, and Dugger had a pass picked off in the end zone by transfer safety Jaylen Thomas.

It’s not the first time the Cougars’ defense has outpaced their offense. That was the story of WSU’s previous practice on Thursday, when Thomas also snagged an interception in the end zone, underscoring his rapid ascension up the ranks of WSU’s defense.

But those two did well to rebound from those mistakes. Perhaps the highlight of the scrimmage belonged to Eshleman, who stood in the pocket among some pressure and unleashed a throw over the middle to Florida transfer wideout Tank Hawkins, who hauled in a contested catch.

That play elicited a healthy dose of hooping and hollering from coaches and players on the offensive side, as did a nice 10-yard touchdown pass from Dugger, who showed some nice touch on a throw to tight end Jack Pedersen.

“There were some throws, in terms of some of the third downs that were really good,” WSU head coach Kirby Moore said. “I just think that’s probably the biggest thing. We gotta be able to take the profit when it’s there, and then in terms of preventing the negative plays.”

When could coaches come to a conclusion on that competition? Moore didn’t want to tip his hand.

“I think the quarterback presents itself when it does,” Moore said. “Sometimes that’s in spring ball, sometimes that’s in fall camp. You get in playing situations, you get in the red zone, you get in two-minute and someone continues to show up through a number of consistent consecutive days. It’s, ‘hey, there’s the quarterback.’”

Receivers working back into playing shape

Veteran receiver Tony Freeman, a likely candidate to start next fall, has been sidelined for the past five or six practices with a hamstring injury. The same goes for receiver Darrius Clemons, a transfer from Oregon State, and Ryan McKendry, a transfer from Los Medanos junior college.

After Saturday’s scrimmage, Moore indicated Freeman’s injury wasn’t serious. It’s possible that because of Freeman’s proven production, coaches don’t need to see much from him in the spring before he’s ready.

“He’s coming back,” Moore said of Freeman. “He’s working there on the side, obviously had a hamstring come up the first or second day. I think Tony’s doing a good job in terms of the meetings. He’s dialed in. He’s got a script on the side, so he’s doing a really good job with the mental reps right now.”

[247 Sports] - 5 things were watching in WSUs first spring football scrimmage

Jamey Vinnick — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 23:15:29 GMT

Cougars will be in Martin Stadium for the first time this spring

[247 Sports] - WSU spring football notebook Nuggets galore on every defensive player

Jamey Vinnick — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 16:06:35 GMT

Saturday scrimmage should tell us more on physicality levels

[247 Sports] - WSU spring football notebook Nuggets galore on every offensive player

Jamey Vinnick — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 22:57:33 GMT

Some younger depth players do not get the limelight but keep an eye out on a couple wideouts

[247 Sports] - Keith Browns final spring ball at WSU littered with fullcircle moments

Jamey Vinnick — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 19:48:46 GMT

Cougar 'backer healthy after missing all of 2025 with injury

[247 Sports] - WSU defense thoroughly dominates Day 7 of spring football

Jamey Vinnick — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:31:54 GMT

Pass rush was blistering for the Cougar front

[The Seattle Times] - Washington State Cougars defense shines on Day 7 of spring ball

Greg Woods — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 21:51:15 GMT

The story of Thursday’s Cougars practice — the first outdoors this spring — was the defense, which produced a number of big plays and turnovers.

[247 Sports] - Learning curve high ceiling Trent Bray sees special potential in DJ Warner

Jamey Vinnick — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 21:50:06 GMT

Defense dominated Day 7 of spring ball at WSU

[The Spokesman-Review] - Interceptions, sacks aplenty as WSU defense shines on Day 7 of spring ball

Greg Woods — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 21:03:39 GMT

PULLMAN — Jaylen Thomas took off in a full sprint, the ball in his right hand and his sights set on whatever was on the opposite end of Rogers Practice Field. He had just snagged an interception in the opposite end zone during one team period in Thursday’s Washington State practice, and as the morning sun beamed down, he had to celebrate.

So when he arrived on the other end of the field, a teammate trailed behind him, encouraging him to toss the ball in the air. Thomas obliged and hurled it toward the sky. He jumped in the air with another teammate. They hooped and hollered and laughed.

“He’s very versatile,” WSU defensive coordinator Trent Bray said of Thomas, a safety transfer from San Jose State. “He can play safety, nickel. He can do a lot for us. He’s really smart, so he can get guys lined up. He can make the correct communication, so guys around him play fast, which is great.”

Thomas’ interception came at the hands of WSU quarterback Caden Pinnick, one of three signal-callers vying for starting duties this fall, but the story of Thursday’s practice — the first outdoors in Pullman this spring — wasn’t the Cougars’ QBs. It was their defense, which produced a number of simulated tackles for loss, an interception, a handful of sacks, a general message that for as much might be made about their offensive counterparts, they can supply responses.

They came by the bushel on Thursday, which was WSU’s seventh of 15 spring practices. In one team period, incoming second-year linebacker Isaiah Hung burst through the line of scrimmage to deliver what would have been a vicious hit on running back Kirby Vorhees, who enjoyed the benefit of playing under non-tackling conditions. In another, sophomore defensive end Ben Beatty surged into the backfield for a simulated sack.

All told, it added up to the best practice all spring for Washington State’s defense and Bray, who is back in his niche as defensive coordinator. He thrived in that role at Oregon State, where his Beavers finished the 2022 season at No. 16 in the country in total defense, permitting only 20 points per game. In 2023, OSU took a bit of a step back but still finished No. 47, allowing 22.9 points per game.

Bray then became OSU’s head coach in 2024 and part of 2025 before he was fired after the team’s 0-7 start. Still, it seems like he’s best as a DC, making his 4-2-5 scheme seem more than plausible in Pullman.

“There was a lot of good stuff,” Bray said. “They’re improving. They’re getting the understanding of where they need to be, when and how they need to communicate. And today they did a nice job doing that.”

The Cougars aren’t exactly going full contact — head coach Kirby Moore hinted there might be some in store for Saturday’s scrimmage — but they also got two more simulated sacks. One came from defensive end Matyus McLain, who projects to start. Another came courtesy of linebacker Erimus Wright, who has yet to make a splash at WSU.

Could this be the year he bucks that trend? Headed into what will be his redshirt freshman year, Wright doesn’t have the college resume. What he does have is potential, which he keeps flashing: with his athleticism, with his 6-foot and 206-pound size, with the incessant fire he plays with.

The interesting part is that the Cougars might need that kind of production from Wright, in large part because of the position he plays. WSU’s top three linebackers will likely be transfers DJ Warner and Nylan Brown and returner Keith Brown, which is a solid top three. But what happens when the Cougars need to rotate, when they look a little further down the depth chart?

In short, they’ll find a lot of inexperience. Wright has yet to log a college snap. Neither have Hung or fellow linebacker Carsten Reynolds. Incoming third-year sophomore Jack Ellison made a spot start as an injury replacement last fall, and Gage Jones registered 51 snaps of defense last season. But that’s about all the experience WSU has beyond the trio of the two Browns and Warner.

Will that be enough for the Cougars to flourish on defense this fall? That much has yet to be determined. But days like Thursday’s practice certainly help Bray and that unit.

[247 Sports] - WSU two deeps Our depth chart through six days of spring ball

Jamey Vinnick — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:19:02 GMT

Injuries have left things a little murky, but not so much to not be able to project how the two-deep looks like right now

[247 Sports] - Dissecting WSUs position battles on defense through six days of spring ball

Jamey Vinnick — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:51:26 GMT

Cougars have been running a pair of platoons with the ones in spots