A way-too-early projection of Washington State’s 2017 depth chart

PULLMAN – Fans of the Washington State football team will come away from Saturday’s Crimson and Gray game with a great deal of knowledge about the 2017 Cougars.

But the depth chart will remain a mystery. Mike Leach and his coaching staff want a competitive spring game, so the starters and backups will be evenly split between the Crimson and Gray squads.

Allow us to shed some light by taking a stab at next year’s two-deeps, based on our practice observations, knowledge of individual players and some good, old-fashioned projection.

The Cougars can be a difficult bunch to project, particularly on defense, because the coaches value versatility and are perfectly willing to switch schemes and even player positions based on matchups. For example, few folks would have thought heading into the 2016 season that star safety Shalom Luani would spend most of his senior season playing nickelback.

So keep in mind, quite a few of WSU’s defensive backs are being groomed to play cornerback and safety (and nickel), the defensive ends are likely to slide inside and play tackle pretty frequently, and there is frequent movement between the defensive ends and the rush linebackers.

That being said, here is how we see the depth chart shaking out when the Cougars host Montana State in the 2017 season-opener.

Offense

Quarterback: Luke Falk, Tyler Hilinski

Running back: Jamal Morrow, James Williams

Wide receiver – X: Tavares Martin, C.J. Dimry

Wide receiver – H: Robert Lewis, Jamire Calvin

Wide receiver – Y: Kyle Sweet, Easop Winston

Wide receiver – Z: Isaiah Johnson-Mack, Dezmon Patmon

Left tackle: Andre Dillard, Cedric Bigge-Duren

Left guard: Cody O’Connell, Liam Ryan

Center: Frederick Mauigoa, Noah Osur-Myers

Right guard: B.J. Salmonson, Robert Valencia

Right tackle: Cole Madison, Josh Watson

Defense

Defensive end: Hercules Mata’afa, Kingston Fernandez

Defensive tackle: Daniel Ekuale, Garrett McBroom

Defensive end: Nnamdi Oguayo, Derek Moore

Rush: Dylan Hanser, Logan Tago

Mike: Peyton Pelluer, Justus Rogers

Will: Frankie Luvu, Isaac Dotson

Nickel: Hunter Dale, D’Jimon Jones

Cornerback: Marcus Strong, Marcellus Pippins

Cornerback: Darrien Molton, Kirkland Parker

Free safety: Robert Taylor, Zaire Webb

Strong safety: Jalen Thompson, Sean Harper

Special Teams

Kicker: Erik Powell, Jack Crane

Punter: Erik Powell, Kyle Sweet

Long snapper: Kyle Celli, Jack Haney

Kick returner: Robert Taylor, Tavares Martin

Punt returner: Jamal Morrow, Robert Taylor