WSU turned corner with first-year defensive coordinator Alex Grinch

PULLMAN – Washington State’s defense was better in 2015 than it was in 2014, and the reason for its improvement under first-year defensive coordinator Alex Grinch have been expounded upon at length by Cougars coach Mike Leach and his players.

Leach has repeatedly credited Grinch’s simplicity of message and clarity of communication as reasons why the defensive players have been able to react quickly and execute their assignments.

Players have alluded to his hands-on approach, particularly in the secondary where Grinch spends most of his time, and where the Cougars have arguably seen the most improvement.

“I always wanted to be kind of like this good or better,” senior safety Taylor Taliulu said after the Cougars held Colorado to three points. “But he’s helped me along the way, because the least three years I struggled and wasn’t getting the coaching I need to be successful. And he came in and he’s done a great job.”

That the WSU defense was better at its primary goal of preventing points from being scored is a mathematical certainty – the 346 points given up in 12 games this season is a better figure than the 463 allowed in as many contests a year ago.

The defense is putting the offense in better spots as well, accomplishing a secondary goal. WSU manufactured 21 turnovers on defensive in 2015, 13 more than the previous season.

“Moving forward, I think in 11 straight games we’ve gotten a takeaway,” Grinch said. “We’ve got to make it 12 and just keep fighting for that ball. You see the impact it has on our football team every day, every Saturday.”

But is it enough for Grinch? Is this it for WSU’s defense, which ranked No. 7 in the Pac-12 in points allowed per game? How good can the Cougars become, and are they getting their fast enough?

Grinch seems to equate expectations with limitations. He prefers not to create defined goals that double as points at which the defensive players will consider their performance acceptable and their duties met.

“Obviously, we made strides,” Grinch said. “Like anything, the ones that stand out are – four fumbles in the Colorado game, we didn’t get any of them. So that 21 number all of a sudden feels low. But certainly, if the starting point going into the year was eight, we exceeded fairly low expectations.”

When Grinch first arrived at WSU he spoke at length about the need to recruit players with the requisite athleticism and talent to fit his vision for the defense. Although Grinch doubtlessly believes the talent can and should be upgraded still, it appears that over the course of his first full season he found the pieces to run the defense in the manner he wanted.

Grinch started 17 players on defense this season and said afterward that he does not expect the defense to change significantly from the base nickel the Cougars ran this year.

Only the six seniors among those 17 starters are expected to leave the team this offseason, meaning that the defense that takes the field against Miami for the Dec. 26 Sun Bowl should be a pretty reasonable preview of what to expect next season.

“After that Stanford game I really thought we were getting up there,” cornerback Marcellus Pippins said. “We’ve still got a long ways to go, but right now I feel like we’re going in the right direction.”

The less-experienced players who contributed only lightly during the season could well take on bigger roles after spending additional time with the coaching staff since the Apple Cup.

The Cougars will begin installing the game plan for Miami on Thursday but spent their most recent practices working on fundamentals. The defense has emphasized individual drills.