Washington State spring camp: Three-man competition for starting job at nickel expected to proceed into fall

PULLMAN – Throughout spring camp, three Washington State players have been locked in a tightly contested battle for first-team duties at the nickel position. The Cougars don’t expect to name a victor anytime soon, according to assistant Jordan Malone.

“It’s going to be a competition probably up to Day 1 when we walk out there and go play a game,” said Malone, who’s in charge of WSU’s safeties and nickels. “It’s been a real good, healthy competition between those three guys who have really been battling it out.”

Chris Jackson, Kapena Gushiken and Jackson Lataimua have each seen action with WSU’s No. 1 defense over the past month.

Jackson, a WSU veteran, moved to nickel ahead of spring camp. He lined up with the Cougars’ first unit for the first couple of weeks.

Gushiken, a junior college transfer, began to impress earlier this month and took a chunk of the starting reps during a two-week stretch.

Gushiken has been limited with a minor injury for the past week or so. He missed the team’s scrimmage last Saturday, so Lataimua got his shot with the first unit.

“They all kind of bring different (skills),” Malone said. “One nickel is a little bit better at man coverage. One is a little bit more physical. And there’s one nickel who knows the package a little bit better.”

Gushiken’s standout attribute: his ability to keep pace with receivers in man coverage and make open-field tackles. The 6-foot, 190-pounder was a cornerback last year at Saddleback (California) College. The Hawaii native came to WSU as the No. 7-rated junior college CB in the nation, per ESPN.

Jackson is a “bigger, physical” defensive back who can “hold up in heavier sets” and defend against the run, Malone said. The 6-foot, 195-pound senior made nine tackles and broke up one pass last season. He started one game but was used sparingly otherwise.

Lataimua is more familiar with the position than the other two . The redshirt sophomore didn’t appear in a game during his first two seasons and was primarily a special-teamer last year, but he gained plenty of knowledge while serving as a practice-squad nickel over the years.

“Lataimua, he’s been there for a couple of years,” Malone said. “He kind of provides that mix of both. He’s real athletic. He can cover, but he also has some weight on him, so he can go live in the box, as well.”

Based on observations during full-team drills, Gushiken has possibly been the most consistent performer. But any separation has been minimal at best. To Malone, that’s good news.

“They’re making me feel like we’ve got depth,” he said. “They’re making me feel like we got guys who we can go win games with.”

Over the past two seasons, the Cougars relied heavily on Armani Marsh to hold down the nickel position. They couldn’t afford to take him off the field – because of his talent and WSU’s lack of depth behind him. Marsh, a Spokane native, totaled 137 tackles – 8½ for loss – picked off four passes and recorded 10 pass deflections in his final two years at WSU, earning two All-Pac-12 honorable mention nods.

The Cougars are inexperienced at nickel, but they have options .

“If you look at the past couple of years, Marsh played like 95% of the snaps,” Malone said. “That’s really what this competition has brought – it’s brought some depth.”

Malone also feels encouraged about the stability of WSU’s safety positions. The Cougars return second-year starters in strong safety Jaden Hicks and free safety Sam Lockett III.

Hicks, a redshirt sophomore, finished second on the team and topped all Pac-12 freshmen with 76 tackles last year. Named a third-team freshman All-American by USA Today, Hicks figures to be one of WSU’s best defensive players in 2023.

Lockett, a senior from Spokane , led the Cougars with three interceptions in 2022 after transferring in from City College of San Francisco.

“They’ve shown that we can win a lot of ballgames with those two,” Malone said. “I really challenged those guys. … Hicks, for instance, not to make plays because you’re athletic, but to make plays because your football IQ has seen something (before). So, picking up on little things to advance what he already could do.

“Sam, I’ve just really been challenging him more and more to be a quarterback out there. He’s kind of quiet by nature, but he’s really taken it in and accepted the challenge, and I hear him daily.”

The Cougars’ safeties experienced mixed results last year. Two starters were getting their first taste of Power Five football. There were growing pains that came along with inexperience – and limited depth – and WSU endured a few too many busts in the back end, surrendering 268 passing yards per game (10th in the Pac-12). Limiting the deep ball has been an emphasis during spring camp. The Cougars’ DBs showed progress in that area on Saturday in the team’s second scrimmage of camp, allowing just one completion on passing attempts that traveled 20 or more yards through the air.

Two safeties have emerged as favorites to claim backup responsibilities – strong safety Tanner Moku and free safety Reece Sylvester.

Moku is a fourth-year Cougar who has appeared in 25 games, mostly on special teams. But he got some defensive reps in a handful of games over the past two seasons.

“Moku is a veteran,” Malone said. “I feel extremely confident in Moku backing up Hicks. He’s backed up Hicks before when you look at some games last year. He’s had some snaps. He’s been in the fire. … He didn’t really miss any steps (this spring).”

Sylvester, who redshirted last year as a true freshman, has made a significant jump at spring camp. He has recorded four interceptions in team drills – second most among WSU defenders, behind redshirt freshman cornerback Javan Robinson’s five.

“His growth has been really good,” Malone said of Sylvester. “He has a little bit better grasp of the system than some of those younger guys, because it’s not his first time hearing it.”