Washington State edge rushers Ron Stone Jr., Brennan Jackson pay homage to Mike Leach in Wisconsin upset

PULLMAN – Washington State players came out of the tunnel with black pirate flags and lifted another one into the sky just before kickoff. Jake Dickert and his coaching staff wore black shirts with a white pirate emblem. All through Saturday’s game against No. 19 Wisconsin, the Cougars played a few of the best hits from Mike Leach’s notoriously entertaining press conferences.

But it’s possible the best tribute to the late coach who spent eight memorable seasons at WSU came from two of the players Leach recruited to Pullman as part of the 2018 signing class.

Ron Stone Jr. and Brennan Jackson, sixth-year senior edge rushers who both committed to Leach’s WSU program within five months of each other in 2017, combined on two critical turnovers in the second quarter, helping the Cougars establish a three-touchdown lead in their 31-22 upset of the Badgers at Gesa Field.

Twice within a 5-minute span in the second quarter, Stone Jr. broke through Wisconsin’s offensive line to sack Badgers quarterback Tanner Mordecai, ripping the ball out of the senior’s hands as he hit the turf.

On both occasions, it was Jackson – Stone Jr.’s close friend and roommate – who was the first Cougar to the ball, scooping up the initial fumble on Wisconsin’s 33-yard line and returning the next for a 2-yard touchdown that extended WSU’s lead to 24-6.

“Those guys are 1080p or whatever they say, I don’t even know,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said. “To have Ron do that and to have BJ score, I think it’s just kind of fitting for what those guys do and what they mean to each other and how much they challenge each other. It’s just really awesome being their coach.”

Jackson and Stone Jr. aren’t the lone remaining Leach recruits on WSU’s roster, but they’re the team’s longest-tenured players and the last players from the Cougars’ 2017 recruiting class.

Both players elected to use a COVID-19 waiver that allowed them to return to WSU for a sixth season. Stone Jr. and Jackson announced plans to return to Pullman within 24 hours of each other last December, giving the Cougars arguably the Pac-12’s top edge-rushing tandem for at least another season.

“I could definitely hear some of (Leach’s) soundbites during the game, just in my head,” Jackson said. “Like what his coaching points are. Be the best at doing your job and whatnot. I think we definitely made him very proud of what we did to honor him and I think what he’s done for WSU as a whole, it’s just huge.”

A group of former WSU players including Jahad Woods, Joe Dahl, Josh Watson, Travis Long, Jeremiah Allison and Dallas Hobbs joined former athletic director Bill Moos – the man who hired Leach in 2012 – for the ceremonial flag raising before kickoff. Rather than the traditional Ol’ Crimson flag, the group lifted a black pirate flag honoring the former WSU coach into the sky.

“Even the keys to victory this week were in coach Leach’s honor,” Dickert said. “Be the best team, be the most excited to play and be the best at doing your job. We talked about them this morning, and I thought those were just fitting because of how it would carry over to our football team.

“Coach Leach loved Washington State because of the people. He really did and all the stories surrounding that, he’d probably have something funnier to say than I do right now.”

Stone Jr. and Jackson, especially, lived out many of Leach’s motto with their aggressive play on the defensive line.

Stone Jr., who had two sacks last season, managed to squeeze both of his into a five-minute span in the second quarter and finished with four tackles.

Jackson’s two fumble recoveries and touchdown return – his first scoring play since high school – came with five tackles and one quarterback hurry.

When asked postgame about his fumble recoveries, Jackson had to ask a reporter to clarify: “Wait, which one were you talking about?” he replied. “There were two of them.”

Jackson went on to provide additional detail and color of his second recovery, which gave WSU its third touchdown of the first half moments after the senior picked the ball off the turf.

“I think just our chemistry and how we operate, RJ was just destroying that guy on the right all game,” Jackson said.

Stone Jr. said the duo’s chemistry was a large part of their shared success on the field Saturday.

“It’s super exciting, just to live with him now and see his work ethic and see things he does,” Stone Jr. said. “We get to talk about ball a little bit more. We’ll be sitting there and get back from practice, we’re eating dinner and let’s talk about this, let’s talk about this. Really try to improve each other’s game.

“For us to both come back and have this success today is just a dream come true for both of us.”