As WSU prepares for senior day against Wyoming, LB Kyle Thornton is soaking it all in

PULLMAN – Some four months ago, Kyle Thornton sat on a stage in Las Vegas, where he recounted the beginning of his career at Washington State.

It was July, and as the Pac-2 media day of sorts unfolded, Thornton was discussing how bleak things felt when he was a freshman walk-on linebacker with the Cougars.

Some nights, he said, he would stare up at the ceiling and wonder about his future. He was at the bottom of the depth chart, understandably so, and he thought about what it would take to get on the field. He wondered if he had what it took.

Five years later, Thornton has made the answer a resounding yes. As WSU prepares to wrap up its regular-season schedule at home against Wyoming on Saturday afternoon, it’s the final home game for Thornton, who is two games away from wrapping up his sixth and final season as a Cougar. It’s given him a chance to reflect on the long and winding journey.

“It’s both parts unbelievable that it’s finally here,” Thornton said, “and just excited to finally reach this point in my journey. There’s been a lot of jokes throughout the years (about my age) and honestly, it’s just been such a long time coming, all the work that I’ve put into this place. I’m excited for it to be kind of finalized with this final game in Gesa Field. Just looking forward to the opportunity.”

Heading into the final game and whatever bowl game the Cougars draw, Thornton and the WSU defense have had better stretches. The group is only a few days removed from permitting 41 points to Oregon State in a close road loss, and that followed a similarly porous outing, a loss to New Mexico, which racked up 38 points.

The Cougars are allowing roughly 30 points per game, against mostly Mountain West competition.

It has put the Cougars’ defense under the microscope, and head coach Jake Dickert has had to answer questions about defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding’s future in recent days.

“Just like anything else in our program, I’m in a constant evaluation on what’s best for the team,” Dickert said Monday, “and as we go throughout this game, I think it’s important that we finish what we started. We’ll constantly evaluate, just like I do everything in the program. This isn’t just the defensive coordinator. It’s offense, it’s personnel, it’s all our support staff. It’s myself, first and foremost. So we’ll continue to do that as we continue to go forward.”

Thornton hasn’t had a perfect season – he hasn’t earned a Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 70-plus since WSU beat San Jose State in double overtime in September – but he’s provided a steady presence at linebacker.

He broke up a crucial pass late in the Cougars’ win over San Diego State last month, and on top of totaling 61 tackles, he’s held up well in coverage for a linebacker.

Thornton is one of 18 seniors who will be honored before Saturday’s game. The list includes more recent additions, like transfer wideout Kris Hutson and linebacker Wesley Steiner, but it also includes many of the guys Thornton has walked this path with – edges Andrew Edson and Quinn Roff, kicker Dean Janikowski and more.

They’re part of a group that can say they spent their entire careers at one place, which isn’t always commonplace in college football these days. That, Thornton said, is part of what will make Saturday’s game so special to him.

“It just means everything,” Thornton said. “There’s so many guys, especially in the senior class, who have been here through so much, have been here through so many different times. Andrew Edson, a kid who showed up in 2021. We were like, ‘Who is this kid who just works hard as hell all the time?’ I couldn’t be more happy for him, to see how his journey is gone. Same thing with Quinn Roff, just a lot of these seniors, Dean Janikowski, another walk-on with me.”

But Thornton and the Cougars still have a game to play this weekend. They’ll try to take down Wyoming, which gave Boise State a scare in a 17-13 loss last Saturday.

It’s providing an interesting dynamic, as WSU will attempt to soak in the meaning of the moment without letting it distract it from the task at hand.

“A little bit of both,” Thornton said. “I think as we’re leading up to it, it is a little bit about taking it all in. You can’t just say, ‘I’ll ignore it.’ I think it takes a really special person to block it all out and say, ‘I’m fine. It’s nothing new.’

“So no, I definitely am trying to take it all in. But at the same time, once that ball kicks off, it’s game time like any day else.”