Why WSU’s safeties’ connections foreshadow better days in their secondary

PULLMAN – Matt Durrance is hoping to set a couple kinds of examples this fall. First and foremost, Washington State’s new strong safety wants to win, wants to spend his final year of college football winning at the FBS level.

But when he looks around at the Cougars’ safety corps, he sees nothing but familiar faces. Playing alongside him this fall will be fellow seniors Tucker Large and Cale Reeder, all of whom started their careers the same year at the same place with many of the same coaches: In 2021 at South Dakota State, where they won back-to-back national championships in the next two seasons.

“Those two are guys that will be at my wedding,” Durrance said. “I love those guys. With them coming over, it made the choice to come here even easier. I feel like if you see that relationship that we have, it kinda gives everyone a sense of like, wow, this really is a family. And this could be a family if you don’t think that. So I feel like that gives everyone something to strive for, honestly.”

The Cougs’ trio of veteran safeties portend a much more fruitful year in their secondary, which struggled each of the previous two seasons, often allowing opposing defenses to have their way through the air. WSU has shown flashes at the safety spot in recent years – Jaden Hicks was drafted in 2024 – but it’s been a weakness more than a strength.

Can Durrance, Large and Reeder turn that around? Perhaps only time will tell, but they’re in position to do just that, bringing to WSU a wealth of experience, the type that figures to help them avoid the types of mistakes that plagued Cougar safeties of past years.

Some of the story is in the numbers. Large has 44 games under his belt, Durrance has 43 and Reeder has 53, his 2024 season cut short by a season-ending injury in Week 2. But after two weeks of fall camp, if there’s been one standout of the three, the honors have gone to Reeder, who has made a habit of announcing his presence with a healthy dose of trash talk and strong reps to back them up.

Because those guys have played so many games, though, WSU coach Jimmy Rogers knows what he has in them. That’s why, even though Large and Reeder have been limited in the last several days of fall camp, he’s prioritizing rest over reps.

“I don’t need to see Tucker Large take a million reps,” Rogers said. “I’ve been with him forever. He’s an impact player for us. I want to make sure he’s 100% before we put him out in these settings. Because the closer we just get to game time, he’ll get feeling better and better.

“The bigger thing isn’t the reps, it’s just keeping his cardio up and making sure he feels comfortable. It’s really similar with him and Reeder. Those are guys with so much reps, and I think it’s extremely important with the skill that we have on that back end that we continue to build depth.”

Some of the reason Rogers trusts that trio so much is because of the respect they command around the locker room – in the absences of Large and Reeder, Durrance has picked up the vocal leadership, which his head coach said he appreciates – and some is because of the sheer results they’ve made a habit of producing.

Last season at SDSU, Durrance intercepted four passes, logged three pass breakups and recorded one fumble recovery. Large posted three interceptions, seven pass breakups and also recovered one fumble. In his last full season of action, Reeder picked off a pair of passes and forced two fumbles.

Perhaps most important, the three never wavered in bigger moments, with which they also have plenty of experience. With Large, Durrance and Reeder at the helm of the Jackrabbits’ safety rotation, they never failed to reach the FCS semifinals, creating for themselves opportunities to see how they would fare at the highest levels of their division.

For WSU, the important question centers around how much that experience translates to the kinds of opponents the Cougars have lined up this fall, from Washington to Ole Miss to Virginia. Can they pull wins out of those chances? If so, they might be giving some thanks to their safeties, who will be at each others’ weddings.

“It gives you a sense of comfortability,” Reeder said. “You know you’re not coming in not knowing anyone, not being comfortable. So having those guys to look aside, be a part of, makes it a lot easier.”