WSU rewind: In win over San Diego State, Cougars’ defensive line proved its depth might be for real

PULLMAN – Isaac Terrell was still breathing hard from a practice last week when he began to describe his first game under Washington State’s new coaching staff. The Cougars were a few days removed from a narrow win in their season opener, which left much to be desired from both the team’s offense and defense, but Terrell gave the experience a glowing review.

“It (does) a lot when you come off and you don’t get reamed,” said Terrell, a junior defensive end. “They boost you up and build your confidence. They tell you what you did wrong and say, ‘next play, let’s go, you got this,’ and then they send you back out.”

Several days later, Terrell made it clear he loves playing for head coach Jimmy Rogers and his staff. In WSU’s blowout win over San Diego State, Terrell totaled two tackles for loss, including a sack in the end zone for a safety, the program’s first in four calendar years. It was the first sack of his career. Later in the game, he shared another sack, this one with fellow defensive end Buddha Peleti.

Terrell’s sterling outing fit into the larger picture of WSU’s defense, which has looked tremendous in each of the first two games of the season. On Saturday, quarterback Jayden Denegal completed only 15 of 30 passes for 130 yards and one touchdown for the Aztecs, who converted just 2 of 13 third-down chances. The Cougars also forced SDSU into four straight three-and-outs, plus three turnovers on downs.

The WSU defenders who figured to be stellar have been as advertised. Veteran safeties Matt Durrance and Tucker Large have played a key role in allowing just 166 passing yards in two games combined, and cornerbacks Colby Humphrey and Jamorri Colson turned in similarly staunch games Saturday, both finishing with a Pro Football Coverage grade of 70-plus, which is considered above average.

The position group that has answered questions in the biggest way has been the Cougars’ defensive line and defensive ends. That group keyed WSU’s scintillating pass rush, which piled up three sacks on 16 pressures, including 1.5 sacks from Terrell and one from veteran tackle Max Baloun, a transfer from South Dakota State. On his own, Terrell totaled six pressures – tied for third most nationally in Week 2.

The Cougars’ defensive line picked up two QB hits, one from Terrell and one from SMU transfer defensive tackle Mike Sandjo, who was making his season debut after missing Week 1 with an injury. Peleti downplayed his role in his half-sack – “nothing special, just doing my job,” he said – but he posted three hurries as well.

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Another encouraging number for WSU: A week after missing 16 tackles against Idaho, the Cougars’ defense sliced that number in half against SDSU, whiffing on just eight. Some wound up being costly misses – veteran linebacker Caleb Francl made an uncharacteristic mistake on a miss, which led to an SDSU touchdown moments later – but in the big picture, it added up to another step in the right direction for WSU’s defenders, who have already put together a compelling résumé across these first two games.

“Bobby works his tail off,” Peleti said. “Every day, he comes in, you know he’s gonna come with the same mentality. He’s a great player. He has a great work ethic, and it kinda pushes and elevates everybody around him. Just seeing him come in and be so hungry, you kinda can’t be not hungry, you know? You kinda have to work with being around Bobby.”

“I think it’s taken a little bit for our defensive players to believe what we say is realistic,” Rogers added, “but we’ve been able to do that, and we’re going to continue to push the standard and not change just based off what the outside world thinks. I’ve been on teams where we set the standard so high, and then you get close, and if you want to be the best in the country, you gotta set the best -in -the -country type standards. We hold the guys to that. They play like that.”

Maybe the most promising part for WSU: This profiles less as a one-off development and more as a long-term trend. The Cougs don’t just have a couple top-end pass-rushers of whom they ask a lot. They feel comfortable with their depth, from Terrell and Peleti on the edges to Baloun and Bryson Lamb on the inside, plus ends Raam Stevenson and Malaki Ta’ase and tackle Darrion Dalton.

All seven of those players logged at least 15 snaps in Saturday’s game, bringing one theme into focus: WSU may actually have the depth on its defensive line that coaches and players spent all spring ball and fall camp talking about. Add Sandjo into that mix – he also registered 15 snaps – and you get eight viable players up front.

Will the Cougars feel ready to distribute snaps that much in closer games? Against tougher opponents?

Next weekend, WSU will travel to North Texas, where game-time temperatures are expected to hover in the low 90s. You can probably add a few ticks to that number on the field, where it will feel even hotter thanks to the turf. How will the Cougs’ front lines respond?

That much has yet to be written. But for the Cougars, there are far worse ways to enter that kind of environment.

“We’re coming together. If you could hear them in the locker room, they’re close,” Rogers said. “And I think that’s a product of just creating the atmosphere with our players that a lot of new players can have relationships, be themselves. We’re moving in the right direction, but we’ve got a ton of work still to do.”