WSU veteran safety Cale Reeder to make season debut against North Texas

PULLMAN – Washington State’s safety corps is expected to be at full strength on Saturday.

Veteran safety Cale Reeder is ready to make his season debut when WSU hits the road to take on North Texas this weekend, coach Jimmy Rogers said on Monday, indicating Reeder is back to full health. He missed each of the Cougars’ first two games of the season, including suiting up last week against San Diego State.

Reeder, who spent the first five years of his career under Rogers at South Dakota State, missed almost the entire 2024 season with an injury. During this year’s fall camp, Reeder missed a handful of practices with what Rogers called a “slight issue with his knee.”

With Reeder back in the fold, he’ll join fellow veterans Tucker Large and Matt Durrance to create an experienced safety group. Large and Durrance have excelled in their first two games at WSU, with Durrance forcing a fumble in Week 1 and Large nearly picking off a pass in Week 2.

WSU’s defense, which limited FCS Idaho to just 10 points and San Diego State to 13, figures to only improve with Reeder back on the field. As the Cougars get ready to take on the Mean Green, who operate one of the country’s fastest-tempo offenses under head coach Eric Morris and QB Drew Mestemaker, they’re getting Reeder back at an opportune time.

Reeder is a native of Yorkville, Illinois. As a freshman at SDSU in 2020, he played in all 10 games, setting the stage for a fruitful career with the Jackrabbits.

In other injury news, WSU is expected to go another week without wide receiver Devin Ellison, who is not on the Cougars’ depth chart for the second straight week. He’s out with a heel contusion that the team “can’t figure out,” Rogers said last week.

On Monday, Rogers said, “I couldn’t tell you anything on Devin, really.”

Without Ellison, WSU and QB Jaxon Potter are missing the wide receiver who was expected to be their offense’s best deep threat. He also missed several fall camp practices with the injury, but when he was healthy, he looked the part of a potential star.

After breaking out at Monterey Peninsula College (California) in 2024, Ellison chose WSU over recruiting finalists UCF and Boise State, the latter of which made last year’s College Football Playoff.

Without Ellison on the field, expect WSU to feature more of Josh Meredith, who set a career high last week with 8 catches for 88 yards. The Cougs could also get a boost from receiver Tony Freeman and freshman wideout Carter Pabst, who has garnered praise from Rogers for his solid blocking and promising work ethic. Pabst played 20 snaps of offense against San Diego State last week.