Countdown to fall camp: How much depth does WSU have in its linebacker corps?

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of stories that will run each day previewing Washington State’s preseason camp before it begins on Thursday. This edition covers the Cougars’ linebackers.

PULLMAN – If there’s such a thing as a breakout spring camp, when Isaiah Hung stood in front of a microphone on the sidelines of Rogers Field back in late April, he had just completed one.

Some six months after redshirting his true freshman year at Washington State, Hung looked sharp in the middle of the Cougars defense, using his physicality and speed to shine at linebacker. He was quick to identify lanes, quicker to deliver hits. He looked ready to earn a meaningful role.

Which brings us to WSU’s fall camp, which begins Thursday. The Cougars have solid top -three options at linebacker: transfers Nylan Brown and DJ Warne plus veteran Keith Brown, who missed last season with an injury. But examine the rest of their linebacker corps and you might wonder about the team’s depth at that position.

That’s where Hung comes in. Could he provide the depth WSU needs at linebacker? As the Cougs’ fall camp unfolds this August, his development is worth watching.

Defensive coordinator Trent Bray runs a 4-2-5 scheme, which means a few more breathers for his linebackers, but he can’t play all three top options 70 snaps per game. If Hung can come along and be ready for the Cougars’ Sept. 6 season opener at Washington, his team will be in far better shape.

“Honestly, I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better at taking care of my body and doing the little things outside of practice and in the weight room and in the training room,” Hung said in April. “I’d just say it helped me get a feel for the game more and be able to play more confident and just get more reps. I think I have around 400 reps this spring, so it’s great. I’m getting experience.”

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 217 pounds, Hung is a native of the Kansas City area, where he was recruited by former coach Jimmy Rogers, who promptly brought Hung along to WSU. About a year and a half later, Rogers is at Iowa State but Hung remains with the Cougars, who suddenly need his development sooner than they might have expected.

Brown started his college career by spending the 2021 and 2022 seasons at Oregon, then transferred to Louisville for a redshirt year in 2023 before transferring to WSU ahead of the 2024 season. In spite of his resume, he hasn’t played an overwhelming amount of snaps of defense.

The total number is 518, including 190 in 2024 at WSU. Nylan Brown and Warner each played more than 200 snaps last season. Keith Brown may have been around college football for longer, which has given him valuable experience and perspective. But it’s also true that he hasn’t gotten on the field nearly as much in recent years, another reason why Hung’s development looms so large for the Cougars.

The good news is that WSU can likely count on big years from Nylan Brown and Warner, who transferred from Kent State and SMU, respectively. Brown started one of 11 games last season at Kent State, where he totaled 58 tackles, including three for loss. In the spring, he looked the part, using his bruiser build to punish ball-carriers, and it’s fair to expect him to do the same come September and onward.

Warner played in all 12 games last fall at SMU, totaling two sacks on 18 quarterback pressures. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 231 pounds, Warner played his true freshman season at Kansas, where he also played in 12 games. Warner has played far more edge rusher than linebacker in his career so far, so he’s spent this year adjusting to the linebacker role, where he’s said dropping into coverage has proven most challenging so far.

“It’s definitely coming naturally, I feel like,” Warner said after one spring practice in April. “Before I moved to the position, I kinda knew that this position would fit me more. I’d say the space is definitely the biggest difference. I don’t have to take on every lineman with every pound in my body now. I could make them miss, which is what I would rather do. So probably the space. But that’s definitely the thing that excites me the most about it.”