WSU spring football preview: Three trends to watch on defense

PULLMAN – Trent Bray will have some options this spring.

As Washington State gets set to kick off spring practices, beginning with Thursday’s opener at the Taylor Sports Complex, the Cougars’ new defensive coordinator will get his first chance to see his group take the field and practice.

Over the next few days, we’ll publish a series of stories to preview spring ball, continuing with this edition on the Cougars’ defense.

Here are three trends to watch on that side of the ball.

1. What scheme will WSU run?

Much of the way we talk about this Washington State defense will be colored by the scheme the team runs. For that, we turn to Bray’s last stop at Oregon State for a little background.

Before becoming the Beavers’ head coach for 2024 and part of 2025, Bray was their defensive coordinator for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. In those years, OSU ran a base 3-4 scheme, which means three linemen and four linebackers, with four defensive backs flanking them down the field. It’s also worth noting that the Beavers flourished on defense in that span.

In 2022, Oregon State finished No. 16 in the country in total defense, permitting only 20 points per game. In 2023, OSU took a bit of a step back and finished No. 47, allowing 22.9 points per game. But taken together, this stretch illustrated Bray’s acumen as a defensive coordinator, which seems to be what he’s best at.

Can he deliver the same results at WSU? Will he return to the same 3-4 defense he used to great effect in Corvallis?

We’ll get answers to those questions in the days and weeks ahead. For now, let’s analyze the Cougars’ defenders themselves, which may inform Bray’s thinking.

Over the offseason, WSU did well to replenish its defensive line and defensive end corps. Stars like Bobby Terrell, Max Baloun and Bryson Lamb followed coach Jimmy Rogers to Iowa State. New Cougar coach Kirby Moore replaced them with high-ceiling transfers, including Vanderbilt DE Linus Zunk, Idaho DE Matyus McLain, Marshall DT Paul Hutson III, Eastern Washington DT Jirah Leaupepetele, Saint Francis DT Balaam Miller and others.

With so much talent up front – approaching logjam territory, truth be told – will the Cougars opt for a scheme that takes advantage of that? That would likely involve a 4-3 look, which WSU ran last season. That much may depend on coaches’ evaluation of their linebacker corps.

If there’s one position group that profiles as a bit thin, at least on paper before practices have even started, it’s WSU’s linebacker group. The Cougars have what seems to be a solid top three, including returner Keith Brown alongside SMU transfer DJ Warner and Kent State transfer Nylan Brown, but few others on the roster have meaningful experience at this level.

For example, coaches from both the last two staffs have sung the praises of underclassmen Erimus Wright and Gage Jones, but neither have seen extensive playing time. Last season, walk-on linebacker Jack Ellison got a start against North Texas when starter Anthony Palano went down with an injury, but he finished with a forgettable Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 28.5 – and went on to play a combined 36 snaps across just four games the rest of the season.

Coaches’ assessment of their linebacker group may tell us a lot about the way they plan to scheme their defense this spring, and later in the fall.

2. How will the Cougars use their renewed size in the secondary?

The Cougs have some real size at both the safety and cornerback spots.

Cal Poly transfer cornerback CJ Solis-Lumar stands 6-foot-1, Texas State transfer cornerback Khamari Terrell is 6-1, Oregon State transfer Jalil Tucker is listed at 6-0 and Modesto Junior College transfer Elmo Wartson is 6-3. At the safety spots, Cal Poly transfer Jeremiah Bernard is listed at 6-0, as are San Jose State transfer Jaylen Thomas and Arizona transfer Jshawn Frausto-Ramos, and Arizona State transfer Jack Bal is 6-2.

That’s in addition to WSU’s returners, including 6-0 safety Kyle Peterson, 6-1 cornerback Jamarey Smith and 6-0 cornerback Kai Rapolla.

It’s a change of pace for the Cougars, whose secondary players in recent years have mostly been undersized: 2025 safety Tucker Large was listed at 5-11, 2025 cornerback Colby Humphrey was also 5-11, 2024 safety Tyson Durant was 5-10 and 2023 cornerback Chau Smith-Wade was 5-11.

This fall, will WSU’s infusion of size guarantee success in the secondary? Hardly. But it’s a good starting point.

3. Can Kaden Beatty flourish into the leader of WSU’s defensive front?

Last fall, if there was one voice that rose above the rest on the Cougars’ defensive line, it belonged to Kent State transfer Kaden Beatty.

He’s a natural trash talker, it became clear, but an even more natural engine on defense. He may have been the strongest player on last year’s WSU team, and maybe on this one too.

But injuries limited Beatty to just 111 snaps in just seven games last season, including an absence at Virginia, which was a game he was looking forward to playing in his home state.

This season, can Beatty return to form and become the leader of the Cougars’ defensive front, both vocally and with his play? That group might need it. It includes a host of talent, but many of those players are new to WSU, making Beatty’s experience around the program more valuable.

If the 6-foot, 282-pound Beatty can stay healthy this year, there’s a good chance the Cougs’ defense will be better for it.