Five take-aways from the first day of WSU Cougars fall football camp

By Greg Woods
The Spokesman-Review
PULLMAN — Brennan Jackson laughed and flashed a wide grin. As he strode up to the microphone, ready to chat about his Washington State team’s first day of fall camp on Wednesday morning, he got a question.
How many mental sacks today?
“Oh,” Jackson said, “at least 70.”
The Cougars’ sixth-year edge rusher can’t exactly hit quarterbacks, especially not without pads at this early stage of camp, so he had to rack up mental sacks — reps where he visualized what kind of move he would use to get into the backfield and make the tackle.
“I think it kinda goes hand-in-hand with you gotta see what you’re gonna do in the game,” Jackson said. “I feel like nobody just walks through a game without seeing what they’re gonna do. So yeah, the mental rep thing is keeping me locked in, but also, I wanna visualize success on the field.”
Jackson’s defensive unit faces a few questions this August. How will the Cougars replace a couple of key losses at the linebacker spots? Who will fill in the defensive lineman spots, between Jackson and fellow edge rusher Ron Stone Jr.?
In our five take-aways from Day One of WSU fall camp, we’ll tackle that and more.
Washington State head coach Jake Dickert tells his team to go for two as the score stands 35-33 to the Huskies in the third quarter as the Washington Huskies play the Washington State Cougars in Pac-12 Football at Martin Stadium, in Pullman. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times, 2022)
1. Transfer linebacker Devin Richardson making a splash
At one point during Wednesday’s practice, redshirt senior linebacker Devin Richardson read the quarterback’s eyes perfectly, jumping a route and snagging an interception. He raced the other way for a short pick-six. His teammates, both the ones on the sideline and on the field, jumped and bolted to Richardson like moths to a flame.
Turns out, Richardson is transitioning just fine from Texas to Washington State, which is music to the Cougars’ ears. They’re looking to replace a few linebackers, namely Daiyan Henley (NFL draft), Francisco Mauigoa and Travion Brown (transfer portal).
Enter Richardson. His has been a winding journey. He started at New Mexico, where he played the 2018 and 2019 seasons, earning Freshman All-American honors in that second season. The coronavirus pandemic wiped out the 2020 season, and Richardson transferred to Texas, where he played mostly on special teams in the 2021 season. In 2022, he made 11 tackles in nine games.
All of which led him to WSU for his final campaign. He’s squarely in the mix for a starting job at linebacker.
“I think he’s gained the respect of his teammates, and in short order,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said. “There’s probably not a bigger compliment that I could give a player, a transfer guy, a guy that’s that experienced than that. He was our super freak weight room guy this summer. To do that, you gotta show up every day just ready to work. And I think he’s improved himself. He’s got a chip on his shoulder. I think all those elements together fit being a Coug. I think he embraces the opportunity, and I think he’s ready to take advantage of it. I really do. I’ve got a ton of confidence in Devin.”
2. Several players in the mix for snaps at tight end
Try not to smile when you check out this statistic from last season: In Washington State’s Week 2 win over Wisconsin, Cougar tight end Billy Riviere hauled in a crucial 38-yard pass. With that reception, he became the first WSU tight end to make a catch since 2011 — a gap of more than a decade.
The Cougars probably won’t be starting another streak like that. In Wednesday’s practice, Ward and backup quarterback John Mateer sprayed it around to several tight ends, including Riviere, junior Cooper Mathers, sophomore Andre Dollar and redshirt senior Cameron Johnson.
Could the tight end be making a return to the WSU offense under new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle? If we can draw any conclusions from Day One of fall camp, the answer might be yes.
“What a competitive group it’s gonna be in fall camp,” Dickert said, “between Billy and Cooper, Cam. Andre needs to take the next step in his progression. I think there’s just a lot of things that I’m excited for that group. I think we have more weapons than just kind of efficient players like we did last year. Those guys have all gotten better, and now they need to go prove to Coach Arbuckle — and more importantly to themselves — that they have what we see. I think those guys can be weapons this year.”
3. Several freshmen turning heads early on
Before fall camp even began, Dickert noted a few true freshmen could be up for meaningful snaps this fall. Turns out he was onto something.
After Wednesday’s practice, Dickert mentioned the following true freshmen by name: Edge rusher Isaac Terrell, wide receiver Carlos Hernandez and offensive lineman Ashton Tripp.
Dickert talked about Hernandez on Tuesday afternoon, so hearing Tripp and Terrell’s names on Wednesday registered as news. Tripp, a Kennewick native, recently celebrated his 17th birthday — and he’s raising eyebrows for a Pac-12 team.
“I mean, just amazing to come out here and be that athletic,” Dickert said, “and do some interesting things as a young guy.”
4. Isaac Terrell earning a real look from WSU
At least early in fall camp, it looks like Terrell will have a hard time earning a starting job at the edge rusher spot, with sixth-year stars Ron Stone Jr. and Jackson at those positions. But if the way Dickert and others talked about him is any indication, don’t be surprised to see the freshman get some playing time this fall.
“Right out the gate, I mean, he is just a can of whoop-ass,” Dickert said. “I mean, it’s incredible. His energy, the way he plays, the motor that he revs with.”
Terrell hails from Lehi, Utah, where he earned Class 5A all-state player of the year honors as a junior. He fielded offers from Utah State, Idaho State, UNLV, Cal, Idaho and San Jose State, but he turned them down to accept Washington State’s offer.
“I think Isaac is fantastic. He’s a natural pass-rusher,” Jackson said. “I think he’s very mature for his age …. He’s a very mature young kid. I think he’s gonna have a really bright future here. He really just soaks up all the knowledge we can give him, and I think he’s very polished coming in. I’m looking at him for pass-rush advice sometimes with the way he moves.”
5. Ward fine-tuning his fundamentals, deep balls
During one bloc of Wednesday’s practice, Arbuckle put his quarterbacks through a drill where they danced through a line of obstacles, set their feet and slung a pass into a hole in a piece of equipment some 10 yards away.
Ward looked as good as any of them, firing with ease into the net. Maybe that’s nothing out of the ordinary for quarterbacks in practice. But for Ward, it underscores this: He’s really working on his fundamentals and deep balls.
When he thought about the things Arbuckle is pushing with him, Ward said this: “Throw it deep. Good things happen when you throw it deep, whether it’s a flag or we’re gonna catch it. So just go deep.”