Aug. 10—PULLMAN — Jackson Lataimua put himself between the ball and the receiver, caught the ball and began running.
He wasn’t running alone as the whole defense ran down the field with him, mobbing the junior defensive back at the end of WSU’s 60-yard practice field. It was only a matter of minutes before Portland State transfer Parker McKenna picked off a pass and bounded down the field, too, accompanied by a similarly expansive ensemble.
“Are you not entertained!?” a WSU defender shouted.
The Cougar defense, infused by two takeaways to end practice, provided the entertainment and earned themselves ice cream from coach Jake Dickert on Thursday morning.
Dickert has given ice cream to either the offense or the defense on most days of camp depending on which unit wins the day.
“Oh, we’ve definitely made them (the offense) pay for it. I can’t even lie to you,” Lataimua said. “As many times as you guys have seen them win, they’re in there in the locker room talking about it all day, just eating ice cream in front of us. You know, when we get our chance, we’re gonna capitalize and I tell my guys ‘Man, go enjoy it.'”
WSU had Friday off ahead of the team’s first fall scrimmage, a closed-door affair at Gesa Field where guys will exhibit their progress in a simulated game. Here are three things to watch for when the Cougs take the field today:
Can the defense earn more ice cream?
It has been two straight days of victories for the Cougar defense. Following a lighter practice Wednesday morning, the team set up a blow-up gladiator arena on Gesa Field in which individuals attempted to knock each other off a platform with padded poles. Dickert got in on the action, going 2-0 and the defense won the day (and ice cream).
Following the departure of Jaden Hicks to the NFL, the Cougs converted Lataimua to a safety. Although he and Tanner Moku are competing for a starting job, Lataimua said Moku has helped him learn the position.
“(Moku is) helping me every single chance he gets, like if there’s any alignments that I’m missing or simple stuff that I’m missing, he’ll remind me like ‘A-Jack, go back to the basics. Get to 10 yards.’ But a big shoutout to Moku for just always being my right hand,” Lataimua said.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding said winning the turnover battle is an “all-the-time emphasis.”
“It doesn’t happen by going out of your assignment to try to make plays, do your job and the ball will come to you, right? and then when that ball (is) in the air, you got to go get it or punch it out,” Schmedding said. “And I think we’re starting to take charge as a defense and I’m not talking about the coaches. I’m saying the leaders on the defense really, really honing in on that and holding each other accountable.”
The key to making plays?
“I just have to play free,” Lataimua said. “You know, when I play free, when I play happy, when I’m showing energy towards my teammates, I tend to, you know, like you’ve seen, just make plays and just have fun.”
As the Cougs seek to replace five starters who made the leap to the NFL, the defense is rich with position battles.
The defensive line is particularly fresh and will have a big opportunity to exhibit its talents, while the linebacker corps stands on the experience between sixth-year Kyle Thornton and junior transfers McKenna and Keith Brown.
Who will be the Cougars’ starting QB: Mateer or Eckhaus?
Third-year Coug John Mateer and FCS transfer Zevi Eckhaus have an equal shot at the starting quarterback job.
The optics point to Mateer, the man who has sat behind former starter Cam Ward for two years, who is front and center on WSU’s schedule poster and featured prominently in the school’s fall hype video.
But all of that is secondary to the on-field competition, which has provided plenty of moments for both QB contenders to excel and plenty of opportunity for failure.
The pair have thrown their fair share of interceptions in fall camp, especially in more intense periods the last couple of days after the team donned full pads. The intensity of the Cougar defense, which lost five starters to the NFL this past spring, has pressured Mateer and Eckhaus to make ill-advised throws but has also led to some magic from the QBs evading pressure and extending plays.
Whoever wins the job will be the QB that can limit turnovers — something both men still need to prove they can do.
“Interceptions in my eyes are always inexcusable. I mean, without a doubt but I’d much rather it happen out here on Rogers (Field) than on Gesa,” Arbuckle said.
The Cougs step into Gesa Field for their scrimmage Saturday with both Cougar QBs expected to take a significant number of snaps under center.
Who will step up at receiver?
Carlos Hernandez is in a cast following surgery this week on his foot. He will be in a boot for 3-4 weeks and more than likely miss the Cougs’ first game, Aug. 31 vs. Portland State. Once his cast is off, he will be day-to-day, Dickert said.
In the meantime, Wazzu’s wide receiver room has a chance to step up.
“We’ve kind of adjusted some of those guys inside and outside. You’ll see Kris Hutson a little bit more on the outside, and we’ve got to keep moving,” Dickert said. “I mean, it’s a lesson in football: Our guys have to know whatever your role is or your perceived role is right now, you never know when your number is going to be called.
“It’s about finding the right guys, but on Saturday, who can make a play with the ball in their hands? When it’s live, who can make that 5-yard catch and go 15 yards? Those are the guys that will be working their way onto the field.”
Contenders to start in Hernandez’s place include Oregon transfer Kris Hutson, Austin Peay transfer Tre Shackelford, Louisiana Tech transfer Kyle Maxwell and redshirt junior Josh Meredith, while underclassmen like Tony Freeman and Branden Ganashamoorthy continue to make a great impression. Each has impressed in their own right in camp with highlight-reel catches and bone-rattling blocks.
Equally impressive has been the receivers’ ability to make big plays, get hit hard and get right back up. Meredith experienced this when he swooped in to catch a pass past the first down marker on a second-and-15 situation and immediately got knocked to the ground upon catching the ball. He burst onto his feet, not even wasting a second.
“That stuff is needed,” Meredith said. “Someone’s gonna have to start the spark in big conversions like that.”
The Cougs suit up for their first scrimmage at 10:15 today at Gesa Field. This scrimmage is closed to the public. WSU will host another scrimmage at 6:45 p.m. Aug. 17 at Gesa Field that will be open to the public. Dickert is calling it the “Lentil Bowl” as it will conclude Pullman’s International Lentil Fest next weekend.
“I’m ready,” Lataimua said. “I’m taking every day, you know, day by day, but Saturday when we get those opportunities to capitalize, play live, that’s where it’s make or break.”
Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.
