CJ Solis-Lumar made the most of his Monday in Pullman, and Washington State head coach Kirby Moore noticed.
During Day 10 of fall camp, the cornerback stacked up a strong run in the secondary, starting with a pass breakup in an earlier drill and then knocking away consecutive Owen Eshelman throws in the final end-of-half period. Solis-Lumar was sharp on both deep balls, using his length to stay in position and erase the plays.
"He's done a really good job competing," Moore said. "I think you've seen some of those deep balls.
He's done a good job with his length. I think he can really force some width there with the receivers and do a good job.
Coach Bray definitely wants to play aggressive in the secondary and he does a nice job. Whether it's Jalil (Tucker), Khamari (Terrell), those guys have a lot of length in the secondary and that's really showing up."
Solis-Lumar, a 6-1, 197-pound sophomore from Los Angeles, transferred from Cal Poly after appearing in 12 games last season. He followed cornerbacks coach Brandyn Thompson, who coached him a year ago, and has spent most of his time with the twos since spring. Even so, he remains one of the names in the mix to eventually step into a bigger role when Tucker or Terrell move on.
"The length," Moore said of what drew them to Solis-Lumar in the portal. "I think you look at Coach Bray's experience from a defensive standpoint.
He's played really well in the secondary, being aggressive, having length. And CJ's got all that."
The Cougars are still sorting out some of their camp structure, and Moore said the staff wants more live work before settling things in. He pointed to the end-of-game period on Monday as a useful teaching tool and said the group is looking for more four-point plays, more end-of-game work and another scrimmage to pile up real snaps.
"I think we're still working through that. We had end-of-game today, which there's going to be some great tape to learn from.
We want to make sure we get more four-point plays, a couple more end-of-games. We'll get another scrimmage and get some live snaps.
And I think that's the best for us. Those situations, coaches are in the box, making it as game-like as possible."
There was also an update on Cedarland, who left Saturday's scrimmage on a cart and was on crutches Monday with a large leg brace. Moore said Cedarland is still being evaluated.
"He is still going through that protocol of getting some tests. Probably get to that here by the end of this week when we find out exactly what's going on."
Moore also touched on the competition at right tackle, where Ashton Tripp and Matyus McLain have been going at it for 10 straight days. He said the back-and-forth has helped both players, with Linus Zunk also pushing the group and the staff getting more reps at the position.
"Those guys are making each other better. They've been going against each other for 10-straight days.
So naturally there's a little bit of getting under each other's skin from time to time. Ashton's had some really good reps, and Matyus has had some really good reps.
Linus (Zunk) is making those guys better. And then again, we're getting more reps at the right tackle position right now."
And on the offensive line, Moore pointed to Noah Dunham's growing voice as a plus.
"Really good communicator, does a great job getting to the second level, and just making sure all five guys are on the same page. There's a ton of responsibility there, whether it's stuff with the run game or making sure we keep the quarterbacks protected."
In Other News...
Trent Bray Just Put Three WSU Defenders On Fans Radar
A fall camp scrimmage gave Washington State defensive coordinator Trent Bray a fresh chance to size up the Cougars defense, and a few names came away with more attention than they had before. Bray pointed to linebacker DJ Warner, cornerback Jalil Tucker and safety Jeremiah Bernard as players making real impressions, while also noting that the group as a whole still had some cleaning up to do after a penalty-filled outing.
Warners move from defensive end to linebacker has been one of the more interesting camp developments, and the early signs suggest he is settling into the new spot with more confidence. Tucker, meanwhile, is drawing notice after coming over from junior college, and Bernards aggressive style has already become hard to miss, even in a setting where the coaches have had to manage how hard he plays. The bigger question now is how those individual gains hold up once the defense is put under the pressure of a full season. [Read more 🡒]
Cougars Bring A New-Look Roster Back To Seattle This December
Washington State mens basketball will make a return trip to Seattle on Dec. 19, when the Cougars face Seattle U at the Seattle Holiday Classic at Climate Pledge Arena. The matchup is part of a doubleheader that also includes Washington against Baylor in the nightcap, giving the city a full slate of college basketball in one event.
Tickets go on sale Aug. 19 for the event, which is being organized by Total Sports Consulting. For the Cougars, it is another chance to play in front of a familiar regional crowd in a venue that should bring a little extra energy to a nonconference date on the calendar. [Read more 🡒]