Jackquintin Bal is starting to make his presence felt in Pullman, and he did it in a big way last Saturday against Arizona.
The Washington State safety, who spent three seasons at Arizona State as Jack Bal, stepped into a larger role with Jalil Tucker out and delivered one of the Cougars’ biggest defensive plays of the season. Early in the first quarter, the 6-foot-2, 191-pound redshirt junior broke from deep in the secondary, jumped in front of Arizona receiver Tre Spivey Jr. and picked off Noah Fifita. He then took it 25 yards the other way for a touchdown.
It was his first interception in college, and it came with a career-high nine tackles attached to it. Afterward, coach Kirby Moore pointed to Bal’s preparation and awareness as the reason the play happened.
Bal said the moment carried extra weight because of where it came from. A former Sun Devils defender had just made a statement against the Wildcats’ quarterback.
“It felt like a dream, something I imagined,” Bal said. “I just imagined it in a different uniform.”
For Bal, the move from Tempe to Pullman was never just about football. He had expected Arizona State to be his long-term home after earning a scholarship as a walk-on from Centennial High School. But after seeing action in only four games last season, he entered the transfer portal and landed at Washington State as one of the early additions for Moore’s new staff.
Leaving ASU wasn’t easy.
“definitely emotional” Bal said of the decision, especially after thinking he would spend his whole college career there.
“Moving forward, I just had to think about other things,” Bal said.
Once he got to Pullman, though, the change suited him. He described the area as smaller and more relaxed, and he’s enjoyed getting back to things like fishing on the Snake River - something he says wasn’t really an option in Tempe.
“Getting out and fishing (on the Snake River) or other stuff - I couldn’t really do that in a city like Tempe,” Bal said. “I am more of an at-home guy, or in-the-building or (football) facility guy.”
He’s also found that the way WSU plays fits his game. Bal said the Cougars’ defense immediately stood out to him on his visit because of how quickly everyone operates and how little hesitation there is.
“I loved it immediately,” Bal said. “As soon as I took my visit, one thing that stuck with me was how fast guys can play, whether it is taking your shot, or fitting the run super fast or getting the checkout (of a look) very fast - we’re not doing too much thinking.”
Bal even found one more reason to embrace a new identity. With five players and one coach on the roster sharing the name Jack, he decided it was time to lean into Jackquintin.
“We’ve got a lot of ‘Jacks’ on the team,” Bal said. “A while ago, I wanted to go by Jackquintin … I wanted to have a little uniqueness.”
That uniqueness is already showing up on the field. And with his teammates trusting him, and him trusting them right back, Bal is giving Washington State exactly the kind of early return it was hoping for.
“I put a lot of trust in other guys,” Bal said, “and they put a lot of trust in me.”
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