PULLMAN - The play that defined Washington State’s fourth fall camp practice came from the back end of the defense, where Jeremiah Bernard went airborne and erased a throw before it could reach the sideline target.
Owen Eshelman had just released the pass, but Bernard closed fast from safety, laid out, and broke it up in a burst of athleticism and instincts that turned heads across Rogers Practice Field. He popped right back up, and his teammates on the defensive side let him hear it.
“The guys that we brought in, we’re hoping they’re gonna be what they are,” WSU safeties coach Greg Burns said, “and they’re working their butts off.”
Bernard, a junior transfer from FCS Cal Poly, has been building toward a starting role in the Cougars’ secondary. At 6-foot and 196 pounds, he looks the part of a difference-maker, and Monday’s practice showed why he’s making such a strong push.
The safety room is crowded, with San Jose State transfer Jaylen Thomas, Arizona transfer Jshawn Frausto-Ramos and Arizona State transfer Jack Bal all in the mix, along with returners Kyle Peterson and Kayo Patu. But Bernard keeps standing out anyway.
That wasn’t the only defensive flash of the day. In 7-on-7 work, cornerback Kai Rapolla broke up a pass from Julian Dugger. Later in a full-team period, Ben Beatty - one of several Cougars who dyed their hair blonde for fall camp - used his athleticism to knock away another throw from the defensive end spot.
The defensive line kept winning its share too. Time and again, it pushed back the offensive front, regardless of the unit on the field.
Dugger took a simulated sack on one snap, and Eshelman and Caden Pinnick also had little room to operate. Pinnick managed to use his speed to escape the pocket and pick up good yardage on a couple of plays, but for the most part the offense was playing from behind.
That’s not entirely surprising this early in camp. The Cougars are still installing the offense, and running back Kirby Vorhees said after one practice last week that he’s still learning the new system head coach Kirby Moore and offensive coordinator Matt Miller are putting in place. Even so, the offense has trailed the defense more often than not through the first four practices, with the exception of the third.
Personnel rotation is still muddy, too, so there’s no firm first and second unit yet. One group that took the field Monday featured Pinnick at quarterback, Jaylin Caldwell at right tackle, Kyle Martin at left guard, Noah Dunham at center and Jonny Lester at right guard.
Martin and Dunham have been shifting into new roles, and it’s looking more and more like those changes may stick. Martin has moved from center to left guard, while Dunham has gone from right guard to center.
He also worked some at center in the spring.
“That’s just something we’ve seen and evaluated,” WSU offensive line coach Jack Abercrombie said at last week’s media day, “and that’ll be his first spot.”
Still, Bernard owned the day’s biggest individual moment. He has the look of a player who can make difficult things seem routine, and Monday’s breakup fit that mold perfectly. Maybe he isn’t Superman, but he’s giving the Cougars something close.
Elsewhere in camp, right tackle Max McCree, who had missed the previous two practices, was back on the field. Tight end Beau Baker and offensive lineman Sone Falealo missed their first practices, while linebacker Lance McGee was out for a second straight day.
There were also a couple of offensive highlights. Wide receiver Branden Ganashamoorthy hauled in a deep touchdown pass, backing up the strong practice he had on Saturday, which may have been the best individual performance of WSU fall camp so far. Running back Leo Pulalasi also caught a play-action touchdown from Eshelman during an 11-on-11 sequence.
Jack Pedersen, entering his fifth year of college football, summed up what keeps him going this way: “I remember being 12, 13, 14, looking up to the guys in college, looking up to the guys in the NFL. That’s what I wanted to be, and now I’m kinda living out that dream.”
In Other News...
WSU Freshman Lance McGee Is Pushing Into A Bigger Defensive Role
Lance McGee arrived at Washington State with a familiar face waiting for him on the defensive side, and that mattered in a recruiting path that had already taken a turn once before. The linebacker recruit originally pledged to Oregon State, then backed off after the coaching change there, and eventually landed with the Cougars as part of a fresh start under defensive coordinator Trent Bray, who had coached him previously.
Early fall camp has given WSU a first look at what McGee might become in Pullman, and the early signs are encouraging for a freshman trying to carve out a place in a crowded room. The buzz around him has centered on a physical presence and a willingness to compete for a linebacker role, the kind of development the Cougars need to see from young defenders if they want depth to become a real strength. [Read more 🡒]