Washington State’s defensive tackle room looks nothing like it did when January rolled around.
Back then, the Cougars had just two DTs on the roster. After spring ball, Eti Ena’s group has grown into one of the deepest spots on the team, built around a mix of size, speed, strength and a lot more flexibility than WSU had coming out of the offseason. The hope now is that fall camp, which opens in about two weeks with the start date still to be announced, pushes that progress even further.
The 2026 Cougars have the big bodies. They have the speed rushers.
And they have enough depth to make the rotation a real conversation. WSU opens the season Sept. 6 at Washington in Seattle.
The returning tackles from spring include Kaden Beatty, Paul Hutson III, Jirah Leaupepetele, Damarjhe Lewis, Balaam Miller, Ike Okafor, Akio Martinson, Sione Pasi and Malijah Tucker. JaVon Joseph is the lone new face, a 6-4, 265-pound Sacramento product who signed with the previous staff and stayed with the Cougars.
A few names are gone from the room. Bryson Lamb, Max Baloun and Donovan Fitzmaurice followed the last staff to Iowa State, Connor Sullivan left for Illinois, Titus Miller ended up at Southeast Missouri State, Mike Sandjo entered the portal and has not landed, and Soni Finau and Darrion Dalton both graduated.
What stood out most in spring was how much trouble this unit gave the offense. The size was obvious, but so was the variety.
Hutson, the transfer from Austin Peay, looks like he has the tools to become a dominant pass-rusher. Beatty brings a feisty edge.
Lewis and Leaupepetele can swallow up space in the middle with their mass.
That gives WSU some interesting options once camp starts. The staff could pair a speed rusher with one of the bigger tackles on standard downs, use both speed guys on passing downs, and lean on the heavier interior players when the Cougars want to shut down the run.
There’s also the question of volume. Last season, WSU used as many as six or seven defensive tackles in a game.
The biggest decision might be how often the Cougars mix and match.
Spring offered a clear preview of that approach. The staff has a group that can be deployed in different ways depending on the situation, and the goal appears to be keeping offensive lines guessing every snap. Lewis and Leaupepetele look like the better fits for run-stuffing situations, while the quicker pieces bring a different kind of pressure.
One name to keep an eye on is Tucker. At 5-11 and 269 pounds, he isn’t the biggest body in the room, but he made his presence felt in spring by playing with leverage and getting underneath offensive linemen.
Beatty is expected to play, and his shorter frame gives WSU another different look inside. That same trait could help Tucker carve out a role this season, too.
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Linus Zunk, Ashton Tripp and Tony Freeman are the Cougars included on the list, a small but notable group for a program trying to build momentum into a Sept. 6 opener against Washington. The East-West Bowl will be played Feb. 4, 2027, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and for these players the watch-list recognition is an early marker of how much evaluators are already noticing. [Read more 🡒]
Anna Bearss Could Be A Big Boost For Washington State Distance
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Her track record suggests the Cougars are getting more than just another name on the staff. Bearss has been part of groups that produced record-setting athletes and notable team climbs, including strong finishes at Drake and a turnaround at Akron that helped push those programs toward championship-level results. For Washington State, the appeal is obvious, but the real question is how quickly that background translates into a boost for the distance groups she now helps guide. [Read more 🡒]