In WSU's first spring scrimmage, defensive line imposes will and QBs record uneven showings

Apr. 11—PULLMAN — Not long after entering the transfer portal in the winter, DJ Warner got a call from a name he recognized. On the other end was Trent Bray, who had recently become the defensive coordinator at Washington State, and he was interested in bringing Warner along.

Warner might not have known much about WSU at the time, but he certainly knew Bray. When Warner was a high school sophomore, Bray became the first college coach to show interest, pitching him on coming to Oregon State, where Bray was the defensive coordinator at the time. In his playing days, Bray was a linebacker, which gave him some credibility with Warner.

Some four years and three schools later, Warner and Bray are back together. Warner spent one year at Kansas, then one at SMU. Bray spent the past two seasons as Oregon State's head coach. Now the two have joined forces at WSU.

"So this time, it was kind of a no-brainer," Warner said after Saturday's WSU scrimmage, the team's eighth practice of the spring. "Especially just the way my college career has (gone), it showed me that relationships take you a long way, and I feel like I have the closest relationship with him than any other college coach."

In Saturday's scrimmage, which included full contact for about the first 30 minutes, Warner and the Cougars' defense imposed their will with regularity. A likely starter in WSU's 4-2-5 defensive scheme, Warner made several plays and found himself in the offensive backfield, as did several of his teammates, including defensive ends/linemen Matyus McLain, Ben Beatty, Kaden Beatty, Paul Hutson III, Michael Hughes and Linus Zunk.

That crew made things hard on its offensive counterparts, including quarterbacks Caden Pinnick, Owen Eshelman and Julian Dugger, who are competing for starting honors this fall. All three turned in somewhat uneven showings. On two occasions, Pinnick overthrew targets on deep passes along the sideline, missing receiver Branden Ganashamoorthy one time and Daniel Blood on another. Later in the scrimmage, Eshelman fired too far in Ganashamoorthy's direction, and Dugger had a pass picked off in the end zone by transfer safety Jaylen Thomas.

It's not the first time the Cougars' defense has outpaced their offense. That was the story of WSU's previous practice on Thursday, when Thomas also snagged an interception in the end zone, underscoring his rapid ascension up the ranks of WSU's defense.

But the quarterbacks did well to rebound from those mistakes. Perhaps the highlight of the scrimmage belonged to Eshelman, who stood in the pocket among some pressure and unleashed a throw over the middle to Florida transfer wideout Tank Hawkins, who hauled in a contested catch.

That play elicited a healthy dose of hooping and hollering from coaches and players on the offensive side, as did a nice 10-yard touchdown pass from Dugger, who showed some nice touch on a throw to tight end Jack Pedersen.

"There were some throws, in terms of some of the third downs, that were really good," WSU head coach Kirby Moore said. "I just think that's probably the biggest thing. We gotta be able to take the profit when it's there, and then in terms of preventing the negative plays."

When could coaches come to a conclusion on that competition? Moore didn't want to tip his hand.

"I think the quarterback presents itself when it does," Moore said. "Sometimes that's in spring ball, sometimes that's in fall camp. You get in playing situations, you get in the red zone, you get in two-minute (drills) and someone continues to show up through a number of consistent consecutive days. It's, 'Hey, there's the quarterback.' "

Receivers working back into playing shape

Veteran receiver Tony Freeman, a likely candidate to start next fall, has been sidelined for the past five or six practices with a hamstring injury. The same goes for receiver Darrius Clemons, a transfer from Oregon State, and Ryan McKendry, a transfer from Los Medanos College.

After Saturday's scrimmage, Moore indicated Freeman's injury wasn't serious. It's possible that because of Freeman's proven production, coaches don't need to see much from him in the spring before he's ready.

"He's coming back," Moore said of Freeman. "He's working there on the side. Obviously had a hamstring come up the first or second day. I think Tony's doing a good job in terms of the meetings. He's dialed in. He's got a script on the side, so he's doing a really good job with the mental reps right now."