Ron Stone Jr. makes play of the day with 11-on-11 interception: Notes and observations from day four of Washington State preseason camp

Washington State will hold 25 preseason practices before opening the season Sept. 4 against Utah State. The Spokesman-Review will be in attendance for each of those, tracking the relevant storylines, notes, depth chart developments and key plays as the Cougars ramp up to the 2021 football season. Below are observations from the fourth day of fall camp in Pullman.

The notes

For the second consecutive day, NFL scouts observed practice to get an early glimpse at Cougars who could be playing professional football in 2022. On Monday, scouts from the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans were in town. On Tuesday, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Football Team, Cincinnati Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders all had scouts in attendance.

Unlike Monday, WSU coach Nick Rolovich made a point to introduce a handful of Cougar veterans to the scouts. That group included running backs Max Borghi and Deon McIntosh, wide receivers Travell Harris and Calvin Jackson Jr., offensive linemen Liam Ryan and Abraham Lucas, “Edge” Willie Taylor III, cornerback Jaylen Watson and safety Daniel Isom.

Harris, still nursing a minor injury, worked off to the side with strength coaches for the fourth consecutive practice. Joining him were defensive back Jackson Lataimua and running back Jouvensly Bazil.

Offensive linemen Konner Gomness reported to his first practice at preseason camp and worked mainly as a second-team center behind Brian Greene. It’s possible Gomness will compete for the vacant right guard job, but the majority of first-team reps at that spot have gone to Cade Beresford and Rodrick Tialavea.

Behind Borghi, Wisconsin transfer Nakia Watson took a majority of the reps at running back during both 11-on-11 periods Tuesday. McIntosh, who was held out of practice the first two days after showing up late Friday, mostly observed as the Cougars went through 11-on-11 drills.

The Cougars will hold their first scrimmage of preseason camp Saturday, but Rolovich indicated many of the team’s key players will be on “pitch counts” and limited in their participation.

“I don’t know how many guys will really scrimmage heavily on Saturday anyway,” he said. “I’m not sure how much Liam and Abe need. We’d love to keep developing the young guys on the O-line. We still need to talk about that.”

Keeping up with the QBs

Similar to Monday, when Cammon Cooper shifted over to the scout team during 7-on-7 drills, another one of the quarterbacks competing for the starting job, Jarrett Guarantano, moved over to the scout team field Tuesday. Jayden de Laura, Victor Gabalis and Cooper took snaps during the 7-on-7 period as well as the initial 11-on-11 drill. Cooper and Guarantano were the only quarterbacks to get reps during the second 11-on-11 period, taking two at a time before switching.

In 7-on-7, de Laura was the most efficient, completing 5 of 8 passes, with two of the five completions going to sophomore slot receiver Billy Pospisil.

Cooper completed 3 of 7 passes and missed two receivers short, underthrowing balls that skidded across the turf before reaching their target. Gabalis, a freshman walk-on, was also 5 of 8.

In the initial 11-on-11 period, QBs got four reps each. Cooper had two pass plays called for him and only threw on one of them, tossing incomplete before scrambling out of the pocket on the next pass call. De Laura completed a shovel pass to Watson and threw incomplete on his other pass call, finishing 1 for 2. Gabalis was 1 of 3 with an interception.

During the second 11-on-11 period, Cooper was 3 for 5 and took a touch sack while Guarantano finished 2 for 2, handing off to Watson twice and scrambling from the pocket on another play.

Three big plays

1. The play of the day came from an edge rusher and not in the way you’d probably imagine. During the first 11-on-11 period, Ron Stone Jr. broke loose and pressured Gabalis, who threw right at the WSU “edge.” Stone Jr.’s hands were as impressive as his reaction time and the junior managed to catch the point-blank pass from just a few yards out and return it for what would’ve been a pick-six.

2. While reporters focused on the action taking place on the far field, where WSU’s first- and second-team players worked, wide receiver Brandon Gray made a highlight on the scout team field, snatching a pass out of the air with one hand and coming down with the ball near the sideline.

3. Once full pads come Thursday, the defensive tackles should have more opportunities to exert during 11-on-11 drills. On Tuesday, Amir Mujahid muscled through the protection and found his way into the backfield, where he was able to tap Cooper for the day’s only sack.

Their words

“Really, really happy with him. I think he fits in the offense. I really like the foresight of Coach (Brian) Smith and the recruiting department with Max being a guy the NFL’s definitely looking at and Deon being a senior. They both have a good chance. … He’s definitely a guy that we are grateful he’s here. He’ll have a role on (special) teams.”

– Rolovich on running back Watson.