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De Laura and several key Cougars miss practice: Notes and observations from Day 10 of Washington State preseason camp

Washington State quarterbacks Jayden de Laura, left, Cammon Cooper, right, and Jarrett Guarantano work together on the first day of football practice Aug. 6 at Rogers Field in Pullman. (Associated Press)
By Colton Clark coltonc@spokesman.com

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 10th day of fall camp in Pullman.

The notes

  • Quarterback Jayden de Laura was missing from Tuesday’s session at Rogers Field, and it’s unclear why. Coach Nick Rolovich wasn’t available for an interview after practice. De Laura had been a full participant the day before.

The Cougars went without quite a few other key players, too. Promising young receivers De’Zhaun Stribling and Joey Hobert, both of whom have seen significant playing time with the first-team offense during camp, were not around. The same goes for standout defensive tackle Dallas Hobbs and Ahmir Crowder, a starter on the defensive line last season. Receiver Calvin Jackson Jr. wore sweats on the sideline. Other absences noted include defensive

  • backs Chau Smith-Wade and Alphonse Oywak; receivers Brandon Gray and Marshawn Buchanan; and defensive linemen Marquise Freeman, Nicholas Sheetz, Sam Carrell and Nathaniel James.
  • Star linebacker Jahad Woods sported a yellow noncontact jersey and worked through some individual drills with his position group, signifying that the grad student may be nearing a return to full participation after an injury left him sidelined for the past three practices.
  • Senior receiver Travell Harris also made progress. Up until Tuesday, he had been held out of practices for unspecified reasons. But Harris – who is expected to be WSU’s No. 1 look in the passing game this year – was back in pads, running some routes and snagging passes. He spectated 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.
  • Five Cougs rehabbed with strength coaches behind one of the Rogers Field end zones throughout practice – edge Willie Taylor III, defensive lineman David Gusta, receiver Lincoln Victor and defensive backs Chris Jackson and Tyrone Hill Jr.
  • Scouts from the Los Angeles Rams, Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers were in attendance.

Keeping up with the QBs

Grad transfer Jarrett Guarantano, junior Cammon Cooper and sophomore walk-on Victor Gabalis split reps during team periods at a windy Rogers Field.

Cooper was particularly sharp, firing completions into tight windows over the middle and exhibiting accuracy on his long ball.

He went 6 of 6 in the first 11-on-11 drill, then passed 6 of 7 during 7-on-7 before connecting on 4 of 6 in the final 11-on-11 exercise, emphasizing quick tosses to the flats.

His highlight came in the early 11-on-11 segment. Cooper connected with C.J. Moore on a high-arching 35-yarder, which garnered applause from the Cougs.

Guarantano struggled with a few overthrows in the first 11-on-11 session, passing 2 of 5. But he was fairly sharp afterward, especially on rollouts. Guarantano completed 4 of 6 passes in 7-on-7, then 3 of 5 in the final team competition. He lofted a well-placed ball to Mitchell Quinn about 30 yards down the sideline.

Gabalis has apparently entered the competition as well. He capped practice with a deep touchdown pass down the sideline to Quinn.

“I think it’s thick right now,” Guarantano said of the battle for the starting quarterback nod. “Victor’s in and out, so I think it’s us four, and we’re competing every day.

“We’re all learning from each other, we’re all growing closer. It’s really up to coach Rolo with the decision, but I think everything’s going pretty well, everybody’s competing very hard.”

Three big plays

1. Moore dazzled with his highlight-reel grab in the first 11-on-11 period. The lengthy junior college transfer created a step of separation about 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, then angled toward the sideline. Moore, a former Oklahoma State Cowboy, adjusted his body to the ball in flight and left his feet to haul in Cooper’s pass.

2. WSU’s front seven impressed during the final 11-on-11 drill, putting consistent pressure on Cougars signal-callers and crashing down rapidly on ballcarriers. The Wazzu defense totaled an estimated five tackles for loss, at one point stuffing the offense on three consecutive plays. Max Borghi and Wisconsin transfer Nakia Watson made a couple of impressive cuts to escape a collapsing backfield and fashion gains.

3. Mitchell Quinn showed his speed in man coverage. The junior, lining up on the outside, zoomed past his defender on simple go routes for a pair of 30-yard receptions. He didn’t break stride.

Their words

“I always felt like I had good deep-ball accuracy, but I think when I came here we started hitting a lot of short-to-intermediate and that’s really been the focus point on myself over the past couple years. I wasn’t maybe as accurate in those spots, but coming here, you kinda need to be in this offense.”

– Guarantano on the quarterbacking skills that he has fine-tuned since arriving in Pullman.