Jaylen Watson, others return to Washington State secondary

PULLMAN – Jaylen Watson ran through warm-ups with Washington State ahead of its home game Saturday against Southern Cal – a good omen for the Cougs’ secondary.

Watson, a cornerback and arguably WSU’s best pound-for-pound defender, appeared to injure either his arm or shoulder in the Cougars’ 44-24 win over Portland State last weekend.

Some of the dedicated WSU fans who sat in the rain to watch their team run pregame drills for an hour before kickoff had been wondering whether Watson would play. He had his left arm in a sling throughout most of the second half vs. the Vikings.

No doubt, Watson didn’t want to miss it. He signed with USC in 2019 but didn’t enroll at the school and wound up going a year away from his sport and studies before landing on his feet – and on NFL radars – in Pullman.

The Cougars’ defensive backfield filled out somewhat after leaving the stadium last week with uncertainty. Nickel Marsh returned after missing the PSU game. Michigan State transfer corner Chris Jackson could make his WSU debut. Absent players included starting free safety Halid Djibril, backup nickel Armauni Archie and rotational safety Tanner Moku.

USC hangs its hat on an explosive Air Raid that features a pro-caliber QB in Kedon Slovis and a deep pool of receiving talent.

Senior center Brian Greene was back in full pads. He’d been sidelined last week with an unspecified injury that he suffered early in WSU’s Week 1 loss to Utah State. Greene snapped to backup quarterback Cammon Cooper during warm-ups, perhaps indicating that sophomore Konner Gomness – who worked out with starting QB Jayden de Laura – might start.