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On All-Pac-12 teams, WSU edge Brennan Jackson makes second team, among four other WSU honorees

Washington State Cougars defensive end Ron Stone Jr. (10) and defensive end Brennan Jackson (80) react during the second half of a college football game on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Wash. UW won the game 24-21. (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
By Greg Woods gregw@spokesman.com(509) 459-5587

PULLMAN – Like he did during much of his swan song season at Washington State, edge rusher Brennan Jackson led the Cougars in the All-Pac-12 awards.

Jackson landed on the second-team defense, the only WSU player to make an all-conference team. Four others – quarterback Cam Ward, edge Ron Stone Jr., wide receiver Lincoln Victor and safety Jaden Hicks – earned honorable mention honors on the all-conference lists, which came out Tuesday.

It’s the fourth career all-conference honor for Jackson, who totaled nine sacks, including 38 total quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. He returned two scoops-and-scores in WSU’s win over Colorado on Nov. 17, and against Wisconsin on Sept. 9, he recovered a fumble (caused by Stone) in the end zone for a touchdown.

Hicks, who finished the regular season seventh in the conference with 79 tackles, six tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions and one forced fumble, is named to his first career All-Pac-12 team. In WSU’s season-opening victory over Colorado State, the redshirt sophomore from Las Vegas made nine tackles and forced a fumble; he recorded a career-high 12 tackles and blocked a field goal at UCLA, recorded a sack and picked off a pass in the Apple Cup, and had the third-best coverage grade among Pac-12 defensive backs. Last season, Hicks was named a Freshman All-America selection.

Stone concludes his time as a Cougar with his third consecutive All-Pac-12 recognition, having been named to the first team in 2021 and the second team in 2020. With 11 tackles for loss, he tied for eighth in the conference. With five sacks, he ranked second on the team, and with three forced fumbles, he finished, he checked in at third in the conference.

After recording two strip-sacks in the victory over Wisconsin, Stone won the Nagurski Trophy National Player of the Week, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week and Defensive Lineman of the Week. Throughout the regular season, Stone made 59 tackles, ranked sixth in the Pac-12 with 47 pressures, and tied for second in the nation with 14 quarterback hits.

Following his 2021 all-purpose player honorable mention, Victor was named to his second career All-Pac-12 team. With 89 catches, which tied for third most in WSU single-season history, the West Camas, Washington, senior led the Pac-12 and totaled 860 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Victor finished fourth in the conference with 519 yards after the catch, tied for eighth with 42 first-down catches, recorded three 100-yard games, and set records for both WSU and Autzen Stadium with 16 catches against Oregon.

Ward, a junior from West Columbia, Texas, led the Pac-12 with 323 completions. He also ranked fourth in the nation with an average of 311.3 passing yards per game and sixth with an average of 323.3 yards of total offense per game. In addition to throwing 25 touchdown passes, running for eight touchdowns, and recording seven 300-yard passing games, Ward also had five games with multiple touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown. Last season, Ward was named honorable mention Pac-12.