Countdown to camp: What can we expect from WSU’s edges?

Here is the second installment of our countdown to Washington State fall camp, which starts on July 31. This issue covers the Cougars’ edge rushers.

PULLMAN – Ron Stone Jr. might have suggested otherwise earlier this month, making a surprise appearance at the Pac-2 media day of sorts in Las Vegas, but WSU is entering a new era on the edge rusher front.

Gone are Stone and Brennan Jackson, who starred at the spot for the past few seasons, making WSU coach Jake Dickert’s job easy. Who’s starting at edge? For years, the question hardly needed asking.

Now Dickert and Co. must think harder about the question. It may be impossible to fill Stone and Jackson’s shoes, but somebody’s got to try. The candidates include redshirt junior Raam Stevenson, sophomore Isaac Terrell and seniors Andrew Edson, Quinn Roff, Nusi Malani and Syrus Webster, the last of whom transferred in from Utah Tech in time to compete in spring ball.

Those guys get a massive chance to shine and secure their spots in fall camp. No longer are they fighting to get backup snaps behind Stone and Jackson. They’re vying for starting gigs.

Among that group, Malani may have a step up on the competition. Normally a starter on the defensive line, Malani moved to edge midway through last season, in large part because injuries opened up a need. He totaled 2.5 sacks last year, indicating what might be clear just by looking at his 6-foot-4, 280-pound frame: He’s more than capable of using his athleticism to cause problems in the backfield.

“Mostly just the technique,” Malani said in the spring, referring to what he’s been working on in the position change. “I mean, it’s the same technique, but from a different standpoint. Just working the steps. I feel like Eddie (Edson) has been a really big help for me, just transitioning from DT to edge, mostly just footwork, hand placement, all that good stuff.”

WSU is also high on Webster, a former Utah Tech standout. He often took first-team reps in spring practice, and with real size and athleticism – he’s 6-4 and 245 pounds, and he moves like a guy half his weight – he’s the clear leader in the edge room among the newcomers.

Can the Cougs expect him to contribute right away? They might need him to. He played three years in Utah, logging meaningful playing time in all three seasons, and it was obvious he was ready for some stiffer competition. He might be in line for it sooner than later in Pullman.

“The biggest thing is in being able to have competition at the edge spot,” Webster said in the spring. “I feel like here, there’s huge competition at edge. I mean, Nusi moved from interior to outside and man, he’s just putting the work in every single day. It’s exciting to see him work because like I said, we’re all excelling really, really. It’s just crazy.”

If nothing else, WSU would benefit from a better bill of health in the edge rusher department. Last season, Stevenson, Terrell and Roff all missed time with injuries, all but taking WSU’s pass rush out of the equation.

It put extra pressure on Stone and Jackson – who else was going to get into the backfield? – and in the long run, the Cougars’ defense suffered in a meaningful way.

This season, they might be able to avoid the same fit by just staying healthy.