Offense looks slick in Washington State's camp finale

Aug. 21—PULLMAN — After the defense held the edge in the first scrimmage, quarterback Cam Ward and the offense won the day in scrimmage No. 2 as Washington State wrapped up its fall camp Saturday at Gesa Field.

Here are five observations from the Cougars' second intrasquad outing:

Hurry-up offense in fine form

While scrambling from the oncoming rush, Ward fired a missile to receiver Lincoln Victor for 24 yards, the second completion to the junior in as many plays.

As soon as the ball was placed, Ward took the snap and hit receiver De'Zhaun Stribling for 10 yards.

What followed was a sidearm rocket to running back Nakia Watson for 14 yards and a 15-yard touchdown toss to receiver Renard Bell.

The whole five-play, 75-yard drive took about a minute of real time and showcased a sleek WSU hurry-up offense.

"We're going to utilize tempo — it's one of those things that we're going to be able to play at any speed and Cam navigates it so well to keep defenses off balance," WSU coach Jake Dickert said. "I think it's an element of the game that I'm excited we've added to our program."

Ward finished the game 14-of-15 passing for 110 yards, much of that coming in the two-minute drill.

Backup QBs found some consistency

For the second consecutive scrimmage, true freshman John Mateer came into the game as the first backup quarterback, although Dickert said it wouldn't be until the first game that Ward's sidekick will be named.

After the coaches implored the young group to find some consistency, the freshmen trio of Mateer, Xavier Ward and Emmett Brown finally completed the quest against a defensive backfield that was missing some key pieces.

All three looked sharp.

Mateer went 9-of-14 for 131 yards with an interception and an 18-yard touchdown strike to Tsion Nunnally.

Xavier Ward finished 9-of-13 for 113 yards and a 37-yard touchdown to wide-open tight end Moon Ashby.

Brown was 8-of-10 for 162 yards with a 12-yard scoring pass to receiver Tre Horner to end the day. Brown also had a 62-yard pass to Nunnally up the far sideline but the freshman was tackled before he could reach the goal line.

"John did some really good things to start," Dickert said. "I think you got to see him weather through some adversity (when) he threw that interception down the sideline.

"(Xavier Ward) has probably been the guy that continues as we go through to get better and better. He's got a live arm and he's getting more comfortable with the offense, so just excited about those guys getting there."

Several key players missing

Many top Cougars either played limited snaps in order to give youngsters more of an opportunity or were out with minor injuries.

That included several in the secondary: starting cornerbacks Derrick Langford Jr. and Chau Smith-Wade and nickels Armani Marsh and Armauni Archie.

WSU's four quarterbacks benefitted from their absences.

On offense, notably top running backs Jaylen Jenkins and Watson had only one carry apiece.

Dickert said he's confident in those two and wanted to give "some other guys some opportunities to see if they could make the bus and do some different things with the ball in their hands."

Sophomore Jouvensly Bazil received the most snaps at the position, rushing for 39 yards on 10 carries and catching one pass for four yards.

Defensive standouts

On an overall tough day for the defense, two of the biggest plays came from edge Lawrence Falatea.

The freshman from Sandy, Utah, tallied two sacks and provided pressure all scrimmage.

Dickert noted Falatea's only Pac-12 offer was from WSU and said he's shown great development in his first offseason with the Cougs.

"We believe in Lawrence and what he can do but also (he can) be that change of pace, and we need that," Dickert said.

Fellow backup edge Quinn Roff sacked Mateer for a safety midway through the session and senior defensive back Cam Lampkin snagged Mateer's interception.

Young pass catchers load up on snaps, stats

Dickert said there were two young wideouts the staff specifically scripted plays for: redshirt freshman Orion Peters and true freshman Leyton Smithson.

Toss in Nunnally and Ashby, a freshman tight end, and it was a decent day for the young pass catchers.

Ashby was the only tight end with a catch through two scrimmages and his 37-yard scoring reception from Xavier Ward helped earn him offensive Juice Player of the Day honors.

Nunnally had two catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.

Smithson showed some elusiveness, racking up three catches for 57 yards and Peters had four receptions for 50 yards.

Wiebe may be contacted at (208) 848-2260, swiebe@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @StephanSports.