PULLMAN, Wash. — It is officially year six in Pullman for the two faces of the WSU defense, edge rushers Brennan Jackson and Ron Stone Jr. After careers filled with changes and highs and lows, the pair is hoping to go out on top.
"I think if you take that freshman class and you take all of us that were here and you point out two people that would still be here, I don't think many people would have picked us two," sixth-year edge rusher Brennan Jackson said.
Despite their longevity in school, Jackson and Stone have grown to love Pullman and the people who call it home.
"Throughout all those times, I mean, I think the people that are at this place are what make it still, you know, fun enough to be here and bringing us back and wanting to stay," sixth-year edge rusher Ron Stone Jr. said.
"It's easy nowadays to just jump ship, especially with how, you know, things have been laid out recently with NIL and whatnot. But, for us, Pullman's our home," said Jackson. "Ever since we stepped foot here on campus in 2018 this has been our family."
Last year, Stone registered just two sacks and 17 tackles, far below his five sacks and 34 tackles in a breakout 2021 campaign.
"I wasn't necessarily the healthiest I've been in my career and I wasn't really being in the moment. You know, I think I let a lot of the success I had in '21 get to me. I really wanted last year to be my last year in college. So, I think I was reaching and then when I wasn't getting my success that I wanted, it was deteriorating. And it was just a really bad combination for me," Stone said. "At the end of the day, I think that season made me grow a lot as a person, as a player. So I'm really looking forward to this season and all the strides I've made since then."
In their last fall camp, Stone and Jackson had the chance to be vocal leaders and enjoy their final dog days in Pullman.
"For us every day is like a review. You know, we know all the plays. And it's like in practice, we just kind of get to refine our skills and whatnot. And it was actually really fun. I actually had a blast during fall camp. I didn't feel like the grueling-ness of it. It was just a good time," Jackson said.
This season, the edges have yet another new defensive coordinator in Jeff Schmedding, but they believe the defense will continue to be a strength of this team.
"We're gonna see guys hustling to the ball, you're gonna see 11 guys communicating, making checks, making the right reads and ultimately guys who love the game who are gonna play together as a family," Jackson said.
"I think that this is just gonna be another rerun with a different flavor on it," Stone said. "I like all the things that Schmedding added. He's added some unique things that you wouldn't have seen last year, you know, and I'm looking forward to how he calls the game."
After six years together, there is mutual admiration between the roommates for each other's game.
"How dedicated this man is, you know, it's something I aspire to try to be. You know, the work ethic that Brennan has and the passion and excitement that he brings. You feel," Stone said.
"RJ just plays like a confidence that you just can't teach somebody, like you can't teach the level of confidence he has," Jackson said. "It doesn't matter if he made a play 10 minutes ago or 10 seconds ago, he's gonna be the exact same person."
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