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What will WSU's special teams unit look like this season?
Aug. 22—PULLMAN — When they were growing up in South Carolina, in a small town called North Augusta right across the border from Georgia, Jack and Drew Stevens liked to play HORSE.
Both placekickers, they would grab some kicking gear and head over to the football field at North Augusta High and start setting up shop. One would go first, finding a challenging spot anywhere on the field and send it through the uprights, while the other would have to match it. After awhile, a pattern started to emerge.
"Usually him winning," Jack laughed.
Drew is a couple years older and had more experience than his younger brother, so he was stronger, a more skilled kicker. If there ever came a moment when Jack started to pull ahead, threatening to dethrone Drew, the older brother had a handy habit. "He just backs up," Jack said.
In the years since, the brothers' lives have diverged onto different paths. Last week, Drew was named the starting kicker for the NFL's Washington Commanders, beating long odds as an undrafted rookie. Jack has the same job at Washington State, returning for his second season with the Cougars, trying to follow up a sparkling 16-for-19 debut season last fall.
Stevens is one of the faces of WSU's special teams unit, and he's primed for an even bigger year. During the Cougars' fall camp, which concludes with an open practice Sunday evening at Gesa Field, he went perfect on field goal attempts until Tuesday's practice, when he finally missed one and revealed he's human. He went on to miss a couple in Friday's scrimmage, but overall, he's looked sharper and more accurate than ever.
How has he pulled it off? This summer, he's made a habit out of coming to WSU's Taylor Sports Complex at night, usually around 8 or 9 p.m., and practicing by himself. He remembers all the pressure kicks he faced last season, the game-winning 32-yard boot against Idaho, a 54-yarder he missed against Ole Miss, a 42-yarder he connected on to go up two scores on ACC power Virginia.
"I just imagine like I'm in those moments when I'm in here," Stevens said, "and then I imagine I'm in here, one of those moments. So it's really easy to shut everything out."
Stevens has found himself fairly busy this August. The Cougars' defense has been the story of camp, save for a couple days, so he's often trotted out to the field to salvage drives for the offense. He's made good on all but three of those opportunities, a remarkable clip when you consider how many red-zone and end-of-game scenarios offensive coordinator Matt Miller's unit has repped across two-and-a-half weeks.
"I think he's always just trying to improve. He's always trying to get an edge and make himself better," special teams and wide receivers coach Derek Sage said. "(Operation) times are a big deal to him. Smooth operation is a big thing for him. False steps, things of that nature. But he's done a great job of really self-critiquing himself. A lot of people think it was a good year last year for him, which numbers-wise, it was. But he's just been taking an always-learn mentality and trying to just improve off of last year."
Still, Stevens won't be the only Cougar kicking this fall. He'll man the placekicking job, but kickoff duties will belong to North Texas transfer Miguel Arenas, who might have the bigger leg of the two. Stevens seems to be more accurate, which might be why coaches are handing kickoffs to Arenas, who kicked off 38 times last season and produced 14 touchbacks.
Then there's the matter of holding and punting, both of which will go to New Mexico State transfer Max Dean, who has experience doing both last season with the Aggies. Now a redshirt sophomore, last season he appeared in 12 games, totaling 55 punts for an average of 42.3 yards per punt. He also generated three touchbacks, 18 fair catches, 20 inside the 20 and one boot of 50-plus yards
His story is far more interesting than that, though.
Dean hails from Gisborne, Australia, a small community about a 45-minute drive outside Melbourne. After graduating from Gisborne Secondary College, he got a job as a plumber, figuring he would lead a fairly normal life. But he was also involved in AFL, the Australian Football League, and after hearing how a friend named Matt Goodyear earned a scholarship at Fresno State, Dean found himself interested in that process.
He discovered it centered around Prokick Australia, an academy that trains Australian punters to learn the American football game, trains them and helps them earn scholarships at American universities. In fact, that's the way former punter Nick Haberer wound up at WSU, where he punted from 2021-24 before transferring to Vanderbilt.
"It's been challenging at times," Dean said of the lifestyle transition from Australia to the US, "but when I go back home, it's like everything's the same, and you get a sense of gratitude. Last year I played a game at Tennessee and I was, like two years ago I was in a trench plumbing, like the heck is this? That was pretty surreal."
Perhaps the least surprising development of how WSU's special teams will shake out this season involves its punt and kick returning game. That role will go to senior wideout Tony Freeman, who has held that job since his debut 2024 season with the Cougs, becoming a blur. Last season, he returned 24 punts for an average return of 17.3 yards, the sixth-best average nationwide. That number set a WSU single-season-record, as did his total of 415 punt return yards.
It's also possible the Cougars look to Florida transfer Tank Hawkins for punt and/or kick returns, and if you've seen him unleash his speed and shiftiness, you understand why. But at least for now, the top role will go to Freeman.
WSUPULLMANSouth CarolinaNorth AugustaGeorgiaJackDrew StevensHORSEExceptBothNorth Augusta HighOne
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