Khamari Terrell
Khamari Terrell at Wazzu is a file of 5 stories. The newest of them: “The long run that broke the dam: WSU defense gasps after Boise's 72-yard dagger”, “Terrell says run his way and Boise State will find out”, and “Khamari Terrell tackles like he's the only one on the field”. That sound from the crowd, part scream, part gasp, part something else, was the sound of a dam breaking. Khamari Terrell said something this week that every Coug with a working set of ears should have sat up straight to hear. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every Khamari Terrell story on Wazzu, newest first.
The long run that broke the dam: WSU defense gasps after Boise's 72-yard dagger
That sound from the crowd, part scream, part gasp, part something else, was the sound of a dam breaking. Dylan Riley's 72-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter wasn't just a score. It was the final, brutal exclamation point on a 31-10 loss that dropped the Cougs to 1-7. And if you've watched this season, you saw it coming. This defense has played solid football. No, really. They've kept games close, even with the offense dragging anchor. But they keep getting torched by the big play. Riley's long run was the headliner, but Boise State also hit a 33-yard scoring run from Riley and a 33-yard strike from quarterback Maddux Madsen to Raesean Jones on a key third down. The killer came late in the third quarter, game tied 10-10. On third-and-6, Madsen scrambled 17 yards, linebacker Isaiah Hung missed, and the Broncos drove for the go-ahead score. That opened the floodgates for a 21-0 fourth quarter. The pattern is maddening. Bad pursuit angles. A cornerback taking the wrong path. Another coming in too hot. It's the same story from last week in Corvallis, where WSU gave up scoring plays of 90 and 88 yards. The defense can hold a great back like Riley to 23 yards on his other carries, but then one missed tackle turns the game. Hung said it best: he's gotta make that play. Next time.
Terrell says run his way and Boise State will find out
Khamari Terrell said something this week that every Coug with a working set of ears should have sat up straight to hear. He basically told Boise State they can run his way if they want, but they're not going to like what they find. That's the kind of talk we like around here, because it means he gets the assignment. And the assignment is simple: wrap up Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines, or this Saturday gets long fast. The Cougs missed 18 tackles last weekend against Oregon State. You don't do that against a team that leads the country in time of possession and expect to win. Boise State's offense has been on the field 220 minutes this season, which is tops in the nation. That's not an accident. That's a plan. They want to wear you out, and then let Riley and Gaines bounce it outside where they're averaging nearly five yards a carry. Here's what I'm watching: the secondary. Jalil Tucker, Jaylen Thomas, Jeremiah Bernard, those are the names that matter. Thomas leads the team in missed tackles. Bernard is right behind him. Some of that is just volume, but against this backfield, volume is no excuse. The Cougs have been good up the middle all year. If that holds, the Broncos will have to test the edges. That's where Terrell and company get their chance to prove him right.
Khamari Terrell tackles like he's the only one on the field
Khamari Terrell slaps himself on the helmet after a tackle. Once. Twice. Then he gets back up and does it again. That's the kind of focus a cornerback needs when Boise State rolls into town with the nation's second-best rusher, Dylan Riley, averaging 139 yards per game. The Broncos rank ninth in the country as a team on the ground. That's a problem for a WSU defense that just gave up 48 points to Oregon State and missed 18 tackles in the process. But here's the thing: the Cougars have actually tackled pretty well this season overall. PFF gives them a 61.4 grade, which is 93rd nationally and fifth in the Pac-12. Not elite, but a real step up from where this program has been. Jake Dickert's 2024 team finished fifth-to-last in tackling grades. Jimmy Rogers' 2025 squad finished dead last. So credit to defensive coordinator Trent Bray, cornerbacks coach Brandyn Thompson, and the rest of the staff for getting this group to wrap up. Terrell himself has only missed three tackles on 339 snaps. Keith Brown, the veteran linebacker, has missed six on 418 snaps. Redshirt freshman nickel Jamarey Smith has missed exactly one. The Cougs have been solid up the middle, too, with guys like Leaupepetele and Kaden Beatty stacking runs. The problem is on the edges, where Oregon State gashed them.
WSU's secondary gets its biggest test of the season against OSU's Legree
Jesse Legree has not been held under 100 receiving yards once this fall. Not once. That stat alone should make any Coug nervous heading into Corvallis. The freshman leads the country with 12 receiving touchdowns and has won Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors all six weeks of the season. Zero drops on 54 targets. He's the kind of problem that keeps defensive coordinators up late. WSU's secondary gets its biggest test Saturday. Cornerbacks Jalil Tucker and Khamari Terrell will likely draw the Legree assignment, and they'll need help from the pass rush. Matyus McLain and Linus Zunk will have to generate pressure on QB Braden Atkinson, but OSU's line has only given up two sacks all season. The weak spots are there: right tackle Teko Shoats has been dinged for 10 pressures, and right guard Tyler Voltin has given up two sacks. The Cougs need to find them. On offense, Owen Eshelman gets the start after Caden Pinnick's turnovers and inability to stretch the field. If Eshelman can connect early, tailbacks Maxwell Woods and Kirby Vorhees might finally get room to run. That's a big if. This is a longshot, but it's not impossible. For deeper context on how Trent Bray's defense has been building toward this, check out "Bray's defense brings the heat, and a little revenge, to Corvallis." Go Cougs.
Moore faces his old team as a new Pac-12 era begins in Pullman
Wazzu's own Kirby Moore gets a chance to turn around a 1-3 start Saturday night, and the storylines are too good to ignore. He's facing Fresno State, the program that gave him his first FBS job as receivers coach and offensive coordinator from 2017-22. That's the kind of drama that makes a Palouse fall evening worth the walk to Gesa Field. The Cougs are coming off a loss to Arizona that had a few bright spots, safety Jackquintin Bal's pick-six, punter Max Dean averaging 40 yards despite migraines, but also a whole lot of slog. WSU put up zero points in the third quarter. Caden Pinnick took his 10th sack of the season. The offense has turned the ball over seven times now, which is 119th in the country. That's not a stat you text home about. Fresno State, meanwhile, is rolling. They're 3-1 with the Pac-12's best defense so far, allowing just 19 points a game. Cornerback Simeon Harris has three interceptions already. Moore knows the challenge: "That's gonna be really important, to make sure we take care of the football." He's not wrong. If you want to dig into how WSU's defensive snaps piled up in that Arizona loss, our piece on "Second-half snaps tell the story of WSU's defensive breakdowns" lays it out. Go Cougs.