Cougar notes: Marsh is a fulcrum on Cougar D

Two months after Jake Dickert was hired as Washington State defensive coordinator early in 2020, Cougars radio announcer Matt Chazanow asked him to name a player whose talents might be distinctive enough to influence his Xs and Os in his first season in Pullman.

The setting was a Zoom interview early in the pandemic, and Dickert had seen his players only in individual workouts and game film.

He named two: Armani Marsh and Skyler Thomas.

“They’re probably two of the more versatile guys that I’ve had in this package of styles,” he said. “I think they’re both ball hawks. I love the way they can man-coverage and create matchups in our favor.”

Thomas later entered the transfer portal and now plays for Liberty University in Virginia. Marsh, meanwhile, is validating Dickert’s first impressions.

In the Cougars’ mostly disheartening 45-14 loss Saturday to USC at Gesa Field, Marsh consistently shined in his nickelback role. tallying an interception, a forced fumble and a tackle for loss.

The Cougars (1-2, 0-1) hit the road for the first time this week, facing Utah (1-2, 0-0) in a Pac-12 game at 11:30 a.m. Saturday (Pac-12 Network) in Salt Lake City.

Marsh, a senior and former walk-on from Spokane, doesn’t always catch the attention of fans but, as Dickert foresaw, he serves as an efficient fulcrum in the Cougars’ 4-2-5 schemes and has eased the coordinator’s transition from Wyoming and the Mountain West Conference to WSU and the Pac-12.

A knack for defending the run and the pass is crucial at nickel, and WSU coaches have liked the performances there the past two weeks. For undisclosed reasons, Marsh missed the game before USC, but safety Daniel Isom made a smooth transition to nickel as the Cougars beat Portland State. He and Marsh each impressed against the Trojans.

“Armani Marsh played excellent — excellent — both him and (Isom),” WSU defensive assistant A.J. Cooper said Tuesday. “No offense, but the outside world doesn’t see what those guys are doing, the load that’s on their shoulders from a schematic standpoint, from a reps standpoint.”

In Dickert’s initial observations about Marsh and Thomas last year, the DC said, “I like what those guys can do and the multiplicity they bring, because in this league you’ve got to be able to defend the slot. I think it’s a really good league as far as what they do with the inside receivers.”

One example came on third-and-12 in the third quarter against USC, with the Cougars trailing 21-14. Dickert went to his disruptive four-edge look up front and unleashed an all-out blitz, with safety Tyrone Hill Jr. and linebacker Justus Rogers pressuring true freshman Jaxson Dart into a hasty heave toward slotback K.D. Nixon near the goal line. Marsh, who had seemed to anticipate Nixon’s flight downfield, loped in front of him for an interception at the 5-yard line.

Earlier in the game, with the Cougars leading 14-0, Marsh had deftly punched the ball out of a scrambling Dart’s hands, causing a fumble recovered by cornerback Jaylen Watson.

Nick Rolovich, now 2-5 as Cougars coach, has noticed a tendency in his team to grow tentative when the opponent has seized momentum. So he viewed Marsh’s big plays during a dismal loss as a welcome show of resistance.

“He played a heckuva game,” he said. “I hope people get a chance to pay attention to him when they’re in the stadium. He’s such a fantastic football player and person.”

Andrew edge

The USC game also occasioned an encore from true freshman edge rusher Andrew Edson, who made three tackles for loss, including a sack that knocked Kedon Slovis out of the game on the first possession.

The week before, he had recovered a fumble for the second game in a row and also tallied a sack.

Coaches aren’t stunned by these developments. Edson had been a revelation during preseason camp.

“You could see that he was certainly, for a guy his age, physically and mentally ahead of the curve,” Cooper said. “He’s a guy who came in at 245 pounds. He’s the type of guy that, when you give him coaching points, whether it’s in the weight room, in the meeting room or on the field, he takes it to heart and really, really runs with it. He’s a really disciplined guy in all facets of life.”

Grummert may be contacted at daleg@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2290.