Washington State At First Glance: Three Offensive Players USC Fans Need To Know

WSU's offense is expected to give Todd Orlando a run for his money.

This may be Nick Rolovich's first season with the Cougars, but don't underestimate the talent of this Washington State team. Despite, the Trojans leading the all-time series 60-10-4 following a 36-33, victory in Los Angeles in 2018, WSU remains a competitive football team with some serious weapons. Here are three offensive players on Washington State's roster that USC fans need to know.

#1 Jayden De Laura (QB)

True freshman QB Jayden de Laura has been an immediate impact player for the Cougars thus far. When previewing WSU's offense on Tuesday, Clay Helton described the QB as being, "a kid that we recruited out of Hawaii, we've got a lot of respect for [him]. He got that "it" factor, he's a winner, he finds ways to make creative plays, [he has a] talented arm to make all the throws and he is protecting the ball well this year." The Pac-12 conference freshman of the week (week 1) to date has 43/72 completion/attempts, 548 passing yards, 4 touchdowns and one interception. One of De Laura 's strengths is his ability to remain poised and find control in the pocket. He is the first true freshman to start at a season opener in Washington State football history, and is a serious weapon for the Cougars. 

#2 Deon McIntosh (RB)

Deon McIntosh has stepped up this season in place for Max Borghi, the stellar starting running back for the Cougs' last season, who has been battling an injury this year. Clay Helton described his impressions of McIntosh as having, "really provided them [with] balance." This season McIntosh has had 115 att, 718 yds, (6.2) avg, 8 TD's, and 29 lng. Having McIntosh in play provides a nice shift for the Cougars to incorporate the run game and take some pressure off of de Laura.

#3. Travell Harris (WR)

Travell Harris was ranked No.2 among the top 5 rated slot receivers in the Pac-12 last season. To add, Harris had quite the 2020 season-opener against Oregon State. He caught seven passes for a career-high 107 receiving yards and scored three TD's. To date this season the redshirt junior, has 16 rec, 201 yds, 11.6 avg and 8 TD's. Harris is an extremely versatile player and "electric" as Helton mentioned in a press conference on Tuesday. He is one player USC's defense needs to keep their eyes on come Sunday.

[READ: 10 Things To Know: USC Trojans vs. Washington State Cougars]

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