Top 5 Offensive Players WSU Football Faces in 2024

Jared Miller | Jul 2, 2024

Washington State coach Jake Dickert celebrates with his team during the second quarter against Oregon at Autzen Stadium Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA

From an early-season Apple Cup battle to a Big 12 bout with Texas Tech, Washington State’s defense is going to be put through the wringer in 2024 with the caliber of offenses they’ll be facing. Several big-time offensive standouts are set to see the Cougars this year and all are more than capable of giving the defense headaches. Who are the best of the best on the schedule this year?

5. Malik Sherrod, RB - Fresno State

A mid-October road trip to Fresno will give the Cougs’ defense the tough task of bottling up Bulldogs running back Malik Sherrod. Last year, he became the feature back for the Fresno State offense and he showed out, rushing for 966 yards and nine touchdowns. That was all on the ground, though, and Sherrod is a dual-threat guy. He’s no stranger to catching passes either. Last year he was fifth on the squad with 44 receptions as well. The Bulldogs will look to his way a lot and he could be in for a big day. WSU actually squared off against Sherrod in the LA Bowl a couple years ago. Back then he only managed 27 yards from scrimmage but he’s a totally different monster now.

4. Steven McBride, WR - Hawaii

Lately there hasn’t been much to write home about for the Rainbow Warriors but wideout Steven McBride is an exception. Washington State will see the senior pass-catcher in Week 8 and he could spell some trouble. The former Kansas-transfer lit it up for Hawaii last year, hauling in 63 passes for 1,024 yards and nine scores. McBride is capable of putting up some huge performances as he had two games last fall that saw him go for over 150 yards. If the Cougars don’t come in with a solid plan for #7 then it’ll be a long afternoon.

3 Jalen Royals, WR - Utah State

When Utah State pays a visit in early November, no doubt a huge part of WSU’s defensive game plan will be to slow down receiver Jalen Royals. In 2023, Royals exploded onto the scene, leading the team with 1,080 yards on 71 catches. He scored 15 touchdowns (also a team high) and put up 15.2 yards per reception. He can get behind a defense with the best of them and he’s a home-run threat on any given snap. For a team that surrendered well over 300 passing yards per game last year, Washington State could have some serious alarm bells ringing against a guy like Royals.

2. Tahj Brooks, RB - Texas Tech

The Cougars run defense better come to play in Week 2 because if not, they might get run right off their own field by Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks. The senior running back comes into 2024 with 3,052 career rush yards and he got over half of those last season alone. Brooks is as elusive of a ball carrier as Washington State will line up against this fall, coming off a season in which he averaged 118.3 yards per contest. Between his nimble feet, bruising strength and terrific downfield vision, he is an all-around complete threat when he has the ball and the Red Raiders will use him often. Brooks found the end zone ten times last year and is chasing a bunch of school records in his final year of eligibility. WSU will have its hands full.

1. Will Rogers, QB - Washington

Does Washington State catch a break this year playing a UW team that no longer has Michael Penix Jr? Yes and no. Mississippi State transfer quarterback Will Rogers is donning the purple and gold now and, while he doesn’t set a defense ablaze the same way Penix often did, Rogers will be no easy matchup for the Cougars in Week 3. He rewrote a ton of the Bulldog record books over the last four years before coming to Seattle this offseason, bringing with him 43 games of experience, over 12,000 career passing yards and 94 touchdowns. Rogers is expected to be the guy to lead the Huskies and will surely be the best signal-caller WSU’s defense will see during the regular season.

Published Jul 2, 2024

JARED MILLER

I was born and raised in Montana and I love the outdoors. My favorite time of year is Fall, not only for the colors and scenery up in Big Sky country but of course for college football! When I'm not writing about or watching football you can find me on the golf course.