A closer look at the WSU players who could fill in for injured cornerback Jamorri Colson

Aug. 27—PULLMAN — Stephen Hall knows he can't take a second off, relax or stop pointing his younger Washington State teammates in the right direction.

He's one of the Cougars' captains this season, and as one of the team's veteran cornerbacks, he has some real sway in that room.

"They're just looking at me and how I come out here every day," Hall said. "Just showing them the right ways. Just come out here and work every day."

Hall, a junior college product, came on strongly toward the end of last season. He played just 43 combined snaps against FBS opponents during the first eight games of the year, appearing in five . That's about when injuries pressed him into action, and he started in three of the Cougars' final four games, piling up more than 100 snaps in total.

He fared OK in those settings — he allowed five receptions on nine targets combined, according to Pro Football Focus, with one pass breakup — but he made a strong enough impression on coaches in spring and fall practices to earn a starting role this fall. Now a redshirt junior, Hall isn't just being asked to perform. He's also being asked to lead.

"Stephen Hall, one of our captains, has been an amazing leader for that room," WSU coach Jake Dickert said, "and really drives all the behaviors that those guys have."

That's particularly important now that the other WSU cornerback slated to start across from him, Jamorri Colson, is expected to miss "an extended period of time" with an injury, Dickert said on Monday. Colson missed the final handful of fall camp practices with the injury, so it didn't come as a huge surprise.

How Hall can best influence the cornerbacks around him might start with identifying them.

Colson's replacement will be redshirt freshman Ethan O'Connor, Dickert said, which also was no surprise. O'Connor had one of the best individual fall camps at WSU. He had several interceptions and swatted other passes down. He wasn't quite everywhere at once, but he made himself known.

Not long ago, O'Connor was looking to play at a blue blood. Out of high school in the Los Angeles area in the class of 2023, he fielded offers from the likes of Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Kansas, UCLA, Washington, Texas A&M, Penn State and a host of others. He could have played most anywhere he wanted, and during his senior season, he chose to commit to UCLA.

He backed out of that decision, though, and WSU capitalized. In the spring of O'Connor's senior year at Los Alamitos High, the Cougars offered him. He accepted, and after getting over the initial shock of not playing right away as a true freshman — "No, that's not how it works," he said during fall camp — he's ready for meaningful playing time.

"Ethan O'Connor is ready. I think you've seen that through the course of fall camp," Dickert said. "His playmaking ability needs to be high, but he's still young. He's a freshman corner. He's gonna make mistakes, and that's fine."

Also in the mix to fill in for Colson are a collection of underclassmen: redshirt freshman Warren Smith Jr. and two true freshmen, Jaylon Edmond and Kenny Worthy III, both of whom enrolled in January and took part in spring practices. Smith might have the leg up in experience, but Edmond and Worthy also impressed during fall camp, establishing playing time with the second-team units.

Edmond turned heads most with his speed, and he might be the fastest player on this list. At 5-foot-9, he's a tad undersized, which might make him a target in coverage. But he's scrappy, and he can make up for some of those disadvantages by using his quickness to stay in lockstep with opposing receivers.

WSU coaches reached for Edmond out of the same high school, Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, where they found former star safety Jaden Hicks, who was selected by back-to-back Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round of this spring's NFL draft. Edmond turned down offers from Boise State, UNLV, Utah State, San Diego State, Hawaii, Nevada and Portland State to play at WSU.

Last December, Dickert figured Worthy could make an immediate impact. Worthy, who turned down a trio of power-conference offers from Iowa State, Arizona State and Boston College, has impressed with his ranginess and nose for the ball. He also has a bit more size, at 6-foot, which plays to his advantage, especially against bigger receivers.

That might not matter as much on Saturday in WSU's matchup with Portland State — the Cougars are multiple-touchdown favorites — but Texas Tech's receivers include 6-4 Caleb Douglas, 6-2 Coy Eakin, even former Cougar Josh Kelly, at 6-1.

"Guys that have been working their tail off behind the scenes," Dickert said. "It's just another example — you never know when your number is gonna be called."