HCA: A couple Cougars receive recognition from Pro Football Focus

PFF college unveiled their conference teams of the week for the opening week and a pair of Washington State Cougars were on the Pac-12 squad.

Willie Taylor III recorded the second highest grade of any Pac-12 defender for WSU’s 41-19 win over the Wyoming Cowboys. This earned him a spot on the all-conference team as an edge rusher. Taylor recorded a sack and tackle for loss in the victory, showing Cougars fans why he is just one of a bunch of new faces on defense to get excited about.

The redshirt freshman Taylor and sophomore Dominick Silvels were simply dominant off the edge in their first significant game action. Silvels ranked first in pass rush performance by an outside linebacker in the Pac-12 based on PFF’s metrics. Another new starter, defensive lineman Nick Begg, ranked 3rd in pass rush performance. These three, along with defensive linemen Taylor Comfort and Willie Rogers, and safety Skyler Thomas, are showing the WSU has become a program that can re-load after graduation losses.

Another Cougar that earned some familiar accolades from PFF is running back James Williams. “Boobie” had the most “forced missed tackles” on receptions in the country by a running back on Saturday, according to the website. This is no surprise, as Williams led the country in this category last year. This owes both to the offense he plays in and the fact that he is just a damn fine receiving option out of the backfield. The Williams/Borghi backfield is going to be a lot of fun to watch over the next couple of years.

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