Washington State 2025 Player Spotlight: DB Matthew Durrance

South Dakota State s Matthew Durrance yells and jumps on the sidelines as it becomes clear the team will has won against Montana State in the FCS semifinals on Saturday, December 17, 2022, at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, SD. Fcs Semifinals 029 | Erin Woodiel / Argus Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK

In many ways Washington State football is going to bare a striking resemblance to previous iterations of South Dakota State's team in recent years. That is because several former Jackrabbits will now don the red and grey in 2025 after following head coach Jimmy Rogers over from Brookings and, on the defense specifically, WSU will rely on a heavy dose of SDSU flavor to make up their unit this fall. Safety Matthew Durrance will be one of those key players and he brings with him exactly what a once-depleted Cougars secondary needs.

Durrance, a native Lutz, Florida, spent the last four seasons with South Dakota State. He started every game since 2023 and is a two-time national champion at the FCS, helping the Jacks win both the 2022 and 2023 titles. Since coming in out of Steinbrenner High School in 2021, Durrance has steadily improved and posted a career-best year last fall, picking off three passes, breaking up seven more and logging 63 tackles.

With just one year left to play, Durrance decided to be one of 17 former Jackrabbits to make the move to Pullman and take his game to the next level. It's an adjustment that he seems to be making well both on the gridiron and otherwise.

"There was a couple cold days two weeks ago, but even then, I can't lie, it wasn't like where we came from," Durrance joked with reporters after his first day of Spring ball with his new team, referencing Brookings, South Dakota where SDSU plays. "That wind used to rip your face off."

It isn't just the weather that Durrance is enjoying in his new digs, though. He and his fellow teammates that made the move also have integrated nicely into the Washington State team and have shared with their new teammates exactly what to expect out of Rogers and his staff, many of which come from South Dakota State as well.

"We said that we want to show the other guys what Coach [Rogers] expects," he told media members. "We want to be the example that guys that haven't been under Coach see and see what the standard is."

It's a familiarity that might come in handy for a Cougars defense that is expected to start eight fresh faces this year including five transfers. Durrance is currently slated to be one of them on the back end. With guys like Ethan O'Connor, Taariq Al-Uqdah and Kapena Gushiken all gone from the secondary, Durrance will be one who will likely be leaned upon heavily to pick up slack this upcoming season.

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