Washington State Football 2025 Roster Preview: Linebackers

This season's Washington State linebacking corps will be a healthy mix of old and new. While several fresh faces enter the fray, a handful of familiar names are also back. It's a blend that might just serve Jimmy Rogers' defense well in 2025 with a position that's as deep as any on the team, the Cougars look as though they should cause some real problems over the middle on D. Here's who's who in the linebacker room at WSU this fall.

The Starters

The linebacking corps this year will center around redshirt senior Parker McKenna. Now having been with the team for one full season since transferring in from Portland State, McKenna will have the experience and snaps under his belt to be the leader of Washington State's defense over the middle. Last year he saw limited action with Kyle Thornton running the show but now that Thornton is graduated and gone, a lot of the responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of #46. McKenna is coming off a 2024 campaign in which he notched 39 tackles, a sack, a PBU and a forced fumble.

Joining McKenna in the linebacking corps this year will be another returner in redshirt senior Keith Brown. Brown, too, came in via transfer prior to the start of last season, originally playing for Oregon then Louisville. In his lone season with WSU, he appeared in 13 games and made 26 stops. He will also be a backup-turned-starter this fall and looks to make an immediate impact.

Rounding things out will likely be incoming South Dakota State transfer Caleb Francl. Francl is also a redshirt senior with one season of eligibility left but he comes in with a lot more starting experience, it just came at the FCS level. With the Jackrabbits, Francl was a playmaker, making a team-leading 11 tackles for loss last season and posting 78 stops. That was enough to earn him first-team all-conference honors and land him a spot as a Buck Buchanan Award finalist. Now Francl appears to be headed for a starting position with the Cougs as one of the many new starting faces on defense.

The Reserves

Although he is not currently projected a starter, another notable name to keep an eye on this year will be fifth-year senior Gavin Barthel. Barthel returns to Washington State after a two-year stint at Utah State. The only real action he say with the Aggies, however, came in 2023 when he played in 13 games and logged 18 tackles. Barthel began his collegiate career in Pullman as a freshman and now is looking to work his way onto the field back where it all began.

Alongside Barthel in the depth slots will be a pair of more South Dakota State transfers, Carsten Reynolds and Anthony Palano. Both are redshirt freshmen that did not see the field much for the Jackrabbits a season ago. Palano showed in six games, making four tackles while Reynolds did not play at all. Both, though, are currently listed in the two spots on Washington State's projected preseason depth chart.

Another freshman that will be in that mix is Gage Jones who returns to the Cougs after sitting out all but two games last year to fulfill his redshirt. Jones hails from Eagle High School in Idaho where he was a two-time all-state selection and was Idaho's 5A defensive player of the year.

Rounding out the bench linebacker spots will be freshmen Jovan Clark, Isaiah Hung, Jack Ellison, and sophomore Gavin Fugate. None got any game time snaps last year but could find their way onto the field this fall pending injuries and specific game situations.

More Reading Material From Washington State Cougars On SI