american football

PULLMAN – Both on the field and outside of football, Ron Stone Jr. and Brennan Jackson bring out the best in each other.

For Washington State’s standout edge rushers, there’s a friendly rivalry “in everything we do,” Jackson said.

“If there’s a winner and a loser, we both want to be the winner,” he said.

Jackson and Stone have been known to compete in heated rounds of spades.

“It can be something as simple as, ‘I think the next card I pull is going to be red,’ ” Jackson said.

“It can be the silliest of things, but it just goes with how competitive football is.”

Stone and Jackson – who often go by “RJ” and “BJ” – formed a bond over the past five years at WSU while developing into team leaders.

Now the heart and soul of the Cougars’ defense, they provide motivation for one another and “raise the level of everybody around them,” coach Jake Dickert said.

“It’s funny, because they have such different personalities,” Dickert added. “BJ is so serious. He’s planning out his meals. RJ has fun. Not that he doesn’t take it seriously – he’s just a different type of personality. But how they affect the team is really important.”

The WSU captains, both third-year starters, have adopted player-coach duties for a young but deep and talented position group. The Cougars’ edge rotation features six capable players. Of course, none makes more of an impact than Stone and Jackson.

Statistically, the two haven’t matched their level of production in 2021, when the Cougars’ defensive line relied heavily on their contributions .

Last year, Stone piled up 63 tackles and 11½ stops in the backfield, including five sacks. He earned first-team All-Pac-12 recognition.

That success sometimes overshadowed Jackson’s accomplishments. Jackson came up with 46 tackles – six for loss – and four sacks en route to an all-conference honorable mention nod.

“It goes to show how effective we can be when we’re on the field together,” said Jackson, a watch list player this year for the Reese’s Senior Bowl. “Teams have to game-plan for one of us.

“(Stone) had such a great year last year. He was making plays and it was because he studied film and knew what these guys were going to do. When the plays came, he made them. That’s how our group is – we have to make the plays that come to us. A lot…