Peyton Pelluer

FROM THE HIGHEST of highs to the lowest of lows, all in the space of seven days. Cougar linebacker Peyton Pelluer's career at Washington State is over, his father Scott Pelluer tells CF.C.



Pelluer, the fifth-year senior who starred in the comeback win for the ages vs. Boise State and having developed into Washington State’s defensive touchstone at the middle linebacker position, is done for the season, his father Scott Pelluer tells Cougfan.com. The news was first reported by the Lewiston Tribune.



Scott tells CF.C that Peyton (6-0, 228) suffered a broken navicular bone in his foot early in Saturday's win over Oregon State. He will have surgery within the next two weeks, Scott said, with rehab time extending beyond the 2017 season.



"He's a very disappointed young man," Scott told Cougfan.com.



Pelluer just a week ago was named the Pac-12 defensive player of the week for his 14-tackle performance against Boise State, a game that also saw him take an interception back to the house. Before Pelluer’s pick midway through the fourth quarter, ESPN gave Boise State a 99 percent chance of winning. But behind a strong defensive effort with Pelluer racking up the stops, WSU won 47-44 in triple overtime.



On the field, Nate DeRider and Jahad Woods figure to see increased playing time in Pelluer's absence.



DeRider is a fifth-year senior and former walk on who was put on scholie before the Cougs’ season opener. He posted 5 tackles (1 TFL) against Oregon State after Pelluer was injured. Woods, a rising second-year freshman, posted four tackles against the Beavs. The Cougs could also get creative and move some guys around.



But the loss of Pelluer will be felt both on and off the field. He is one of the team’s leaders and was the third-leading tackler on the Cougs after three games, with 21 stops. He is a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection, twice named to the first team, and has been involved with a number of community service projects through WSU Athletics. He was named to the Wuerffel Award watch list before the season (athletic and academic achievement, community service).



Right now, the injury to Pelluer just seems cruel. In time, the narrative will become more about how Pelluer played his very best in his last full game: a huge factor in how WSU was able to come back from the edge and somehow top Boise State when the 21-point fourth-quarter deficit looked like a bridge too far.



Also in time, his career contributions will become a bigger part of the narrative. Entering this season, Pelluer had 233 career tackles and was 73 shy of entering the top 10 all-time at WSU. Had he finished his senior season at his current pace, Pelluer was a lock to climb into the top 10 and potentially finish as high as No. 5 on the list.



Pelluer wasn’t an unknown quantity coming out of Skyline High in Sammamish in the 2013 class. In addition to Wazzu, he held offers from Oregon State, Colorado and ASU. But there was always a caveat in recruiting circles on Peyton: that he played stiff at times, that he might be a half-step too slow to become an upper tier Pac-12 linebacker.



Yet the facts speak volumes about the player: Pelluer led the Cougars each of the past two seasons in tackles, he was named Pac-12 honorable mention twice and he ended both the ’15 and ’16 seasons among the Pac-12 tackle leaders.



The Pelluer ties run deep at WSU: Peyton is a fourth-generation Cougar football player. His dad, Scott, was a 6-2, 215-pound linebacker who finished his WSU career among the all-time leading tacklers in WSU history. He still ranks No. 7 all-time in sacks at WSU (19.0). In addition to Scott, grandfather Arnie played end for the Cougars from 1953-55 and was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams. Great-grandfather Carl Gustafson played fullback and linebacker for the Cougars from 1925-27 and was dubbed "King of the Campus" for his heroics in WSC's 9-6 upset of Washington in 1926.



Last December, Scott told CF.C about conversations he had with position coach Ken Wilson and d-coordinator Alex Grinch about Peyton.



“Alex Grinch has said this, that Peyton gets the most out of his skills set, athleticism and body type than most players do,” said Scott. “He’s really conscientious, that’s probably the best thing to say about him … His linebackers coach, Ken Wilson, has told me he’s a great student of the game and Peyton really listens to what his coach is saying and then goes out and applies it. And Peyton told me last spring he really appreciates Coach Wilson, because he’s made him a much, much better linebacker.”



And while Pelluer’s playing days at WSU are over, Wilson told CF.C in July he has plans for Peyton if the NFL doesn’t come calling.



“Peyton and I have already talked about if his NFL dreams don’t come true, him coming back and helping me out here,” Wilson said. “Obviously his dad was a great coach, his brothers have played, his brother-in-law (Alabama’s Tosh Lapoi) is a college football coach.



"If you’re going to pick one guy to be on that trajectory, with his intelligence and the amount of games he’s played, he will have that option down the road.”



For more, see the related story below.



RELATED: Ken Wilson has future plans for Peyton Pelluer



