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PULLMAN -- If you have watched a Washington State game this season, you have likely seen No. 16 on defense flying to the football. With the old school neck pad sticking out the back of his jersey, linebacker Isaiah Hung has been a breakout player for the Cougar defense in 2026, recording 14 tackles -- second on the team -- with one for loss and a pass breakup. The 6-2, 229-pound second-year from Kansas City played in five games last year, all on special teams and was largely off the radar when spring ball began in March. But he quickly pushed his way up the depth chart with a banner spring followed by an impressive fall camp. And suddenly, the even-keeled Hung has found himself playing a key role for the Cougar defense. "It's everything I've been working for in the offseason," Hung tells Cougfan.com. "Throughout the whole offseason, that was my goal in mind to be able to get on the field and make an impact. So that's been really cool. Obviously, I want to do more on the field. I want to be making bigger plays. But for the first few games, I'm pretty happy with what I've done. But I still have a long way to go." HUNG'S PATH TO PULLMAN was unique. He was signed and ready to enroll at South Dakota State in January of 2025 when Jimmy Rogers left Brookings for Pullman. In a matter of days, Hung flipped his commitment and instead of heading north, headed west to begin his college career. But when Rogers left for Iowa State, Hung decided to stay in Pullman, quickly taking a liking to the teachings of DC Trent Bray.  "Coach Bray holds us to a standard of every play (that) you should be emphasizing the angles that you're taking to make tackles," Hung said. "And football is really a game of angles. So if you come from the right angle, you're 99 percent of the time going to make the play. So I'll just say I've been working angles really well. "Those perimeter tackles are really big on running through the knees of the defender because Coach Bray says you can't run without your knees. And that's something that's been working for me with tackling." Hung is a youngster in a room full of veterans. DJ Warner, Keith Brown, Nylan Brown, Jack Ellison, Carsten Reynolds and Gavin Fugate all have more experience than him at the college level, but that has led to Hung seeking as much teaching as possible. "I feel like they all have different things I can learn," Hung said. "Like DJ being an edge, he's really good in pass rush and using his hands with blockers, and that's something that I feel like I take off of him. He has great bend, and I feel like I've seen it time and time again, his bend helps him make plays." Related: From Minshew to Leach, Arizona OC Seth Doege has WSU connections Here is more from CF.C's conversation with Hung. COUGFANcom: Was it hard to transform your body type at all, seeing the size this staff wants linebackers to play at vs. the last staff? Hung: "I wouldn't say it was really difficult because I really I knew I wanted to be bigger. Being 210 pounds wasn't going to cut it in the Pac-12. And Bray made it a point when he first got here, here he wants me to be 225 pounds. So that was my goal weight, but I wanted to exceed that and be 230." COUGFANcom: What was the approach from Coach Hardmon to get you to add that weight? Hung: "Coach Hardmon's great. I seriously don't think I'd be where I'm at right now if it wasn't for him. He's a super standup guy and he's going to push everybody in the room, no matter what your role is. We really just took it day by day and Coach Skip (Velotta), Coach (Kainon) Clark, all the interns, all those guys helped me out for sure. "Getting in there extra after the runs over summer, hitting some extra arms, stuff like that, just staying in the weight room, that was the biggest thing and Hardmon made that easy for me." COUGFANcom: How was it to play a game close to home at Kansas State? Hung: "It was so cool. I had lots of supporters at that game and then for me to have however many tackles I had, that was a fun game. Being able to play in Bill Snyder Stadium, it's always been a dream of mine. So it was cool hearing my name called." COUGFANcom: Did you grow up a Kansas State fan? Hung: "I did. The spring that I first got here, they released the big games that we'd be playing. And I saw Kansas State on the schedule, and that had me ready. I was super excited to get that opportunity and just the opportunity to play in front of friends and family and I have a lot of friends that go to that school. So that was just an absolute blessing, it was awesome." WSU-ARIZONA GAME DETAILS: WHERE: Martin Stadium KICKOFF: Saturday, 4:30 p.m. Pacific TV: CBS (Rich Waltz, Adam Breneman and Brian Kelly with Jordan Giorgio as the sideline reporter) RADIO: Washington State IMG Radio Network WEATHER FORECAST: 61 degrees, mostly sunny, light winds RECORDS: WSU 1-2, Arizona 2-1 THE SERIES: Arizona leads the season series 28-19 ESPN matchup predictor: 22.7 percent chance WSU wins RANKINGS: Neither team is ranked THE LINE: Arizona is favored by 10.5 points (opened at 13.5) CF.C PREDICTION: Arizona 31-21 THE COACHES: Kirby Moore is 1-2, Brent Brennan is 49-61 Isaiah Hung (Photo: Whittney Thornton/Cougfan.com)