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See you at football media day: WSU's Deone Bucannon

Jul 16, 2013

As Mike Leach continues to implement his "Air Raid" offense heading into his second season in Pullman, the other side of the ball will be anchored in 2013 by one of the Pac-12's best defensive backs: Deone Bucannon. The senior safety has appeared in every game since his freshman year, with 2012 being his most productive season statistically. Bucannon is considered the Cougars' unquestioned defensive leader in his fourth season, a role which the Fairfield, Calif. native seems ready to embrace. Another year of adapting to Mike Breske's 3-4 scheme should only benefit this Wazzu standout.

[Related: 2013 Pac-12 Football Media Day live streaming and TV info]

Bucannon grabbed a lot of attention last season with his numbers on the field. He led the Cougs in solo tackles (65) and interceptions (4), while his conference rankings in those categories were fourth and fifth, respectively. His 106 total tackles was the most by any Washington State player since James Darling made 136 stops in 1996. The 2012 season also saw Bucannon collect a career-high 17 tackles in a game against Arizona State and rack up seven games with a double-digit tackle total.

Bucannon shone in the Cougars' biggest game of the year, making 11 tackles -- including two for a loss -- and tallying his first career sack in a 31-28 overtime win over Washington to claim the Apple Cup.

[Related video: Bucannon discusses the Cougs' challenging early-season schedule]

Hear more from Bucannon, Coach Leach and outside linebacker Elliott Bosch during Pac-12 Football Media Day on July 26 (tweet using #pac12fb to ask questions too). Washington State's turn at the podium is 9:15 a.m. PT. The entire event will live stream right here at Pac-12.com starting at 9 a.m. PT.