Steam escapes the inner-workings of his dense, wild brown hair, rushing into the open air above it – like a brush fire nearly contained, an ember persists somewhere within, burning.

Sophomore linebacker Peyton Pelluer stands six feet tall and an imposing 230 pounds, the wide ring of blood bordering his practice jersey neckline seeps toward his lower-lying jersey numbers. He never truly stands still, though.

Pelluer harbors, and probably benefits from, a persistent, bouncing disposition. His body rests, for lack of better terms, like a locomotive on active standby when he isn’t using it.

Drawing his hair back with a long, heavy streak from his open hand, his face grimaces; the reason for which could be one of many things: a throb of muscle pain from the effort he just left on the field, the open, ugly gash underneath his chin still dripping wet with blood, or perhaps even the deep thought he’d spent the last thirty seconds or so working to properly conclude.

He shifts his weight and raises his head intently, pointing into the air with his index finger signaling a long-awaited a-ha moment.

“Kraft mac and cheese with the shapes,” Pelluer said. “I’m a big SpongeBob fan; I’ll mix a box of SpongeBob with the regular all in one pot. Two or three boxes at a time, yeah. Yeah that’s how I roll. I’m not a big meat-in-my-mac-and-cheese kind of guy, just two boxes of mac and cheese with the shapes and a nice big glass of whole milk.”

At times it can be difficult to really get a read on Pelluer, as he’ll say things that seem to be in jest at their initial airing, just before things get uncertain. He’ll deliver one-liners with an expressive ambiguity that rivals the fodder Head Coach Mike Leach is famous for.

But, then, setting him apart, he’ll cave at random and let out a laugh. Abrupt, uninhibited, and, as his brother Cooper Pelluer would describe it, infectious.

“He’s a pretty goofy kid,” Cooper said endearingly. “His laugh is something you’ve never heard and when you do hear it, you know it’s him. It’s pretty contagious.”

Pelluer hopes to see to it that his laugh isn’t the only thing about him that resonates with his fellow defensive unit members. Though he’s only a redshirt sophomore, he’s developed quickly into his current leadership role and plans to take full ownership of such a role as he continues gaining experience and accolades from his work.

Since he joined the Cougars ranked among the top 25 linebackers in the country by ESPN.com, Pelluer has always been a special player. He won’t pinpoint himself what makes him special. He won’t say it’s his radiating influence or his keen attention to academics earning him Pac-12 All-Academic honors. He also refuses to attribute it to what may be his most clearly definable trait: His crushing tackling ability.

“He has the biggest hit – and the biggest head – out of the brothers, he just has a knack for getting to the football,” Cooper said. “I’m serious though, that thing is huge. And he’s growing his hair out so it could be even bigger in that helmet. I’d hate to see that thing coming.”

Pelluer showed a packed Martin Stadium earlier this season versus Wyoming that his big hits were no small feat. That game, Pelluer tallied double-digit tackles, most of which were huge impact contacts that sent the crowd to frenzies. He’s since continued to be a looming force in the middle of the defensive field.

“You know, he played lacrosse in high school and, gosh, he would just … man,” Cooper said. “He would just clean knock people, run people over, it was something else.”

Pelluer has made a habit of hitting the books just as hard, as recognized by his Pac-12 All-Academic honor following last season.

“It’s so hard to do both in-season with football and school,” Cooper said. “But, I mean, since high school he’s done it and done it really well.”

Peyton’s father, Scott Pelluer, agreed with Cooper to an extent.

“Cooper told him in middle school that grades don’t matter, that middle school was for fun. He idolized his big brother so he took a hall pass all through middle school … Thanks a lot, Cooper,” Scott said. “But, he did get to high school and got to work and got the grades so it’s alright.”

Pelluer is making the steady transition from following an example to setting it for his peers.

“Right now he just wants to do well and make plays and do it well so that his teammates can feed off that,” Cooper said. “He’s leading that defense right now.”

Cooper said the spirit of the game is in Peyton’s blood.

“His first word was touchdown, I’m not even kidding, we’d get him to throw his hands up when he said it and everything,” Cooper said. “We bribed him later on to get sacks with Legos. One game after that he got ten sacks … that was a lot of Legos.”

Today, Pelluer’s incentive is the success of the people around him. He feels that if he does his job to the best of his ability, his team will rally with him. Pelluer’s commitment to his team and teammates runs deeper than the makeup of his team’s current roster.

“Football’s been in our family,” Cooper said. “Dad coached and played, grandpa played, it pretty much comes second nature to us.”

Pelluer’s father, Scott, was a linebacker for WSU in the late 1970s and played for the New Orleans Saints for five years after college. His grandfather and great grandfather also played for WSU. His great grandfather Carl Gustafson won the Fred Bohler award for inspiration.

“I always grew up watching them play and watching dad coach, and that was just my life,” Pelluer said. “It just comes supremely natural to me now.”

The slow-drying blood around his neck matches the deep red color of the 47 on his jersey. It does so fittingly, but still doesn’t communicate the extent to which Pelluer bleeds crimson.

He’s donned the crimson and gray as long as he can remember and understands that he’s got some sizeable shoes to fill.

Pelluer’s father said though he knew Peyton would be great at football growing up, he initially had a hard time weighing their beloved sport against his own infatuation with science fiction.

“He used to like Star Wars as a kid,” Scott said. “Like to the point he didn’t even go to some of his brother’s games. Then he played himself and realized how much fun he was having but before that, he knew football but was more into Star Wars.”

Pelluer would say he hasn’t let go of Star Wars to this day. Not one bit.

“Empire Strikes Back is a classic. Battle’s, fighters flying, AT-AT’s coming in hot, man c’mon. Love it. Classic,” Pelluer said. “J.J. Abrams man, I think he knows what he’s doing. Not a big fan of Star Trek but I like those movies, you know, some of my friends don’t. I try to convince them otherwise all the time, but I think he’ll treat it right.”

Peyton’s father tapped into his inner-coach, acknowledging his son’s rambunctious dichotomy and attributing his successes.

“He’s a rascal,” Scott said. “But his talent and his tackling ability are really due to the fact that he listens to some great coaches. He’s got great size, great strength and he listens.”

Peyton Pelluer may have the jokes, but he’s no class clown. He’s an athlete, a leader, and a scholar. He also has a magnetic presence that’s suited perfectly for his developing role as the focal point of a WSU defense on the rise.

Since Peyton hit college in 2013, he’s been hitting the books, hitting the gym, and hitting whoever’s got the ball on the opposing team with equal ferocity across the board.

“What more can you ask for from your son?” Scott said. “We come to every home game and sing the fight song with a stadium full of Cougs while our son is on the field. C’mon. It’s great. And he’s a great kid.”