These are our annual Pac-12 triplet rankings. We’ve selected a trio of players from each team in the conference.

The rules: Each player comes from a different position group, so the defensive version of this series features a defensive lineman, a linebacker and a defensive back. Each program’s troika is ranked against the others in the Pac-12, and we’ll be unveiling and writing about each in reverse-countdown order.

We continue our defensive rankings with No. 4 Washington State.

DL Hercules Mata'afa: He's one of the Pac-12's best returning defensive linemen. The four players who had more tackles for loss than Mata'afa last season -- Utah's Hunter Dimick, UCLA's Takkarist McKinley, Stanford's Solomon Thomas and Colorado's Jimmie Gilbert -- are gone. Mata'afa improved on an already-stellar freshman campaign in 2016, finishing with 13.5 tackles for loss. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch wants Wazzu to wreak more havoc behind the line of scrimmage; Mata'afa is already doing his part.

LB Peyton Pelluer: He's become a tackling machine over the past two seasons. In 2015, Pelluer notched a team-high 101 tackles, including 11 stops for loss. Last season, he delivered a 93-tackle encore that included a couple pass breakups and a forced fumble. The Cougars improved defensively again in year two under Grinch, dropping their allowance to 26.4 points per game from 27.7 in 2015 (way down from the 38.6 ppg the unit gave up in 2014 before Grinch arrived). Pelluer has been right at the middle of that improvement, serving as the backbone of the defense from his middle linebacker spot.

CB Marcellus Pippins: Versatile safety Shalom Luani is gone, leaving Pippins as the leader of the secondary. The 5-foot-10 cornerback has notched five interceptions and 11 pass breakups over the past two years. On top of that, Mike Leach credits him with energizing the Cougars' defense through his dance moves.

Verdict: The Cougars have improved from the league cellar to a respectable position defensively, and they've done it thanks in large part to these three. Mata'afa is the conference's most productive returning defensive linemen, Pelluer is one of its most consistent linebackers and Pippins can use 2017 to establish himself as a lockdown corner. Like almost every other team, Wazzu could use more defensive depth, but the Cougars pack a strong starting trio here.