en-us SportSpyder - The Latest Washington State Cougars Football News https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/news Cougars found the end zone just twice and made just one field goal Sat, 22 Aug 2026 05:59:14 GMT Jamey Vinnick https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57665415 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57665415 false false Much of the reps went to depth pieces both on offense and defense Sat, 22 Aug 2026 03:39:01 GMT Jamey Vinnick https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57664787 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57664787 true false Washington State coaches are still on track to announce their starting quarterback by Monday, according to head coach Kirby Moore. Sat, 22 Aug 2026 02:56:14 GMT Greg Woods https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57664523 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57664523 false false Number of injured Cougars should be fully available on Sunday Sat, 22 Aug 2026 01:17:21 GMT Jamey Vinnick https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57663858 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57663858 false false PULLMAN — Washington State coaches are still on track to announce their starting quarterback by Monday, the first day of the new semester at the university. That’s the word from head coach Kirby Moore, who said that plan remains in place ahead of Sunday’s fall camp finale, an evening practice open to the public at Gesa Field. UC Davis transfer Caden Pinnick, , is the likely frontrunner to win the job. Returners Julian Dugger and Owen Eshelman are also in the mix, though Dugger didn’t play in the second and final scrimmage, and Eshelman was nearly intercepted twice. “I think the big thing there is it’s never as good. It’s never as bad (at first glance),” Moore said. “There’s some things sometimes outside of the quarterback’s control. We gotta assess that and see how all the grades and everything from the scrimmage play out.” “Not to the standard. Not to the standard,” WSU offensive coordinator Matt Miller said of the offense’s outing on Friday. “Starting with me, I gotta be better. Gotta lead better. Gotta prepare a better plan for the guys for them to go execute it. So everybody’s gotta look themselves in the mirror, which is an awesome opportunity for all of us to learn and grow.” The Cougars’ offense has been something of a rollercoaster this fall camp. They’ve had a few sparkling days, including in the team’s first scrimmage, . But overall, the story of this WSU fall camp has been the team’s defense, which has dominated all manner of practices. Safety Jaylen Thomas has picked off Pinnick twice, including for a pick-six earlier in camp and another interception on Friday. In other news, Moore said veteran tight end Hudson Cedarland is expected to miss “an extended period of time” after being carted off the field during last week’s scrimmage. In recent days, Cedarland has been seen wearing a brace on his leg and using crutches, indicating his injury will cost him time this season. For Hudson, it’s another injury in a career with several like it, which in part prompted him to switch from linebacker to tight end. The good news for the Cougars is that they are healthier in other parts of their tight end room. Their starter will likely be UC Davis transfer Jack Pedersen, who played limited reps in Friday’s scrimmage for rest and injury-prevention reasons, while backup Beau Baker recently returned from a minor injury to rejoin practice. Redshirt freshman Peyton Read has also impressed in the pass-catching department as well. The Cougs have just one fall camp practice left, which is set for 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Gesa Field. It’s open to the public, according to Moore, who invited members of the community to come watch the practice. “We really want the student body out. They they make this place go,” Moore said. “We’re flipping sidelines for a reason. We want to encourage the student body, fraternities, sororities, everyone to come out and enjoy a Sunday night with the team. Starts at 7:30. Should go till about 9, 9:15, and should be a good time.” Sat, 22 Aug 2026 01:14:42 GMT Greg Woods https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57663845 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57663845 true false PULLMAN – Jirah Leaupepetele nearly took flight running off the sideline, yelling and hyping up his fellow Washington State defenders, who had just made another play in Friday’s fall camp scrimmage. Leaupepetele was a man possessed, a spark spreading the fire to his teammates, the same ones who made this second and final scrimmage a microcosm of the Cougs’ fall camp slate entirely. In short: WSU’s defense earned the edge again. The play Leaupepetele was celebrating came late in the scrimmage, when the Cougs’ third-team defense forced a fumble on walk-on running back Ryan Salcedo, another feather in the cap for defensive coordinator Trent Bray’s unit. On that play, a sea of defenders descended on the ball to recover it, a tidal wave of white-clad players turning over their offensive counterparts yet again. “I think we dominated on defense,” said Leaupepetele, a defensive tackle transfer from Eastern Washington. That the Cougars did, underscoring the main theme of these 14 fall camp practices at WSU. All the top highlights of camp have belonged to Washington State’s defense, to defensive ends Matyus McLain and Linus Zunk, to safeties Jaylen Thomas and Jeremiah Bernard, to linebackers Keith Brown and DJ Warner, the group that has turned this August into a defensive showcase on the Palouse. Sharp as all those players have looked, though, it has also left a glaring hole in WSU’s offense. In Friday’s scrimmage alone, the second and final before things wrap up with a final practice on Sunday evening, the Cougs’ offense scored just two touchdowns in 19 drives. They lost four turnovers, including three interceptions from likely starting quarterback Caden Pinnick, though two of those came on tipped passes. They also took a number of sacks. With QB Julian Dugger sidelined with an undisclosed injury, all QB reps went to Pinnick and returner Owen Eshelman. Pinnick worked with the first- and second-team offenses, while Eshelman piloted the second- and third-teamers. Those drives produced two touchdowns, one a long scoring burst from freshman running back Tre Hill Jr. and the other a short rushing score from Eshelman, who was likely two-hand-touch tackled short of the goal line, but he was awarded the touchdown all the same. The interceptions went like this: Early in the scrimmage, safety Jaylen Thomas read Pinnick’s eyes and jumped in front for an interception and a long return, his third pick in this fall camp alone. Pinnick’s other two picks were also tipped, the first caught by safety Trey Ridley and the second one a product of a tremendous defensive play to poke the ball away from freshman running back Marquez Wimberly and into the air, where walk-on defensive back Kenny Miller-Terry snatched it. “There’s some decisions out there that you’d like to get back. I think there’s some plays that they’d like to have back,” WSU offensive coordinator Matt Miller said. “But overall, needs to be better from all those guys, and they know that. They have a high standard for themselves. There’s probably nobody more down in that locker room right now than those guys because they have such high standards for themselves. But they’re also very hungry and they’re competitors. They’re gonna get back tomorrow, and they’re gonna be their best versions of themselves.” So all told, WSU’s offense produced two touchdowns, four turnovers and one field goal. The one make came on a 48-yard connection from kicker Jack Stevens, who also missed wide left on two other tries, one from 48 yards and the other from 55. After turning in a flawless kicking outing in fall camp, Stevens missed for the first time in Tuesday’s practice, and has now missed twice since then. “Not to the standard. Not to the standard,” Miller said. “Starting with me, I gotta be better. Gotta lead better. Gotta prepare a better plan for the guys for them to go execute it. So everybody’s gotta look themselves in the mirror, which is an awesome opportunity for all of us to learn and grow.” Before we explore how WSU’s offense looked in Friday’s scrimmage, understand this piece of context: The Cougs went without several starters. Running back Kirby Vorhees and right tackle Jonny Lester were out, as they have been for about the last week, while left tackle Ashton Tripp played only a couple series. The same went for other key players, including starting tight end Jack Pedersen, running back Maxwell Woods and other offensive linemen, all of whom have their roles just about cemented. In fact, WSU’s starting lineups are all but set on both sides of the ball, which is a key reason why evaluating Friday’s scrimmage can be a bit tricky. The Cougs’ offense turned in a forgettable outing, the second straight time they’ve met that fate, joining a Wednesday practice in which they lost four turnovers as well. “We gotta take care of the football on offense,” WSU coach Kirby Moore said. But this wasn’t a full picture of the Cougars’ offense, from their first-team unit or the second-teamers. Thei... Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:40:26 GMT Greg Woods https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57663616 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57663616 true false PULLMAN – It was a quick trip to Pullman for Ryan Leaf and his USA Network colleagues recently. The less than 24-hour visit provided little time to hit up some of Leaf’s favorite eateries – that will come in the fall, Leaf said, when the crew finds itself in town for some of the industry-high 22 Pac-12 football games on its broadcast schedule. However, it provided plenty of time for USA Sports’ “A team” of Leaf, serving as the network’s lead in-game analyst for Pac-12 football, play-by-play broadcaster Nate Gatter and sideline reporter Lauren Green to spend the day with the Washington State Cougars and … visit Leaf’s former residence. There, his colleagues had a question for him. “ ‘How did you fit four football players in that small house?’ We were college kids; we weren’t making any money at the time, right? So we had to stay wherever we could stay,” said Leaf, a three-year Cougar quarterback and No. 2 overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers. “I just needed a bed to sleep at night after working hard at the facility. Showed them those places and then campus – it’s a special campus up on the hill.” The three broadcasters, along with several other USA Network staff and crew members, had already visited three of the new Pac-12 schools – Colorado State, Texas State and Boise State – before making the trek to the Palouse. USA’s other broadcast team of Ted Robinson, former Notre Dame running back Darius Walker and Dalen Cuff planned visits to Oregon State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Utah State. USA, the CW Network and CBS are the Pac-12’s broadcast partners for football and basketball, with USA claiming the bulk of the conference’s slate in the first season of a five-year deal. “I know it can be a frustrating experience as a fan feeling like your school or your conference is being pushed aside by a network so that they can push the SEC and the Big 10 in your face, and we’re going to be a network that prioritizes the Pac-12,” Gatter said. “It’s the only football that’s on our air. We are going to live and breathe the Pac-12 all season long. And for the fans who want to do the same thing, we’re going to be your place.” Leaf isn’t the only Coug hired by USA Sports. Former WSU safety Erik Coleman will be a feature studio analyst and three-time Apple Cup-winning QB Alex Brink will join select USA studio shows while continuing to serve as the primary color commentator for Cougar football’s radio broadcasts alongside the “Voice of the Cougs” Chris King. “They’re invested in this conference,” Leaf said of his new employer. “We have the most games. We have the best conference games from week to week, and we’re going to showcase those.” The opportunity to step into this lead analyst role means a lot to Leaf, he said, especially after the twists and turns his life has already taken. Born in Great Falls, Leaf led the Cougs to the 1998 Rose Bowl to cap a record-breaking career as a Heisman Trophy finalist. Drafted behind Peyton Manning, Leaf was thrust into the spotlight and thoroughly criticized during his four-year NFL career. He fell into legal trouble in 2010 and spent 32 months in prison from 2012-14 after pleading guilty to felony burglary and drug possession. In 2020, he pled guilty to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge in California and received three years of informal probation. Leaf hasn’t shied away from his faults or his path to sobriety, serving as a program ambassador for Transcend Recovery Community and the Menninger Clinic and making multiple speaking appearances where he has shared his story with a variety of audiences. His path to sports broadcasting blossomed around the same time, starting with the Pac-12 Network and eventually leading to opportunities at ESPN, Westwood One Radio and the CW Network, where he got to broadcast a number of WSU games. It was at Westwood that Gatter, his partner for a slew of marquee Pac-12 contests this fall, first worked with Leaf. “He’s had highs that very few people have. He’s had lows that very few people have, and I think the way that he addresses them and shares them makes him uniquely relatable,” Gatter said of Leaf. “His honesty and his humanity are obvious to everyone whether they meet him in person, hear him on a radio show, or watch him on television. And lastly, as though anybody around here doesn’t know, he’s a ‘blanking’ Coug.” Leaf said that veteran sports producer Jeff Behnke reached out to him in January to offer the network’s lead football analyst role. “As far as I’ve come from where I was 12 years ago,” Leaf said, “for someone to have that support and confidence in you, that goes a long way.” Green, a sideline reporter for the Utah Jazz and former sprinter at Nevada, is familiar with the majority of the Pac-12, having competed in the Mountain West. The chance to be a part of something new spoke to her, Green said. She plans to transfer that excitement into the broadcasts. “You’re going to find something new when you’re wat... Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:01:54 GMT Sam Taylor https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57663266 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57663266 true false Cougars could very well rest several veterans, specifically at tight end Fri, 21 Aug 2026 23:00:49 GMT Jamey Vinnick https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57662750 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57662750 true false Fri, 21 Aug 2026 22:25:01 GMT https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57662405 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57662405 false false Fri, 21 Aug 2026 22:24:55 GMT https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57662403 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57662403 false false WSU to Dedicate John Olerud Statue October 23 - Washington State University Athletics - Official Athletics Site Javascript is required. Fri, 21 Aug 2026 22:24:48 GMT Bobby Alworth https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57662401 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57662401 false false Cougar Football Preseason Camp – Scrimmage 2 - Washington State University Athletics - Official Athletics Site Javascript is required. Fri, 21 Aug 2026 22:24:40 GMT Ashton, Jirah, Trent, Matt, Bobby Alworth https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57662399 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57662399 false false WBB Named to WBCA Honor Roll with Top-10 GPA in Nation - Washington State University Athletics - Official Athletics Site Javascript is required. Fri, 21 Aug 2026 20:23:47 GMT Riley Baker https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57661087 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57661087 false false Mayes: 'He wasn't just interested in the athlete you were becoming. He cared deeply about the person you would become after the game was over' Fri, 21 Aug 2026 19:38:11 GMT Steve Witter https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57660510 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57660510 false false