Caleb Northcroft spent his childhood around Washington State football, and Saturday gave him the kind of moment that can only happen when a hometown dream finally lands in front of you.
The walk-on transfer from Whitworth got his first offensive snap for the Cougars in their 26-20 loss to San Diego State, then made it count right away. On that play, he caught an 11-yard pass from Owen Eshelman in the first half for the first reception of his career.
“Being here, it’s kind of surreal,” Northcroft said.
For Northcroft, the setting made it even more meaningful. He grew up going to 70 to 80 home games at Martin Stadium, and he used to visit the office of late former Cougars coach Mike Leach with his father, Marty, who played for Washington State in the 1990s and worked on campus in marketing.
At Pullman High School, Northcroft was the kind of athlete who did a little bit of everything, playing football, basketball and baseball. He also had a soft spot for two former WSU receivers, River Cracraft and Gabe Marks.
His path to Pullman took a few turns. He was a quarterback for part of his junior season and part of his senior year before moving back to wide receiver. Out of high school, he was set to attend the University of Puget Sound, but Redlands University stepped in at the last second and convinced him to enroll there instead.
Northcroft spent one season at Redlands before transferring to Whitworth in Spokane, where he caught 30 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns. One of those scores, a one-handed grab against Linfield, still gets attention online.
“My all-time highlight, for sure,” Northcroft said.
His long-term plan was always to start at a small school and then try to earn a spot at a bigger program as a walk-on, though he was realistic about how hard that is.
“You cannot plan on that happening,” Northcroft said.
In Northcroft’s case, the Washington State connection helped open the door. In June, while he was working a Whitworth team camp, he learned that a receiver who had committed to WSU had backed out. He spoke with his Whitworth coaches about the chance to return home and try to walk on with the Cougars, and they told him to enter the transfer portal so he could speak with Washington State’s staff.
From there, he reached out to Brad Larrondo, the general manager of the WSU football team, to set up a campus meeting about the opportunity. A week later, he was back home, on the roster and beginning his climb up the depth chart at receiver.
“This has all exceeded my expectations as a walk-on,” Northcroft said. “My first goal in July was to make the travel team, then hopefully get on the two-deep.