Kaden Beatty has a knack for two things: making noise in the backfield for Washington State, and making his voice heard everywhere else.
That part of his personality started early, at least if you believe the family story. Beatty says his first word was football - or, as he remembers it, “Doot-dall!”
“My first word was football … but I said it, ‘Doot-dall!’” Beatty said. “It’s true, verify it with my mother.”
The Cougars’ interior tackle has carried that football obsession for as long as he can remember, with three older brothers - James (goes by Michael Jr.), Dakota and Hunter - pushing him in a house where the game was practically a language. Growing up, he said, they never gave him much of an easy ride.
“We would always be outside in the driveway shooting a basketball, and they would be blocking my shot, not taking it easy on me,” said Kaden, who is 13 years younger than Mike Jr. “That is why I have an edge or a chip on my shoulder.”
That edge shows up on Saturdays. It also shows up in the way he carries himself around the program.
Beatty is one of the most visible voices on the roster, a player the media often seeks out and one the athletic department leans on for short promotional reels and campus-wide special-service announcements. He said the communication side of it comes naturally.
“Honestly, I think I got it (ability to communicate) from my dad (Mike Sr.),” Beatty said. “In my eyes, he is the leader of leaders. He has worked at the same company for 35 years, and I’ve always been able to come in and see how he leads his office.”
With Washington State bringing in 50 newcomers during the offseason under first-year coach Kirby Moore, that kind of presence mattered even more. Beatty took on the role of the unofficial welcome committee, making it a point to know everybody around the building.
“I’ve made it a point to know every single person on the team’s name, the (athletic) trainers’ names, the janitor’s name and everyone in the building,” Beatty said. “They know who I am, and I know who they are because it shouldn’t just (be) someone you walk past every single day.”
That connection is part of why he has already served as a captain at WSU and at Kent State. It also explains why the Cougars wanted him front and center after Saturday night’s 26-6 loss to Fresno State at Gesa Field, a flat performance that drew boos from the home crowd and left the mood around the locker room tight.
Beatty didn’t duck the moment. Standing at the post-game podium with streaking eye-black and an intense glare, he answered every question directly and put the blame on the whole operation, not just one unit.
“It is not good enough - not good enough at all,” said Beatty, physically trembling as he spoke. “We need to be better.
Defensively, 26 points? If we held them to zero points, we’d be celebrating now with a victory.
It goes both ways, from offense and defense to special teams - we’ve got to clean everything up. I don’t like it.
I am not happy when we lose. So, we are going to be better and improve.”
By Wednesday, he said the emotion of that scene had settled a bit, even if the honesty remained the same.
“At first, I definitely was stirred up a little bit, and shaken … but Bobby (Alworth, WSU assistant sports information director) said, ‘Let’s take a few deep breaths and be yourself,’ and that is what I did.
“It was all … really just me being me - just real. I am intense at times, but I want to be able to uplift people and lead in the right way.”
In Other News...
Washington State Needs Answers Fast In A Game That Could Reset Everything
Washington State heads into Saturday needing something closer to a clean reset than a simple bounce-back. At 1-4, the Cougars are staring at a conference game against Utah State that carries an early-season weight neither side expected, with both teams still chasing their first league win. Kirby Moore is expected to stick with Caden Pinnick at quarterback, and the bigger question around Pullman is how much the offense can be tweaked to give him a better chance to settle in.
Utah State brings its own urgency and its own plan, likely leaning on Grady Brosterhous under center while trying to make life difficult for Pinnick. The Aggies have a pass rush piece in Matyus McLain who has begun to show real disruption off the edge, and Washington State will have to sort out protection quickly if it wants this game to look less like a stress test and more like a turn in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]
Washington State Faces A Harsh Offensive Question Heading Into Utah State
Washington States offense has been searching for answers for weeks, and the pressure is only growing as the Cougars head toward a visit from Utah State. The recent loss to Fresno State underscored how hard it has been for this group to generate consistent production, and the teams position near the bottom of the early-season Pac-12 picture reflects how much work still remains after a difficult first month.
Kirby Moore has now taken over play-calling duties, a clear sign the Cougars are trying to reset before the next chance to salvage momentum. The challenge is familiar enough by this point: get the offense stabilized, find some rhythm and give a 1-4 team a reason to believe there is still a path forward before the schedule puts even more strain on every possession. [Read more 🡒]
WSUs Offensive Struggles May Not Be On The Line After All
Washington States offense has been searching for answers as the Cougars work through a rough stretch at quarterback and across the front. Caden Pinnick has battled turnovers and taken too many sacks, and coach Kirby Moore has already stepped in to handle playcalling while signaling that the staff may lean on multiple quarterbacks in the weeks ahead, with Julian Dugger and Owen Eshelman among the names in the mix.
The offensive line has also been under the microscope after recent personnel changes, but the picture may be more complicated than a simple line issue. The Cougars have certainly given up sacks, yet Pro Football Focus data points to Pinnick taking a sizable share of the blame on quarterback-fault sacks, which leaves Washington State sorting through a messy mix of protection problems and quarterback play as it tries to stabilize the offense. [Read more 🡒]