As Washington State tries to steady an offense that has been stuck in the mud, Ashton Tripp is one of the few constants the Cougars can point to.
The redshirt junior left tackle has been the most dependable piece on a beleaguered offensive line, even if the results around him have been rough. Outside of a dominant rushing day against FCS opponent Duquesne, Washington State has struggled to generate much push in the run game, especially in Pacific-12 Conference play. And while Tripp has been the unit’s best pass blocker, WSU quarterbacks have still been sacked 31 times, which is fourth-most in the country.
That has forced changes elsewhere. First-year coach Kirby Moore has taken over play-calling duties from Matt Miller, and the Cougars have also moved from Caden Pinnick to Owen Eshelman at quarterback.
“We take a lot of pride in our jobs,” Tripp said during a press conference a few weeks ago. “It’s a direct reflection on us.”
That kind of accountability fits the role Tripp has taken on. He is one of WSU’s six co-captains, and the frustration is clear when he talks about the offense’s struggles. But there’s also a deeper connection behind the way he carries himself in Pullman.
This is the school Tripp has wanted to represent since he was a kid.
He first came to Pullman when he was 10, tagging along with his youth baseball team for a tournament. After he hit a couple of home runs at the downtown ball field, his family decided to walk around campus once the game ended. One stop led to another, and soon they found themselves at Martin Stadium, where the Cougars play.
The front gate was open, so they walked in and down the stairs to the field.
“We saw that the tunnel door was open, too, so we just kept going,” Tripp said.
That little detour took them into the locker rooms and other normally closed-off spaces.
“I was pretty fearless as a 10-year-old,” Tripp said. “I gave myself a little tour and got out of there.”
He never forgot that day. By the time he reached Kennewick High School and grew into college-lineman size, he already knew where he wanted to play.
“Once things were going well for football, I was like, ‘I am definitely going to go play for the Cougars and stay close to home,” Tripp said.
After attending a WSU junior day, he got the scholarship offer he had been hoping for and accepted it a couple of days later.
Since then, he has worked through three different WSU coaches and a different offensive-line coach in each of his four seasons with the Cougars, gradually becoming the anchor up front. Jack Abercrombie, the offensive line coach hired by Moore, said on “The Cougar Football Hour” a few weeks ago that Tripp “is the model of what we are trying to accomplish” along the offensive line.