Washington State’s quarterback search has become one of the season’s messiest storylines, and if Kirby Moore is already thinking ahead to 2027, the answer might be sitting just down the road in Idaho.
The Cougars still have six games left in a rough rebooted Pac-12 season, but a late push to a bowl game looks unlikely. Sophomore Caden Pinnick has started all six games at quarterback, and though he has shown flashes as a dual threat, his turnovers and decision-making have been major issues.
His demeanor has also drawn notice. If Moore eventually pivots to redshirt senior Zevi Eckhaus, who threw for 2,094 yards and 15 touchdowns in 10 starts last year, or redshirt sophomore Julian Dugger - perhaps even for the next game at Oregon State - it still leaves the bigger question hanging: who can actually stabilize this offense going forward?
That’s where Idaho quarterback Joshua Wood enters the conversation.
For Washington State fans wary of another run at FCS waters, the idea may not sound ideal. Pinnick was supposed to be the dual-threat answer from UC Davis, and that hasn’t translated at the FBS level. Wood, though, is a different case entirely.
He arrived at Idaho in 2025 after transferring from Fresno State, where he originally signed out of Graham-Kapowsin High School near Tacoma, Wash. When Moore was Fresno State’s offensive coordinator and Wood joined the program in 2022, Wood was viewed as an unfinished project - raw in both mechanics and overall polish. But the talent was always obvious.
That talent showed up early in high school. In a short but eye-catching prep career, Wood helped lead Graham-Kapowsin to one of the most dominant state title runs in Washington football history, finishing with a WIAA Class 4A championship and a 14-0 record. A few weeks later, Graham-Kapowsin was invited to the GEICO State Champions Bowl Series and matched up with a Collins Hill team featuring Travis Hunter that was ranked No. 7 in the country at the time.
Wood delivered in the biggest moment. He drove his team 63 yards in 28 seconds, finishing the comeback with a 32-yard strike to Stephen Mars in the back of the end zone for the final touchdown in a 40-36 win with one second left.
His college path took longer to develop. Wood sat his first two seasons at Fresno State, then appeared in all 13 games in 2024, seeing his most extensive action in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Northern Illinois.
Since moving to Idaho, the production has been there in a big way: in 16 starts at the FCS level, he has thrown for 3,601 yards, 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has also added 852 rushing yards and 14 scores.
Wood also just backed up the résumé in a way that should get attention. The night before Washington State wrapped up its three-game homestand with a rough showing against Fresno State, Wood guided Idaho to one of the Vandals’ biggest recent wins, upsetting defending national champion and top-ranked Montana State. Down two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, he threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Jezioro on the final play, then ran in the two-point conversion to seal a 35-34 win in the Kibbie Dome.
Whether Moore watched that game from the WSU team hotel or not, he probably didn’t need to. He knows what Wood can do.
There is, of course, the question of whether Wood would even be interested in moving on. A source close to him said his goal has always been to get back to the FBS level.
Washington State does have one promising name on the way in the 2027 recruiting class: Ryan Harrington, a dual-threat quarterback from Anacortes High School with plenty of upside.
But if the Cougars need someone ready to step in and run the offense for a season, Wood would make plenty of sense as a transfer-portal target. Under current NCAA eligibility rules, he would also have a strong case to play one more year.
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Washington State's Latest Collapse Exposes A Problem Fans Know Too Well
Washington State had every reason to feel in control at halftime against Utah State, carrying a 16-3 lead and looking positioned to turn a close game into a needed win. Instead, the Cougars were stuck reliving a familiar kind of frustration, one that has shadowed the program too often when a game tightens and the margin for error disappears.
The second half brought a complete stall, with Washington State managing only 64 yards after the break and giving away the kind of possessions that can flip a result in a hurry. Utah State turned those mistakes into two touchdowns off fumbles and walked out with a 17-16 win, leaving the Cougars to sort through another collapse that felt avoidable and all too recognizable. [Read more 🡒]