PULLMAN - The first day of fall camp at Washington State brought a little bit of everything Thursday at Rogers Field: a fast tempo, a few encouraging throws, some missed deep balls and an offensive line still being shuffled into place.
It was also the debut of Kirby Moore’s first practice of the fall as head coach, and he liked what he saw overall even if there was plenty left to sort out.
“Great energy to start the first day. A lot of details to clean up,” Moore said.
“I thought there was some good verbal combat, communication on both sides of the ball, offense, defense, some good work in special teams. We gotta get them in playing shape.
But it was a good first day, good start.”
The afternoon heat was part of the equation too. With temperatures in the mid-80s and the sun baking the artificial turf, the Cougars moved quickly through a session that matched the weather in intensity.
One player who looked ready for the grind was Kaden Beatty. The fourth-year junior defensive tackle said he’s leaned into a bigger leadership role this season, and he backs it up with a pretty simple routine: eight hours of sleep every night. Beatty says he wears himself out during the day by being “go, go, go, all the time.”
By the time he gets home, he said, there isn’t much left to do.
“I can lay down, and it’s time for lights-out,” Beatty said.
Quarterback play was always going to be the headline of this camp, and Thursday offered the first glimpse at a three-man battle involving UC Davis transfer Caden Pinnick and returners Owen Eshleman and Julian Dugger. All three rotated through reps with the first, second and third groups, so there was no immediate clarity about who was truly getting the top work.
The early returns were uneven. Pinnick and Eshleman both found success on shorter and intermediate throws over the middle, many of them going to veteran receiver Tony Freeman. But on deeper attempts, both quarterbacks left passes hanging and overthrew their targets for incompletions.
That kind of inconsistency is not unusual on Day 1, but it wasn’t exactly new either. Similar issues showed up during spring practices in March and April, and Moore said the answer is more time, more communication and more reps.
“Timing, being on the same page,” Moore said. “We got to have a lot of dialogue, more communication, more reps with the receivers, tight ends, backs and the quarterbacks.
The first one, that was a great opportunity for us to make a play. Obviously, we threw it again on the next series of plays, and we got to keep throwing it.
Sometimes the defense can dictate where the ball goes, and if it’s a deep one, we gotta take advantage of those opportunities.”
Dugger took a slightly different path Thursday. He didn’t test the field as often downfield, instead turning a couple of plays into scramble chances and taking a simulated sack from defensive end Malachi Wrice at one point.
The other big takeaway from the opener was that Washington State may be experimenting with its offensive line more than expected. One group featured Ashton Tripp at left tackle, Kyle Martin at left guard, Noah Dunham at center, Nick Bakken at right guard and Jonny Lester at right tackle.
That alignment included a few notable switches. Martin is usually at center.
Dunham normally works at right guard. Lester is most comfortable at guard, though he has lined up at tackle in games when injuries forced the issue.
Missing from that setup were veterans Max McCree and Jaylin Caldwell, one of whom appears likely to win the right tackle job. McCree handled that spot during spring ball while Caldwell recovered from an injury, and Caldwell has since returned.
That leaves several questions still open. Is Lester getting work at right tackle because the staff wants him there in games?
Are Martin and Dunham being tested in new spots as the coaches search for the best combination? Bakken was also in the mix for the right guard job, but that could shift if Dunham stays at center, which he did at times in spring.
“We’re gonna shoot out a lot of different lineups there, and we’re trying to find our best five up front,” Moore said. “There’s guys with experience at tackle, guard, some versatility with those guys at center.
We gotta figure out who our best five is, what they do really well, and that’s not gonna happen right away. But we gotta make sure there’s really good communication because all five gotta be on the same page.”
On defense, tackles Paul Hutson and Balaam Miller made some of the more noticeable plays. Miller got a hand up to bat down a pass from Pinnick, and the Cougars’ front did a solid job stacking up inside runs. They also stayed disciplined against hard counts and didn’t jump offsides.
Beatty, never shy on the sideline, summed up that part pretty well before one snap: “Nah, we’re too disciplined.”
After a long, hot first day, maybe that eight hours of sleep really does help.
In Other News...
Three WSU Veterans Are Setting The Tone As Camp Battles Heat Up
Washington States camp has already started sorting out more than just depth charts. Kirby Moore pointed to wide receiver Tony Freeman and defensive ends Linus Zunk and Matyus McLain as veterans helping set the standard, with their work ethic and day-to-day impact standing out as the Cougars continue ramping up for the season. For a team trying to establish itself under a new staff voice, that kind of steady presence matters just as much as the obvious battles on the field.
Those battles are picking up across several spots, including tight end, right tackle and running back, giving camp a little extra edge as August unfolds. Moore also said the staff is still waiting for clarification on a new roster rule, another layer to manage while the Cougars sort through personnel and roles. In the meantime, the leadership from Freeman, Zunk and McLain has given Washington State a baseline to lean on while the competition sharpens around them. [Read more 🡒]