Washington State gave fans one of college football’s best moments on Monday, and it came in the form of four walk-ons finally hearing their names called.
In a video posted by WSU football, Kirby Moore gathered the team and announced that long snapper Sean Bures, linebackers Jack Ellison and Gavin Fugate, and defensive end Jack Procter were all being placed on scholarship. The clip carried the title “Earned, not given.”
The reaction from their teammates told the whole story. The celebration inside the room was loud, emotional and impossible to fake, the kind of scene that still cuts through all the noise around modern college athletics.
Bures is entering his fourth season in the program and had just one game appearance last season before becoming the starting long snapper. The 6-0, 215-pound Lacey native from North Thurston High will handle snaps on both punts and placements.
Ellison is in his third year with the Cougars and, as he told Cougfan.com last September, he wasn’t even sure he would make the roster. Instead, the 6-3, 230-pound product of AG West Black Hills High in Tumwater played in 13 games last season, started one, and finished with 11 tackles. He’s expected back in the rotation this year.
Fugate has been in the program for four seasons and has not yet appeared in a game at WSU. Still, the 6-3, 233-pound WF West High product from Chehalis is on track to become a special teams fixture in 2026.
Then there’s Procter, who Jake Dickert nicknamed “Procodile.” He’s in his fifth year with the Cougars and has played in only two games over the last four seasons.
Even so, he kept grinding through spring and fall camp, worked extra reps after practice and brought energy to everyone around him. The defensive end from Point Roberts, Wash., a town of about 1,300, is expected to see spot duty in 2026.
Procter’s background adds another layer to the story. Point Roberts sits north of the San Juan Islands, about 14 miles due east of Blaine across Boundary Bay, and it can only be reached by boat, plane or by driving through Canada.
Because there are no high schools in Point Roberts, local students either cross the border four times a day to attend Blaine High or go to a private school in British Columbia. Procter attended Vancouver College.
At a time when money drives so much of the sport, Monday’s moment landed because it was about something simpler: players who kept showing up, kept working and finally got rewarded. That’s why scenes like this still matter, and why college football can still feel bigger than its flaws.
In Other News...
Washington State's Apple Cup Hopes May Hinge On One Transfer Defender
Washington State has spent fall camp leaning hard into defense under new coordinator Trent Bray, and the early focus has landed on a transfer who could end up shaping the Cougars biggest game of the season. Jeremiah Bernard, the Cal Poly transfer expected to start at strong safety, has been a prominent figure in practice as the staff looks for steadiness and playmaking on the back end.
Bernards development in coverage has stood out during camp, a sign the Cougars may have found an immediate contributor in a spot that will be tested quickly. With the Apple Cup looming against rival Washington, Washington State will be counting on that safety play to help set the tone for a defense Bray wants to define the team. [Read more 🡒]
Washington State Just Got An Early Sign Fans Will Love
A few early signs are starting to emerge for Washington States womens soccer team, and the most encouraging one came in a home win over UC Irvine at Lower Soccer Field. The Cougars handled the Anteaters 2-0, backing up a clean sheet with a composed attacking finish and another polished defensive effort, the kind of start a team can build on as the season settles in.
Senior forward Lexi Lee broke the match open late, giving Washington State the lead before freshman Delaney Hawkins added an insurance goal in the final minute. In goal, Ashlyn Dvorak was back from injury and steady throughout, making four saves to help secure her first career shutout, a return that gives the Cougars a little more confidence in the weeks ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Cougs Fans Just Lost A Coach Tied To A Special Era
Bill Doba, the longtime Washington State football coach whose career on the Palouse stretched across nearly two decades, has died at 85. Before taking over as head coach in 2003, he had already become a familiar figure in the program through 19 seasons in a variety of roles, and his rise to the top job came during one of the most memorable stretches in recent Cougars history.
Dobas early success as head coach helped define that era, and he was recognized as Pac-10 Coach of the Year in his first season at the helm. His tenure later settled into the fuller, more complicated reality of building and sustaining a program, but for Washington State fans, his name remains tied to a special moment when the Cougs were very much part of the national conversation. [Read more 🡒]