Washington State is keeping its starting offensive line intact for Arizona after a reshuffle helped fuel Saturday’s win.
Kirby Moore said Monday that the group he rolled out against Arizona will stay together, with Jonny Lester sliding from right tackle to left guard and Jaylin Caldwell stepping in at right tackle. Ashton Tripp held down left tackle, Noah Dunham worked at center and Nick Bakken lined up at right guard, while Kyle Martin was the one left out of the starting five.
“That'll be the plan,” Moore said. “There were a couple big runs there going left, so Jonny and Tripp and Noah doing a good job there. We're still going to need Jaylin, we're going to need Kyle, we're going to need all six of those guys and keep each other fresh throughout the season.”
Special teams remains a little less settled. Kickers have been a problem for WSU this season, with Jack Stevens hitting just 1-of-5 field goals and also missing an extra point on Saturday.
Even some of his makes have barely sneaked through. Miguel Arenas is also on the roster as the team’s kickoff specialist, and Moore didn’t announce a switch - but he also didn’t close the door on one.
“We're going to go back to work,” Moore said. “I think that's the most important thing for us.
Operation, there's been snap issues, there's been protection issues. Obviously, we missed one there on Saturday.
Jack's made a ton of kicks throughout the offseason, looking forward to seeing him make a bunch of kicks this week in practice.”
There’s also uncertainty in the secondary, where cornerback Jalil Tucker was dressed for warmups Saturday but was ruled out before kickoff. It was the second straight game he missed after suffering a leg injury in the Apple Cup. Moore said Tucker is close, but his status for Saturday is still up in the air.
“It's very day to day,” Moore said. “He was out there for pregame.
He was out there warming up, just made the decision close to game time that he wasn't going to go. And so we have to see where he's at here this week and anticipate being close to game time there on Saturday.”
Moore also touched on a few players who have helped shape the offense and defense in limited but important ways. On running back Maxwell Woods, he pointed to the value of mixing styles in the backfield.
“We have to find a lot of ways to get guys who are making plays. And you see how many times he's gotten the ball and the explosives that have shown up.
He's shifty. And he does a nice job of kind of getting wiggly there.
Kirby (Vorhees) has the one cut and go. And sometimes Max is shifty there in the open field.
And so those guys really balance each other out.”
At safety, Jackquintin Bal has earned more attention with his chances, especially as WSU looks for speed on the field against an Arizona offense that spreads things out.
“Jack's done a really nice job with the opportunities that he's had in the first couple games. Open field tackles have shown up.
He had a nice one there in the Kansas State game as well. And we have to find ways to get as much speed on the field as we can.
Obviously, Arizona does a really nice job of spreading out. So we're going to need those guys in the secondary to show up.”
Moore also praised cornerback Kai Rapolla for taking a step forward after Kansas State and again on Saturday, especially in coverage and in how he chased plays down in the open field.
“I thought Kai really improved. There were a couple times there in the Kansas State game where they did a nice job of forcing the ball on the corner. And then there on Saturday, he did a very good job in coverage and rallying as a teammate in the open field and so we have to keep building on that.”
He also noted the work of several others, including Nylan Brown, Kai, and Jack Ellison, for handling their leverage well. Moore said Nylan’s technique stood out, specifically his decision to use the proper method rather than drawing a block in the back, and credited him with carrying that work from practice into the game.
On linebacker Paul, Moore had nothing but praise for the way he carries himself and helps the group.
“Paul's got a great personality. He comes to work every day with a smile on his face.
He's a great teammate. I think he just loves playing football.
His energy out on the field is contagious. I think the players just love being around him and he's built a ton of relationships here in a short amount of time.”
Moore said that approach started on day one of the offseason, and he credited Paul for helping keep the group pointed in the right direction.
“That started from day one of the offseason. But give him a ton of credit for making sure he's encouraging his teammates, being honest at the same time of where we're at and where we're at fault, defensively and offensively. And obviously, you want things to be player-led as much as you possibly can, and he did a really good job making sure we had the right mindset there coming out of half.”
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