Jonny Lester’s path to the Washington State starting lineup has been anything but straight.
A year ago, he was a steady presence at left guard, starting 11 of his 13 games there for the Cougars. This fall, though, he’s settled in somewhere else entirely: right tackle. That shift came after Washington State’s coaching overhaul, with Jimmy Rogers leaving after one season for Iowa State and Kirby Moore arriving a few weeks later to take over the program.
Lester has spent plenty of time moving around the line before, so the change didn’t knock him off course. He bounced between guard and tackle during spring camp and into the summer, and once preseason camp opened, offensive line coach Jack Abercrombie made the call that he had a new full-time home.
On the first day of camp, Abercrombie told Lester he’d be working at right tackle. By the time the Cougars played in the Apple Cup on Sunday, Lester was lined up on the opposite side of Ashton Tripp.
"They like my run blocking," Lester said this week before the team's game at Kansas State. "But they always tell us the best five (linemen) will play, wherever that is."
That willingness to move is a big part of why Lester is still here. He’d rather shift spots than spend more time on the sideline, which is where he spent his first two seasons at WSU.
His road to Pullman started at Northwest Christian of Colbert, a small private school near Spokane and a Class 2B program. Lester played tight end there. At 6-foot-5, he had the frame, but at 250 pounds he wasn’t exactly built like someone who was about to jump into Pac-12 football.
So he waited, and he kept learning the position. His first fall camp in 2022 was rough by his own admission - he said it "was bad."
In 2023 spring camp, he was working with the second-string offensive line. Even then, he still didn’t get onto the field that season and instead used a redshirt year.
By then, two seasons had gone by and Lester still hadn’t played a snap.
"Being a walk-on was hard," Lester said. "I just kept my head down."
The breakthrough came in 2024. Lester appeared in 12 games, mostly on special teams, and wore No. 94 as an extra tight end.
Then came a blow at the end of the season: Lester said then-coach Jake Dickert told him he would not be getting a scholarship after his third year in the program.
That news hit hard. Lester had already completed his undergraduate degree in biology and knew dental school was next. Leaving football and getting started on that path sooner suddenly made sense.
But the coaching change altered everything. Dickert left for Wake Forest, Rogers took over, and the new staff put Lester on scholarship. By then, Lester was up to 318 pounds, still 6-foot-5, and months later he had won the starting left-guard job for the 2025 season.
Now he’s back in the lineup again, just at a different spot - and still moving forward.
In Other News...
Washington State Still Has Major Roster Questions Before Kansas State
Washington States official depth chart for the Kansas State game offered the first real glimpse of how the Cougars are sorting through their lineup this week, and it still leaves plenty of gray area. The chart lays out starters and backups on both sides of the ball, but it also shows the staff is not locked into clean answers yet, with several spots marked by OR designations that suggest live competition or shared roles as kickoff approaches.
The bigger concern may be the absences. Tight ends Trey Leckner and Hudson Cedarland are not listed because of injuries, which adds another layer to a roster already trying to settle itself before a tough matchup. Between the injury-related holes and the unsettled jobs across the chart, Washington State is heading into Saturday with more questions than clarity. [Read more 🡒]
Washington State Heads Into A Road Test With One K State Edge Unclear
Kansas States season opener offered a few early clues for Washington State to study before the Cougars head on the road, and the most important ones may come up front. In a Q&A with Wildcats beat writer Ryan Gilbert, the conversation centered on how the offensive line performed against Nicholls, where the group still looked in search of continuity while dealing with injury setbacks, and how that could shape the way Kansas State handles another game week. For a Washington State defense trying to get ready on short notice, the picture is useful even if it is not fully settled yet.
The Wildcats also came out of the opener with some clearer answers on defense, where a handful of key players stood out and gave the unit a more defined identity heading into Saturday. Gilbert also pointed to the tight end group as a spot worth watching, with Linkon Cure and Garrett Oakley both in the mix for bigger roles as the Wildcats keep sorting out how they want to use that part of the offense. For Washington State, the unresolved pieces matter because they can change the look of the game plan, and the final read on Kansas States personnel is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Moores First Apple Cup Revealed What This Job Really Means
Kirby Moores first Apple Cup as Washington States head coach came with all the noise and pressure that usually get attached to the rivalry, and the setting only sharpened it. Facing 17th-ranked Washington in a competitive loss, Moores debut put him on the sideline for one of the sports most charged in-state stages, the kind of moment that can quickly tell a new coach how different the job feels once the whistle blows.
Moore offered only a limited reaction right after the game, but by the time he spoke again he had already had a chance to sit with what the night meant. The broader family backdrop only adds to it, with coaching debuts for his father Tom and brother Kellen providing their own reference points, but Kirbys first Apple Cup seemed to leave its own mark as well, even if he was still taking time to sort out exactly what it all meant. [Read more 🡒]