WSU notebook: Jake Dickert hoping for more rules clarity after Utah State game, injury updates and more

PULLMAN – Jake Dickert still isn’t sure about the rules for pass interference during fake punts.

Washington State’s head coach shared as much on Monday, saying that after Utah State benefited from a pass-interference call on a fake punt late in Saturday’s second quarter, he contacted officials from the SEC, Big Ten and Pac-12 about the ruling and whether it should have stood.

“No one has any idea of the rule, if it’s pass interference or not,” Dickert said.

As Dickert understood it and teaches it to his players, pass interference doesn’t apply on fake punts because when the receiving team is blocking the kicking team’s outside players – in this case receivers – it would allow the passer to lob a pass to a receiver who’s being blocked and get an easy pass interference call.

“That’s the spirit of the rule,” Dickert said. “So whether you’re throwing it wide to the gunners and simulating punts, or you’re throwing vertical balls to the inside, to me, the spirit of the rule – there’s no pass interference on punt plays. Those kids can’t determine that. That’s why you have that rule, so you can’t just see somebody blocking, throw it at them and say you have a PI.”

That’s actually not what happened during Saturday’s game. WSU safety Tanner Moku recognized the fake punt, drifted back in coverage and leapt to defend the pass from reaching USU receiver Jack Hestera, and that’ when an official threw the flag for pass interference. It didn’t cost the Cougs – nickelback Kapena Gushiken intercepted a pass near the end zone – but it did rob them of a chance to field a punt and get better field position.

After the call, officials told Dickert that the ball was thrown too low to simulate a punt, which is why they threw the flag. Dickert responded that Utah State’s previous punts were also of the low line-drive variety, which is why he disagreed with their interpretation of the rule. On Monday, he indicated he doesn’t think that line of reasoning adds up to begin with.

“I think there needs to be a referendum sent out to every coach, like, what is the exact rule,” Dickert said. “Because if we’re determining it based on the flight of the ball, that’s not good. So it just needs to be really clarified.”

Dickert also shared that he felt the officials missed two calls before the snap: An illegal motion by a USU player nearest to the sideline and an illegal shift. Here is the replay.

In Dicket’s view, teams are getting particularly creative with their plays – “(Oregon coach) Dan Lanning’s great,” he said, “they’ve got linemen scoring touchdowns off gate plays” – so much so that officials need to provide more clarity on obscure rules like these.

“It’s getting really hard to defend this stuff, and people are doing it more because you can’t officiate it,” Dickert said. “That’s a hard spot for these guys to officiate – who’s on, who’s off, who’s eligible, who’s not. It’s a punt play. All these numbers can catch the ball. There’s just a million things that are really challenging. I think they can really look hard at it and clean our game up a little bit.”

Battle for LG spot open

WSU may have started Rod Tialavea at left guard for Saturday’s game against Utah State, but that isn’t a permanent arrangement, Dickert said . Like they did last week, the Cougars will let Tialavea and Christian Hilborn fight for the starting left guard spot during practice, which will determine who starts for that weekend’s game.

Hilborn, the incumbent starter, was benched for Tialavea in the second half of WSU’s win over San Diego State on Oct. 26. Tialavea played the entirety of Saturday’s game at left guard, while Hilborn only subbed in for extra-point and field -goal blocking.

Dickert shared last week that he feels like Tialavea is the better run blocker of the two. In the USU game, Tialavea finished with WSU’s worst run-blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus, which handed him a grade of 51.8.

Pair of injured players

WSU true freshman running back Wayshawn Parker piled up 149 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s game against Utah State, but his last carry came midway through the third quarter. He exited early with an injury, headed off to the locker room and didn’t return for the rest of the game.

On Monday, Dickert said the team feels “pretty good” about Parker’s availability for the Cougars’ road game against New Mexico this weekend. Parker is WSU’s top rusher, collecting 595 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 103 carries this season.

WSU wide receiver Tre Shackelford, who has 10 catches for 144 yards and one touchdown this season, missed Saturday’s game with a heel contusion, Dickert said. The team is “very hopeful” Shackelford can return for this Saturday’s game.

2025 class grows to 20 recruits

The Cougars’ latest pledge comes from three-star wide receiver Jack Foley, who flipped his commitment from Wake Forest to WSU, sharing both decisions on Monday. Foley, a standout at Mountain View High in Bend, Oregon, has piled up 42 receptions for 783 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.

Foley turned down offers from Utah State, Air Force and Idaho State to become a Cougar. WSU initially offered Foley in late January, and he took his official visit to WSU in June. But he announced his commitment to the ACC’s Wake Forest in September, taking his talents to the Demon Deacons, who are 4-5 this fall.

Foley, a 6-foot-4 receiver, becomes the third receiver in the Cougars’ class of 2025, joining three-star prospects Noah Westbrook and Sean Embree, both California products.