On WSU’s offensive line, a couple position battles rage on after Day 8 of fall camp

PULLMAN – Ashton Tripp needed about half a second to describe Taylor Lucas’ coaching style.

“Intense,” Tripp said of Lucas, Washington State’s new offensive line coach.

Tripp, in position to win the Cougars’ starting left tackle job, likes that about Lucas. During WSU’s fall camp, which wrapped up its eighth day on Thursday afternoon, Lucas has leveraged that quality to his advantage, working to integrate a host of new offensive linemen, all of whom have been rotating in and out with the top units.

After one redshirt year and one season low on playing time, Tripp has taken the reins of the left tackle position, where he’s most comfortable. Listed at 6-foot-7 and 303 pounds, Tripp’s size belies his speed, which is why he fashions himself a tackle. With Lucas’ help, he’s made a concerted effort on accelerating his jump out of his set, which has unlocked a better punch – the move offensive linemen use to knock away opposing rushers.

“Our run game has been pretty solid,” Tripp said, “but our pass (protection), you’ve seen some leakage a little bit, so definitely getting to our spot, getting to our punch quick.”

Putting together the best starting group has been a balancing act for Lucas, who has several options to toggle between. He has two veterans who are shoo-ins for starting jobs, center Brock Dieu and right tackle Christian Hilborn, but other gigs are up for grabs. New Mexico State transfer AJ Vaipulu and returner Noah Dunham have been rotating at the right guard spot, and Division II Grand Valley State transfer Jaylin Caldwell has gotten some looks at left tackle alongside Tripp.

Fellow returner Johnny Lester appears to have WSU’s left guard job all but locked up, which means three of the five positions on the Cougars’ offensive line are likely filled. But competition rages on at left tackle and right guard, where Dunham got first-team reps in Thursday’s practice. Vaipulu, a veteran of three seasons with the Aggies, had been getting those in the past few days of practice.

“We’re still competing,” Lucas said. “They both know, and we’re just rotating them, really, between days, team series, live opportunities. It’s similar to our left tackle battle.”

What are the cases for Vaipulu and Dunham? The best pitch for Vaipulu likely centers around experience. In three years at New Mexico State, the 6-foot-2 guard logged 37 starts in 39 games, all at the guard spots (he started one game at center). Last season, he earned an All-Conference USA second-team honor, allowing just one sack on 20 pressures.

It’s also clear Vaipulu shares a strong connection with Mike Iupati, the Cougs’ assistant offensive line coach, who is working his first coaching gig. After Thursday’s practice wrapped up, the duo walked off the Gesa Field turf and headed to a nearby bench, where they sat and chatted. They share Polynesian heritage, which is perhaps an understated part of Iupati’s benefit to WSU, a longtime developer of Samoan talent.

“AJ has really surprised me,” Dieu said last week. “I knew he was gonna be good, but he’s strong, and he’s quick in there.”

The best case for Dunham is likely about size, which matters in what figures to be a run-centric WSU offense. Dunham is listed at 6-5 and 289 pounds, a full three inches taller than Vaipulu. He’s used that to become an effective run blocker, clearing the way for running backs like Angel Johnson and Kirby Vorhees, a critical ability in this new Cougar offense.

Dunham may not have Vaipulu’s experience – the former has yet to play a full season, redshirting in 2023 before playing three games in 2024 – but if coaches value what Dunham can do with his frame, they might look his way for the right guard position.

At left tackle, Caldwell has mostly been running with WSU’s second-team unit, but he’s also seen his fair share of first-team opportunities. A two-year starter at Grand Valley State, which is located in Michigan, Caldwell is listed at 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds, giving him by far the biggest frame of any WSU offensive linemen in serious consideration for starting duties this season.

For Caldwell, the question is if he’s ready for that kind of job this fall, or in the ones to come. He has the size and the tools but lacks the experience at the Division I level. It’s possible he renders that meaningless with a flourish to fall camp – but either way, it’s a remarkable story for Caldwell, whose coaches liked him enough to pull him up an entire division.

“I’ve coached at every level of college football, been fortunate, and good football is good football,” Lucas said. “You watch a good player on tape and it carries over. We started meeting, we got to know him through the recruiting process. Really loved his personality, knew he was gonna come be a worker, and it really helped us make that decision.”