Retooling under Rogers: New WSU coach blends newcomers, holdovers as Cougs look for big Pac-2 sendoff

Washington State is in a peculiar place this fall. The Cougars have a new head coach and 74 new players. They’re in their second and final year operating outside the confines of a traditional conference. They’re playing one opponent, the only one in their conference this season, twice in a span of four weeks.

In those ways, new coach Jimmy Rogers and Co. are walking into a WSU situation unlike any other in program history. Before the rebuilt Pac-12 launches next season, the Cougars have cobbled together a schedule with foes from across the country, including archrival Washington for Pullman’s first Apple Cup in three years, one home and away game apiece against Pac-12 holdover Oregon State, a road matchup with SEC opponent Ole Miss and two games on the East Coast, facing Virginia and James Madison.

The interesting part is coaches aren’t detailing many of the faces who will be guiding WSU to all those places. The Cougars won’t announce a starting quarterback at all, Rogers said earlier this month, meaning everyone outside the team will find out at the same time: When one of Zevi Eckhaus, Julian Dugger, Jaxon Potter or Ajani Sheppard comes jogging out for the season’s first snap on Aug. 30. It’s the latest instance of WSU coaches protecting every competitive advantage they can find.

But plenty of names at other positions have risen to the top of rotations. Returning offensive linemen Brock Dieu and Christian Hilborn will anchor WSU’s front five, South Dakota State transfers Tucker Large, Matt Durrance and Cale Reeder will man the safety spots, wide receiver Josh Meredith will likely start at his position and the Cougars will also get a boost at running back from SDSU transfers Angel Johnson and Kirby Vorhees. Look for returner Bryson Lamb and SDSU transfer Max Baloun to hold things down on the defensive line as well.

However this wacky WSU season goes, expect those names and others to come up on a consistent basis, underscoring the mishmash of players old and new who will take the Cougs as far as they will go.

Offense

The structure of WSU’s offense should be relatively easy to follow. Under Rogers and new offensive coordinator Danny Freund, the Cougars will likely be anchored by the run, making running backs Johnson and Vorhees prominent figures.

It’s the tip of the spear that is harder to identify. WSU has elected not to announce a starting quarterback at all, meaning any of the four QBs vying for starting duties could take the first snap against Idaho.

Based on observations from the Cougs’ fall camp, the leader of the pack appears to be Eckhaus, who started WSU’s bowl game last season. He is by far the most experienced of the bunch, and with an improved running game to pair with his sharp arm talent, he made the kinds of plays during fall camp that coaches are looking for out of their starter.

But whoever starts will need to be kept upright. Those responsibilities go to WSU’s offensive line, which has two bona fide starters in center Dieu and right tackle Hilborn. Third-year sophomore Ashton Tripp appears ready to start at left tackle, and fourth-year junior Johnny Lester looks to have a hold on the left guard spot. The only question mark is at the right guard position, where returner Noah Dunham and transfer AJ Vaipulu are competing for the starting role.

At wide receiver, a combination of returner Meredith and transfers Devin Ellison and Jeremiah Noga will try to open things up down the field. The Cougs will also hope for a boost from their tight ends, namely Michigan State transfer Ademola Faleye, South Dakota State transfer Beau Baker and returner Trey Leckner.

Defense

In defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit’s 4-3 look, the head of the snake on the Cougs’ defense is in the secondary, where a trio of safeties will hold things down: Large, Reeder and Durrance, all veteran transfers from South Dakota State. They figure to turn what was once a weakness of the WSU defense into a real strength, eliminating some of the long passing plays that secondaries of past Cougar teams yielded with regularity.

WSU’s defense also returns serious experience at the cornerback spots, where SDSU transfer Colby Humphrey and returner Jamorri Colson will likely start. Colson first broke onto the scene late in the 2023 season, while Humphrey spent the first three years of his career at FCS Northern Arizona before taking his talents to SDSU for the 2024 campaign.

Things are a little different at the linebacker spot, where redshirt freshman transfer Anthony Palano will start at middle linebacker, making a 19-year-old the quarterback of WSU’s defense. With a sterling fall camp, he’s earned the trust of Bobbit and others, as have the two linebackers who project to start around him: Veterans Parker McKenna and Caleb Francl, the latter of whom also transferred from South Dakota State.

It’s also possible the Cougs get contributions from one true freshman linebacker, Sullivan Schlimgen, who Rogers has raved about since fall camp kicked off. Schlimgen is wise beyond his years, Rogers said, adding later that Schlimgen will likely play more than four games and exhaust his redshirt eligibility.

The Cougars also have plenty of depth on their defensive line, where DEs Raam Stevenson and Buddha Peleti will likely flank tackles Baloun and Lamb, the latter of whom is poised for a breakout season after working his way up the WSU depth chart in recent years. Transfers Darrion Dalton, Kaden Beatty, Mike Sandjo and Soni Finau will also likely see snaps.

Special teams

The Cougars’ placekicking duties are likely to go to redshirt freshman Jack Stevens, who sat out as a true freshman last season at South Dakota State.

Handling kickoffs will be third-year sophomore Ryan Harris, who also held that job last season at WSU.

More up in the air are WSU’s kick and punt returning gigs. Junior Tony Freeman returned punts for the Cougars last season, making him a strong candidate again this year, but Large could also get in on that battle. He returned punts for SDSU in 2023.

Coaches will also consider veteran receiver Leyton Smithson for kickoff returns, which he did in 2023, when he returned one for a touchdown. In on the battle for the longsnapping job will be fifth-year senior Colson Brunner, transfer Colton Peoples and returner Sean Bures.