WSU TE Jack Pedersen flourishing, QB Julian Dugger bounces back and other notes from Cougars’ sixth spring practice

PULLMAN – When you talk to him, one thing stands out about Jack Pedersen, one of Washington State’s new tight ends.

He doesn’t really like to talk about the way he’s standing out on the field.

“It’s always about the team and the guys up front and the quarterback and running back,” Pedersen said. “The guys around us.”

But after Tuesday’s WSU practice, the team’s sixth of the spring slate, Pedersen didn’t have much of a choice. On one play in a team period, the fifth-year senior turned around at the goal line, boxed his defender out and hauled in a touchdown pass from Caden Pinnick, one of three quarterbacks vying for the starting job this fall.

That comes on the heels of the Cougars’ Saturday practice in Spokane, where Pedersen found himself on the receiving end – pun fully intended – of a couple trick play passes. He jogged into the end zone untouched on both of those plays. He looked comfortable in the open field, prancing across the turf like a speedy wide receiver, not the 6-foot-5 veteran tight end he is.

All of which is to say: The more the image of WSU’s offense crystallizes, the more it becomes clear that Pedersen could figure prominently into it.

“I think Coach has a great game plan in place for when we come out here and compete every day against the defense,” Pedersen said. “My teammates around me allow me to make some of those plays. I’m just looking forward to continuing to make them, whether that’s with the rock or not, just being able to contribute to this team as much as I can.”

Can Pedersen earn a starting role in head coach Kirby Moore and offensive coordinator Matt Miller’s offense? He certainly has the resume. Pedersen spent the first four years of his career at UCLA, where he totaled 23 catches for 198 yards and one touchdown. He played in one game in 2022, five in 2023, 12 in 2024 (with four starts) and 11 games with one start last season, reeling in 11 receptions for 72 yards in his final campaign with the Bruins.

But is that enough to usurp other players at his position? One of the Cougars set to miss the entirety of spring practices with an injury is tight end Trey Leckner, who has two years of experience at WSU, including starting nine games last season. Leckner may not have Pedersen’s size – he’s listed at 6-foot-3 – but with his athleticism and reliable hands, Leckner has flourished as a pass-catcher. If he were healthy and the Cougs’ season started tomorrow, it’s likely he would start.

But because of Leckner’s absence, WSU tight ends are getting chances to shine, and Pedersen is taking full advantage. He became a Cougar thanks in large part to wide receivers coach Derek Sage, who was working at UCLA when Pedersen was a high school prospect. Sage recruited him, as did WSU tight ends coach Derham Cato, who was working at rival Washington at that time.

“Thankfully, it didn’t work out and I didn’t go over there,” Pedersen said with a laugh, referring to the Cougars and Huskies’ rivalry. “Obviously, I’ve been in college quite a bit some time, five, six years ago, they (relationships) still are strong. I came up on a visit. Like I said, Pullman’s a lot different than what I’m used to, but I thoroughly enjoyed it when I visited. I felt like it was the right fit for me.”

“Just the flexibility in terms of routes that they can run from different spots on the field,” Moore said about the tight end position. “Catch radius, we talked about the red zone and the field shortening – well, there’s room for error for the quarterback, or you’re bodying up a guy, and it’s almost a rebound opportunity if you want to correlate it to basketball.”

Dugger records one of his best practices of spring

As WSU’s QB battle unfolds and Pinnick, Owen Eshleman and Julian Dugger jockey for position, coaches haven’t exactly tipped their hands. They’ve been complimentary of all three, and the competition figures to continue into fall camp.

But if it’s possible for two QBs to inch ahead of a third after five spring practices, it appeared that Pinnick and Eshelman were doing so, unleashing pinpoint throws to the end zone in Spokane. Dugger didn’t feature as prominently in that portion of practice, and in others, he missed a few more throws than his teammates.

An athletic dual-threat QB, Dugger did well to bounce back on Tuesday morning. He turned in what was likely his best practice of the spring, handing out a couple touchdown passes in red zone drills. He did lose one fumble on a botched handoff, but besides that, he looked sharp.

Pinnick and Eshleman did too, to be sure. On one team period play, Pinnick unfurled a perfect throw on a rollout, and Eshelman aired it out to a wide open Noah Westbrook on another. It’s unclear whether Dugger is behind those two in any measurable way, but if he is, he did well to make up some ground on Tuesday.

WSU set to hold first scrimmage on Saturday

On the previous two Saturdays, the Cougars traveled once to Pasco and once to Spokane, where they held open practices and kids camps. But they’ll be in Pullman for the remainder of spring practices. Next up this Saturday is the team’s first scrimmage.

The Cougs are expected to practice with “some” full-contact periods, Moore said, but maybe not for the whole scrimmage. In past comments, Moore has indicated the importance he places on keeping players healthy and injury-free.