On Day 1 of WSU spring ball under Kirby Moore, DBs make plays and TEs get chances to shine
PULLMAN – Brandyn Thompson was barely done with one celebration before he had to jump into another. Washington State’s cornerbacks coach was hyping up safety Jeremiah Bernard, who had just picked off a pass during Thursday’s spring practice opener, prompting a host of teammates to mob him along the sideline.
Then, just as the hooting and hollering and swarming under the Taylor Sports Complex roof began to dissipate, another pass came whirring down the field. This time, third-year sophomore safety Kayo Patu won his 1-on-1 drill and picked it off.
Thompson turned away from Bernard and embraced Patu. Several of his teammates did, too.
“I thought those guys in 1-on-1s did a really good job competing, really sticky in terms of playing on the tight ends in the slots, and that’s what we want to see,” WSU head coach Kirby Moore said, moments after his first practice at the program’s helm wrapped up. “Coach Brandyn does a really good job of designing opportunities for our defensive backs to challenge guys.”
On the first day of WSU’s spring practice slate, which took place indoors because of the chilly morning temperatures in Pullman, that kind of scene best described things. It was something of a wobbly day for the Cougars’ offense, which experienced a handful of drops in 1-on-1 drills and team periods, while their defense took control with plays like those from Bernard and Patu.
Otherwise, the rest of the Cougs’ spring opener went about as expected. UC Davis transfer quarterback Caden Pinnick took reps with what appeared to be WSU’s first-team offense, which included expected faces like running back Kirby Vorhees, wide receiver Tony Freeman and offensive linemen Ashton Tripp, Johnny Lester, Kyle Martin, Noah Dunham and Washington transfer Maximus McCree.
This spring (and potentially fall) Pinnick is competing for the starting job with returners Owen Eshelman and Julian Dugger. Asked what he saw from that group, one word came to Moore’s mind immediately: “Efficiency.”
“I saw them take care of the football in terms of decision making,” Moore said, referring to one of his key criteria. “There were some scramble drill opportunities. I feel like they made good decisions in terms of when to run, when to find windows, and so it’s a good first day to build on.”
That first-team unit also included a few surprise faces, including redshirt freshman wide receiver Noah Westbrook and Missouri transfer wideout Daniel Blood, both of whom are part of what is suddenly a crowded room at receiver. Also competing for snaps in that department will be Florida transfer Tank Hawkins, Oregon State transfer Darrius Clemons, junior college transfer Ryan McKendry and others.
On Thursday, the Cougars’ first-team defense included defensive ends Linus Zunk and Matyus McLain, the former a transfer from Vanderbilt and the latter a transfer from nearby Idaho. It also featured linebackers DJ Warner and Nylan Brown, which came as no surprise, as well as safety Jack Bal, cornerback Jalil Tucker, defensive tackle Paul Hutson III and cornerbacks Jshawn Frausto-Ramos and Khamari Terrell.
Those lineups can fluctuate from day to day, so while they’re often informative on coaches’ evaluations, they don’t necessarily indicate anything long-term.
On offense, perhaps the most noticeable trend belonged to WSU’s tight ends. On several occasions, they found themselves on the receiving end of passes, both in the flat and farther downfield: UCLA transfer Jack Pedersen, returners Cash Landau and Peyton Read, plus others. It’s clear that in the Cougs’ new offense, which will be manned by offensive coordinator Matt Miller and the offensive-minded Moore, tight ends will be more than just blockers.
With redshirt junior Trey Leckner expected to miss the entirety of spring ball with a foot injury, other Cougar tight ends are getting chances to shine.
“You saw some of the younger guys,” Moore said, “whether it was Peyton, Cash, I know Jack Pedersen had a play there down the field. So I thought they did a nice job. We gotta build on it. I thought there were some run game opportunities for him to be at the point of attack as well.”
That will be one trend worth watching during this WSU spring slate, which continues on Saturday with an 11:45 a.m. practice in Pasco, about a 30-minute drive from Moore’s hometown of Prosser. Can the Cougars turn their tight ends into versatile weapons? Last season, Leckner hauled in 24 catches for 186 yards and three touchdowns, doing what he does best in the open field.
But otherwise, WSU’s tight ends combined for six catches for 28 yards and one touchdown, which came courtesy of former TE Ademola Faleye. He established himself as an effective blocker in the run and pass games, which turned into a real plus for the Cougars. But they used Leckner as a pass-catcher and Faleye as a run-blocker.
This season, does Washington State have a tight end who can do both? The jury is still out on that. But if opening days of spring practice can serve as any type of barometer, you can do worse than what the Cougars turned in on Thursday morning.
“It’s a lot different,” Freeman said of Moore’s practice structure. “It’s like more compared to my first year (under former coach Jake Dickert). A lot of tempo. Like, it’s just go, go, go, go. So I feel like it’s a good thing. Gotta get back in shape. It’s great.”