Somewhere in the last six games, Washington State's offense stopped being a problem and started being a void. Twelve and a half points a game will do that. So the Cougars made the call: Caden Pinnick sits, and Owen Eshelman gets the keys. On paper, this is a gamble. Eshelman has two snaps of college experience. Two. He's a redshirt freshman taking over a 1-5 team that has to go to Corvallis and deal with one of the most explosive offenses in the country. That's not a soft landing. That's a trial by fire with a side of flames. But the story behind the story is why this feels different. This isn't a kid who got handed the job because the guy ahead of him was hurt. This is a kid who showed up to South Dakota State as a high school junior, drove 10 hours from Oklahoma without an offer, and walked into a national championship program's practice like he had a locker there. Not cocky. Not loud. Just present. Asking why. Getting in huddles. Learning the plays. That's not a guy who's going to be rattled by a Saturday in Corvallis. Cougs have been starved for a reason to feel something this season. The offense has been stuck, averaging 12.6 points a game, and turnovers have been killing any chance at momentum. Benching Pinnick was a decision that had to be made, and now the keys go to a guy who has thrown exactly zero meaningful college passes. That's either a gamble or a statement. Maybe it's both. What we know: Eshelman has the arm. He has the size. He has the story, the 10-hour drives to South Dakota State without an offer, the mid-game switch from safety to quarterback as a sophomore, the way he followed one coach to Pullman and stayed when that coach left. That last part matters. He chose to be a Coug when he didn't have to. He's not going to be rattled. The guys who walked into Brookings and asked every question, who wanted the why behind every play, they don't rattle. They get the job. Saturday is a big ask. Oregon State's offense is humming. The Cougars' isn't. But if Eshelman's history tells us anything, it's that he doesn't need much runway. He just needs a chance. Go Cougs.# Our Take: Owen Eshelman Doesn't Blink. Now We Find Out If That's Enough. Here's the thing about Owen Eshelman: he walked into South Dakota State's facility as a 17-year-old with no scholarship offer and acted like he owned the place. Not in a cocky way. In a "I belong here" way. He asked why. He wanted to understand the plays, the formations, the reasoning behind everything. He wasn't standing off to the side like most recruits. He was in the huddle, trying to learn. That tells you everything you need to know about how he got here. Now he's the starting quarterback at Washington State. That's the kind of sentence that sounds sudden, but the trail to it is longer than people realize. Eshelman didn't just show up in Pullman by accident. He followed Jimmy Rogers from South Dakota State. When Rogers left for Iowa State, Eshelman stayed. That alone says something. He had one offer out of Norman North High School in Oklahoma. One. And he turned that into a starting job in the Pac-12, without the benefit of a normal path. The story of how he got here matters. As a 17-year-old on a visit to Brookings, he walked into SDSU huddles and asked why. Not in a disrespectful way, in a "I belong here" way. That's not normal for a recruit. Most kids stand off to the side and try not to say the wrong thing. Eshelman was trying to learn the offense. Danny Freund saw it. Justin Jones saw it. His dad saw it. The throughline is the same: preparation, confidence, and a calm that doesn't crack. The switch from safety to quarterback as a sophomore is the story that tells you what you need to know.
Pullman
Eshelman walked in asking why, and WSU coaches took notice
PULLMAN – Right away, coaches couldn’t help but notice the confidence, the poise that Owen Eshelman walked around with.
PULLMAN – Right away, coaches couldn’t help but notice the confidence, the poise that Owen Eshelman walked around with. He asked a slew of questions. He was involved in everything. He wanted to know the why behind calls and plays and formations.
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Briefing
- Source
- Spokesman.com
- Published
- October 17, 2026
Related
- Cougs turn to Owen Eshelman at QB, Pinnick benched for Oregon State
PULLMAN – Six games into the season, Washington State is making a change at quarterback. Redshirt freshman Owen Eshelman will start WSU’s road game at Oregon State on Saturday, coach Kirby Moore said on Monday, replacing starter Caden Pinnick. It’s a major shakeup for the Cougars’ offense, which has scored just four touchdowns in five FBS games this season, ranking as one of the country’s worst offenses in several categories. A transfer from UC Davis, Pinnick has thrown just three touchdowns against five interceptions, including just one FBS touchdown pass. He has lost seven total turnovers, including a fumble in a Friday road loss to Utah State. “Caden understands that this is a team-first decision, and it’s about what’s doing best for the team moving into the second half of the season,” said Moore, who added that he made the decision on Saturday and informed each player on Monday morning. “Owen has been right there pushing the quarterback room for the past 10 months and has prepared like the starter, and done everything we’ve asked of him.” A native of Norman, Oklahoma, Eshelman’s only college experience came earlier this season, playing two snaps in the final moments of a blowout win over FCS Duquesne. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 204 pounds, Eshelman redshirted his true freshman season last fall. Now as a starter, he figures to provide the Cougars with a sharper passing attack and even some more mobility, which he showed during fall camp practices back in August. A class of 2025 prospect out of Norman North High School, Eshelman played three seasons as the team’s starter, totaling 6,666 yards of total offense and 79 touchdowns in that span. As a senior, he threw for 2,507 yards and 29 touchdowns, plus 1,312 rushing yards and 19 scores on the ground, earning all-conference honors. Eshelman, who also started three seasons on the basketball team, originally committed to FCS South Dakota State before flipping to WSU, following former coach Jimmy Rogers in that transition. “There’s definitely some similarities in terms of playmaking ability,” Moore said, comparing the two QBs’ playstyles. “I think the big thing is we gotta continue to work on accuracy with the football, and when something’s there, we gotta take advantage of it and be more efficient on first and second down. Had opportunities there to drive in the red zone and didn’t take advantage of it, and then on third down, we gotta make sure we we do a good job of taking care of the football. And sometimes it’s OK to punt. We’ve had some turnovers in those situations the last few games that have put our defense in bad positions.” The move was necessary for WSU (1-5, 0-2 Pac-12), whose offense had almost no life under Pinnick. In Friday’s game, Pinnick completed 23 of 36 passes for just 156 yards. He did not complete a single pass further than nine yards downfield, according to Pro Football Focus, highlighting one of his main weaknesses: He either can’t or won’t stretch the field vertically. Underscoring that reality is this statistic: Pinnick is one of three QBs in the country to attempt at least 150 passes and total less than 1,000 yards, which illustrates how little he was willing to move the ball downfield. After six games, WSU’s offense has scored just 12.6 points per game, which ranks No. 133 of 138 FBS teams in the country. The Cougars are producing 236 yards per game, one spot up from dead last, and their 8.5 yards per completion also ranks one place better than last in the nation. “Owen does a great job in the meeting room. He really does,” Moore said. “He’s a student of the game. He’s worked like heck throughout this offseason. He’s gonna continue to tackle that, and that’s gonna translate to the practice field throughout this week with more reps and more on his plate. Naturally, that’s play-to-play. Sometimes there’s checks with plays. Sometimes we’re calling and hauling. Sometimes there could be protection checks that are on the quarterback. But we feel very confident about Owen making all those decisions.” Can Eshelman turn around WSU’s moribund offense on Saturday against Oregon State, which boasts the country’s best offense? The Cougars can probably count on better accuracy – in Friday’s game, Pinnick missed a wide open Leo Pulalasi, who could have scored on the play – and improved pocket presence. Pinnick has taken 11 QB-fault sacks, according to Pro Football Focus, tied for the most nationally. Moore, who called plays for the first time in Friday’s game, might get better QB play this time around. Whether it leads to the Cougars’ first FBS win remains to be seen, but the program was due for a change. “I think there’s not a lot of guys that could do what he does and he’s a very mentally strong person,” Norman North High coach Justin Jones told Sports Illustrated back in 2023. “He’s an ultimate competitor and I think him playing multiple sports and being an exceptional basketball player as well, he brings that to the game and gets some tough runs. … He takes a lick a lot and he just has a growth mindset and doesn’t worry about the previous play. Moves on to the next one and that’s why he’s having some success right now.” Extra points • Left tackle Ashton Tripp is day-to-day with an ankle injury he sustained against Utah State, Moore said. If Tripp can’t play against Oregon State, the Cougars will turn to Washington transfer Maximus McCree, who filled in when Tripp went down • Safety Kyle Peterson and defensive ends Malachi Wrice and Michael Hughes will return to practice this week and will be game-time decisions against Oregon State, Moore said. Wrice has missed the past four games, Hughes has been out since the Apple Cup and Peterson has missed the past two contests
- Three Quarterbacks Walk Into a Palouse Fall: Who Gets the Nod
PULLMAN — Since last winter, change has swept across Washington State’s program like a strong Palouse breeze, uprooting everyone from the head coach to assistants to players and other staffers. The Cougars hired replacements for everyone, ushering in a new era, now guided by head man Kirby Moore and his group of assistants. Still, for the second straight year, this has stayed the same at WSU: The Cougars have something of a QB quandary early in the season. A year ago, former coach Jimmy Rogers decided to bench Jaxon Potter for Zevi Eckhaus after three games. This fall, Moore has to decide what to do with quarterback Caden Pinnick, whose struggles have keyed his team’s slow 1-4 start: Stick with him for the team’s next game, a road contest against Utah State on Friday evening, or go with Julian Dugger or Owen Eshelman instead. It’s a critical decision for WSU, whose sputtering offense ranks among the nation’s worst. The Cougars’ 11.8 points per game ranks No. 130 nationwide, their 27% third-down success rate is No. 133 and their 287 yards per game checks in at No. 133, all only a few spots up from last in the country. To get the most out of this season, the Cougs must make the right call at quarterback. “Everyone’s gonna get reps,” Moore said. “I think that’s the most important thing. Everyone’s gotta make the reps count. We’ll see where it’s at on Friday, and we’ll play ball.” “It really starts with the operational piece from an offensive standpoint,” Moore also said of his QB evaluations this week, “whether it’s a protection check, whether it’s something with a motion. Obviously the defense is game-planning just as much as us, so there’s times where, yes, there’s a first read in a progression, but there’s times where we gotta check the ball down. We can’t make a bad play worse. So that’s the big emphasis. It’s gotta start in practice. We’ll go through that process. That’ll determine what happens on Friday.” Moore would always have had a say in this decision, but he will be more hands-on now, announcing Monday that he is taking over playcalling duties from offensive coordinator Matt Miller. An offensive-minded coach, Moore called plays from 2023-25 at Missouri, where he worked as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator. He also worked the same role at Fresno State in 2022. Fun fact about that season: The Bulldogs started 1-4, then rallied to make a bowl game, where they met… the Cougars. A key reason why Fresno State turned things around centered on the return of quarterback Jake Haener, whose talent helped the Bulldogs finish the regular season with eight straight wins. Does WSU have a quarterback like that waiting in the wings? We’ll have to wait until Friday evening to find out. It’s possible Pinnick returns, but it’s also possible that Moore and Miller pivot to Dugger or Eshelman. Each QB is vastly different, so here’s an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of each, plus why coaches might look their way. Let’s start with the Cougars’ current QB1. Caden Pinnick Strengths: Short and intermediate throws, elusiveness, experience with the current roster, full season of FCS ball prior, play action throws, QB keepers Weaknesses: Deep throws, pocket presence, decision-making, accuracy on longer passes to the sidelines, turnovers Why coaches would stick with him: In simplest terms, Pinnick knows WSU’s offense best. He’s played five games with the team. He knows the playbook. He has rapport with everyone around him, from the offensive line to tight ends to receivers. If the Cougars value experience, which they clearly did when they decided to pursue Pinnick out of the transfer portal thanks to his standout year at FCS UC Davis, he’s still their man. If Pinnick does start Friday’s game, it will likely be because coaches believe in his ability to correct his mistakes which he has done at times. He kept things clean in the second half of WSU’s win over FCS Duquesne last month, abstaining from the longer pass that resulted in an interception in the first half, and he looked sharp in the first half of the Cougars’ next game, a home loss to Arizona. When he’s been under control and decisive, Pinnick has been the best version of himself. Why coaches would move away from him: Pinnick hasn’t exactly proven he can keep improving in a consistent way. He’s thrown an interception in all five games, and he’s lost six total turnovers, including a fumble against Arizona. He’s often put his offense in even tougher positions, whether because of bad decision-making or because he’s taking sacks — 18 of them so far, which ranks No. 129 of 138 FBS teams nationally. Coaches might also consider Pinnick’s confidence level, and whether that would lend itself to winning a road game. Based on some of his pocket presence, bailing too early at times and sticking in there too long at others, he’s looked a bit uneven. That has compounded problems for an offense already mired in enough of them. Owen Eshelman, redshirt freshman Strengths: Arm talent, athleticism, ability to push the ball downfield Weaknesses: Inexperience, hasn’t played with starters during season Why coaches would go with him: Eshelman’s top strengths are exactly what WSU’s offense has been missing: An ability to stretch the field vertically and open up the deep passing game. His arm is not only wicked, but it’s also credible, which could force defenses to respect the Cougars’ deep passing game. That could open up their offense in a way it hasn’t yet, especially for their trio of running backs, who got just five carries in the second half against Fresno State. Eshelman is also pretty athletic, showing off his ability to scramble during several fall camp practices in August. As a senior at Norman North High in Oklahoma, he tallied 1,312 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground. It’s possible Eshelman could play with youthful energy too, spraying the ball over the field since he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. That could be useful in a tough spot. Why coaches would stay away from him: Eshelman has not played a single snap of college football yet. He’s only in his second year at the college level, and while he did get plenty of reps with first-teamers during fall camp, he has no experience in game settings. That’s a tough spot to put a redshirt freshman in: Jumping into action mid-season, on the road at night, tasked with taking down the Pac-12’s fourth-best defense. It’s also a lot of pressure to put on a 19-year-old: Hey, we know you’ve never played a snap of college football, but now it’s your job to revive a moribund offense. Good luck. That could make things even worse for a struggling offense, and it could put even more pressure on this WSU defense, which has had to play heavy snaps in large part thanks to the offense’s woes. Julian Dugger, redshirt sophomore Strengths: Athleticism, running ability, experience Weaknesses: Throwing accuracy, pocket presence and awareness Why coaches would go with him: If WSU coaches decide they need a jolt of energy and athleticism at the QB spot, Dugger should be their guy. He’s one of the best athletes on the team, and certainly the best athlete in the QB room, a quick-twitch lefty who always poses a threat to scramble from the pocket and make a defender — or three — miss. Dugger also has more experience than Eshelman. He started his career at Pittsburgh, when he started a bowl game, completing 7 of 13 passes for 72 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in that 2024 game. And in WSU’s bowl game win last year, Dugger came off the bench to complete 2 of 3 passes for 39 yards, plus a long 32-yard touchdown rush, showing off the speed and elusiveness that makes him so dangerous. Widely regarded as a pure runner early in his WSU tenure, Dugger also showed some improved throwing accuracy during fall camp, using his lefty approach to connect with all kinds of targets. He was hardly perfect, and he missed several throws. But he looked better than he did in 2025. Why coaches would stay away from him: Dugger would have to prove to Utah State’s defense that he can hurt them with his arm, which is not exactly a promising place for the Cougars’ offense to start from. He’s best as a runner, and while he has looked better throwing the ball, he doesn’t have a credible resume doing so in game settings. For his career, Dugger has completed 9 of 19 passes for 111 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Perhaps even more problematic, one of the biggest flaws in Dugger’s game is his pocket presence. In fall camp, he took several sacks because he wasn’t aware of blitzers, and in a game setting, that could open up the door for more turnovers. He didn’t always look comfortable in the pocket. Which is one of the bigger problems Pinnick is facing. Would the Cougars want to roll out a QB with similar issues as the guy they’ve started for five straight games? Dugger has a wealth of athleticism, which could spark this offense, but because of Dugger’s pocket presence difficulties, coaches would be rolling the dice in the same ways they have been with Pinnick.