- Why one Coug keeps catching passes through a 1-7 season
PULLMAN — Trey Leckner admits that when he was younger, years before he began to flourish as Washington State’s premier pass-catching tight end, the noise could get to him sometimes. He was in high school, at Glacier Peak over in Snohomish, and he internalized some of the criticism.
That type of noise doesn’t bother him much these days, he said, in large part because of the journey it took for him to arrive at WSU. He redshirted his true freshman year in 2023, then began to ascend toward the back half of the following year, then earned a starting role in 2025. He missed the first four games of this season, his redshirt junior campaign.
When you watch him play, you wouldn’t know it. He caught a key fourth-down conversion over the weekend, in WSU’s 31-10 loss to Boise State, giving him these numbers in four games: 12 catches for 98 yards, including an 18-yard reception. He’s been the same kind of downfield threat that made him such an enticing prospect years ago.
“I think just getting older and being in the locker room,” Leckner said earlier this week, “being around a lot of really good players, obviously through 2023 and on. Just picking their brain and having good mentors, whether it’s players or coaches. Just being around it for so long.”
Leckner’s veteran presence is surely coming in handy this season, a 1-7 campaign for WSU, which is still looking for its first FBS win of the season. Head coach Kirby Moore and the Cougars had few issues cruising past FCS Duquesne in mid-September, but since then, they’ve dropped five in a row.
They’ve tried changing play-callers. They’ve tried changing quarterbacks. The Cougs’ offense has enjoyed some improvement since Moore benched Caden Pinnick for Owen Eshelman at quarterback, but in two games with that move, it hasn’t resulted in wins for WSU.
The only sure thing this WSU season has yielded is criticism: From fans, from media, from college football observers at large. The Cougs’ is a high-profile program, even in their new era within the reimagined Pac-12, which means they hear about it when things are going as poorly as they are now. They may sign up for it when they agree to such a platform, sure, especially when they accept such big paydays in the new NIL era. But that doesn’t mean they’re immune to criticism.
Ahead of WSU’s next game, a road matchup with San Diego State, that brings up two key questions: How do these Cougars handle the noise? And without a bowl game to play for, what keeps them motivated?
“Regardless (of) what the prize is or whatever that we’re playing for, I want to win. I know all the guys in the locker room want to win, and the coaches want to win,” Leckner said. “So I think just the will to win. I think we have all the seniors, all the seniors that are still playing. We wanna send them out on a good note, and we wanna build momentum going into next year.”
This WSU team rosters 14 seniors, including key pieces like linebacker Keith Brown, offensive linemen Jonny Lester and Jaylin Caldwell, receivers Daniel Blood and Darrius Clemons, defensive end Linus Zunk, defensive tackles Paul Hutson III and Damarjhe Lewis and tight end Jack Pedersen, plus cornerbacks Khamari Terrell and Jalil Tucker. All of those guys have played important roles for this team.
All three players who spoke to the media on Monday — Leckner, defensive end Matyus McLain and nickelback Jamarey Smith — agreed they’re motivated to keep playing for their seniors. They want to finish things right, especially for Brown, who is playing his sixth and final season of college football.
Fun fact about Brown: He’s played 482 snaps this season, which is the 12th most in the country among linebackers. It’s the third-most in the Pac-12. That underscores how reliable he has been this season, particularly in WSU’s last two games, making 15 tackles against Oregon State and nine against Boise State.
“Playing for the guys, playing for the seniors,” McLain said. “This is their last four games ever, could be ever. Playing for guys like Linus, Keith Brown. Gotta keep playing for those guys, and then just the guys in the locker room. You just gotta keep playing for everybody around you.”
Technically speaking, WSU isn’t entirely out of the bowl game picture. If they were to win out and end the regular season 5-7, they could make a bowl if there aren’t enough 6-6 teams to fill all the bowl slots. But the Cougars would also need to meet certain Academic Progress Rate standards, and they would need to decide if such a thing would benefit the program to begin with.
But that’s a long way off for WSU, which needs to beat an FBS team first before anything else can happen. The Cougars’ next task is a road tilt with the Aztecs, who are favored to win the game, making the Cougs an underdog they way they often have been this season.
“No offense to you guys, but you guys, the media people aren’t in our corner like our coaches are, and like we are for each other,” McLain said. “So really leaning on the brotherhood and the people in this building for the support that you need throughout that is really what it is.”
“I kinda block it out,” Smith said. “I worry about just what we have going on in the building and preparing week-by-week. Things that happened last week, to me, don’t really matter now. We’re on to San Diego State, bigger and better things. So just trying to prepare for that and dominate each and every week.”
- Trey Leckner is healing up fast and might finally see the field
PULLMAN – Washington State’s tight end room may be getting reinforcements sometime soon.
Tight end Trey Leckner, who has been out since the summer with a foot injury, is “getting closer” to returning to action, coach Kirby Moore said on Thursday. A likely starter if he was healthy, Leckner was expected to be out until midseason, but he’s making quicker progress than was previously anticipated.
Leckner is expected to miss WSU’s home game against Arizona this weekend, but moving forward, he will be considered “game-to-game,” Moore said.
“He’s been moving around quite a bit in practice,” Moore added.
Leckner’s return would amount to a big boon for the Cougars, whose offense has left something to be desired in their first three games of the season, even after a blowout win over FCS Duquesne last weekend. Leckner profiles as the team’s best pass-catching tight end, which could help quarterback Caden Pinnick and offensive coordinator Matt Miller unlock their offense.
A redshirt junior from Snohomish, Leckner started nine of 13 games last season, catching 24 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns, which tied for the third-most by a tight end in WSU single-season history. In 2024, he played in 12 games (two as a starter), reeling in three passes for 56 yards and one score.
In Leckner’s absence, WSU’s starting tight end has been veteran transfer Jack Pedersen, who has registered four receptions for 15 yards and a touchdown, which came against Duquesne last weekend. The Cougars also have young players Peyton Read and Cash Landau.
CB Tucker questionable
WSU cornerback Jalil Tucker will be a game-time decision against Arizona, Moore said. Tucker, who first sustained an injury in the Sept. 6 Apple Cup, missed the next game against Kansas State, wearing street clothes on the sideline. A transfer from Oregon State, Tucker dressed and warmed up against Duquesne, but didn’t play.
In Tucker’s absence, WSU has tried a couple different approaches. Against K-State, the Cougars went with redshirt senior Kai Rapolla, who had a forgettable game, missing two tackles and allowing three catches on four targets. Against Duquesne, they moved nickelback Jamarey Smith to cornerback and brought safety Jackquintin Ball off the bench, which seemed to work better for the Cougars.
If Tucker can’t play against Arizona, look for coaches to go with the latter strategy once again.
Sticking with Stevens
Also Thursday, Moore expressed more confidence in kicker Jack Stevens, who has opened the season 1-for-5 on field goals, an uncharacteristic stretch after being reliable last season. In the Cougars’ Wednesday practice, Moore said, Stevens capped a two-minute drill scenario with a field goal of about 45 or 50 yards.
“Really, it’s about the work,” Moore said, “and he’s doing a really good job throughout this week.”
At this point, it seems likely that WSU coaches will stick with Stevens, who also missed the first extra point of his career against Duquesne. If they were to ever make a change, it would likely be to transfer kicker Miguel Arenas, who has spearheaded kickoff duties this fall. He seems to have the bigger leg between the two.
- Trey Leckner's return is suddenly a Saturday question for Cougs
PULLMAN – Washington State tight end Trey Leckner is on track to return earlier than anybody quite expected.
That’s the word from coach Kirby Moore, who said Monday that Leckner will be a game-time decision Saturday evening against Fresno State, adding that he “will be back full -go this week in practice.”
A likely starter if he were healthy, Leckner suffered a foot injury over the summer. At the beginning of the season, Moore said Leckner was expected to miss the first half of the season, which would have put his return a few more weeks away. But it appears Leckner has made quicker progress than anticipated.
Whenever he returns, Leckner figures to provide a nice boost to the Cougars’ offense, which is still finding its footing amid the team’s 1-3 start to the season. Leckner is the team’s best pass-catching tight end, which could help unlock a WSU offense that has lost seven total turnovers.
In Leckner’s absence, WSU’s starting tight end has been UCLA transfer Jack Pedersen, who has caught five passes for 20 yards and one touchdown, which came against FCS Duquesne.
“We wanna be able to utilize both those guys. Obviously, try and get our best players on the field on offense,” Moore said. “That’ll probably be determined how (Leckner) looks today, Tuesday, Wednesday with the big work days. But I think he’s really progressed from the previous week, last week, and so he’s definitely shown that in the past, and we’re excited to get him out there.”
A redshirt junior from Snohomish, Leckner started nine of 13 games last season, catching 24 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns, which tied for the third-most by a tight end in WSU single-season history. In 2024, he played in 12 games (two as a starter), reeling in three passes for 56 yards and one score.
Tucker remains questionable
Starting cornerback Jalil Tucker remains “game-to-game, day-to-day,” Moore said. Tucker has now missed three straight games after sustaining an injury in the Sept. 6 Apple Cup. A transfer from Oregon State, Tucker dressed and warmed up for each of the Cougars’ past two games, but he hasn’t been able to play.
In Tucker’s absence, WSU has tried a couple different approaches. Against Kansas State, the Cougars went with redshirt senior Kai Rapolla, who had a forgettable game, missing two tackles and allowing three catches on four targets. Against Duquesne and Arizona, they moved nickelback Jamarey Smith to cornerback and brought safety Jackquintin Bal off the bench, the latter of which turned out to be a great decision from WSU – Bal returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown.
If Tucker can’t play Saturday against Fresno State, look for coaches to go with the same approach. They might even give more snaps to Bal, who played a career-high 67 snaps last weekend against Arizona, earning an expanded role in defensive coordinator Trent Bray’s unit. He also recorded nine tackles against Arizona, tops on the team and also Bal’s career-best.
“Just doing my 1/11th, trying to be myself and just try to be the best person I can be in my position,” Bal said after the Arizona game, “no matter if it’s boundary safety, field safety, just doing my part.”
Extra points• Moore seemed to stand by his decision to let 40 seconds tick off the clock at the end of Saturday’s first half against Arizona, when the Cougars had first-and-10 from the Wildcats’ 12-yard line. WSU got a field goal, but Moore explained that he didn’t want to give the ball back to Arizona QB Noah Fifita and his explosive offense.
“Whether we scored or we kicked a field goal too early, giving the ball back to that quarterback,” Moore said, “I did not think was in our best interest before the half.”
• How can the Cougars generate more explosive plays, which Moore has often expressed a need for, when those are the times QB Caden Pinnick has lost turnovers? Moore said this: “It’s definitely a balance. It’s dialogue during the week. If something’s there, if it’s not there, self-preservation, making sure we’re playing the next play. Every play has a life of its own, and we had some of that come up on Saturday.”
