- Kirby Vorhees banged up for Fresno; Trey Leckner likely good to go
PULLMAN – Washington State might not be at full strength at the running back spot on Saturday.
That’s according to the first Pac-12 availability report, which listed tailback Kirby Vorhees as questionable, casting doubt on whether he’ll be able to play in WSU’s conference opener at home against Fresno State , set to kick off at 6:30 p.m. on USA Network.
Vorhees is dealing with an upper-body injury he sustained during practice this week, WSU coach Kirby Moore said, adding that Vorhees is “a little dinged up, but he’s done a good job getting back into practice. So we’re just working through that.”
Also on the availability report is the news that tight end Trey Leckner is probable, which would mark his season debut. He’s been out most of the year, missing all of spring ball and fall camp with a foot injury, which he reaggravated over the summer. It’s big news for the Cougars (1-3) and their offense, which has yet to find its footing against FBS competition.
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.
Moore described Vorhees and Leckner as “gametime decisions,” as he did with cornerback Jalil Tucker, who started the Sept. 6 Apple Cup but has been out since with an injury he sustained in that game.
In other news from the availability report, linebacker Nylan Brown is expected to miss “a significant amount of time” with a foot injury, Moore said. That happened during WSU’s loss to Arizona last weekend, Moore said, when Brown played 12 snaps of special teams before going down with his injury.
Brown’s injury could end his season, Moore said, but he indicated that “we’re determining that right now.”
Brown has taken a reserve role at linebacker, where the team’s top options have emerged in starters Keith Brown and DJ Warner, plus key backup Isaiah Hung. Redshirt sophomore Gage Jones could see an expanded role as well, Moore said. Nylan Brown has played only 22 snaps of defense this season.
The rest of WSU’s availability report looks like this: Linebacker Jack Ellison is doubtful and safety Kyle Peterson is out, as are defensive ends Malachi Wrice and Mike Hughes. Wrice and Hughes’ absences could loom the largest for WSU, which has relied on starting pass rushers Matyus McLain and Linus Zunk for heavy snap counts – 184 each through four games.
The Cougars’ other options at defensive end include redshirt sophomore Ben Beatty, a key backup, as well as redshirt sophomore Fernando Lecuona Jr., who is light on experience.
In four games, Vorhees has totaled 36 carries for 210 yards and two touchdowns, the majority of that production coming from his 109-yard outing against FCS Duquesne, scoring a touchdown in that game. Most recently, in WSU’s loss to Arizona last weekend, Vorhees posted 39 yards on nine carries.
If Vorhees can’t play Saturday, expect more carries to go to WSU running back Maxwell Woods, who has looked sharp to open the season. He’s picked up 173 yards on 28 carries, a large majority of those numbers also coming in his team’s win over Duquesne, but he has looked shifty and elusive, no matter the opponent.
Fellow running back Leo Pulalasi could also play a key role if Vorhees can’t go, though Pulalasi hasn’t seen the same playing time that Woods has.
The rebuilt Pac-12 is in its first season of rolling out its availability report, following suit with the Power Four leagues of the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC.
- Moore faces his old team as a new Pac-12 era begins in Pullman
PULLMAN – Here ’s a first look at Washington State’s home game against Fresno State on Saturday afternoon.
What is it?
To kick off competition in the rebuilt Pac-12, WSU hosts Fresno State, looking to turn around a 1-3 start to the season. In the teams’ first meeting in Pullman since 1994, WSU coach Kirby Moore squares off against the program that gave him his first FBS coaching gig – he worked as the Bulldogs’ receivers coach/offensive coordinator from 2017-22.
In the Cougars’ third straight home game, it’s possible that tight end Trey Leckner makes his season debut after missing the season’s first four games with a foot injury.
Where is it?
Gesa Field at Martin Stadium in Pullman.
When is it?
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.
Where can I watch it?
USA Network will broadcast the game.
Who is favored?
As of Monday afternoon, WSU was around a 21/2-point favorite in most sportsbooks.
How did the Cougars fare last week?
In a 34-24 loss to Arizona, WSU took an early lead thanks to one touchdown from QB Caden Pinnick and a pick-six from safety Jackquintin Bal, but Arizona wasted no time leveling the game and won the second half, 20-7. The Cougars drew within one score late on a long touchdown pass from Pinnick to receiver Branden Ganashamoorthy, but that’s as close as they came, falling to 1-3 to open Moore’s debut season.
Pinnick completed 24 of 41 passes for 241 yards, two total touchdowns and two turnovers, one interception and one fumble. He’s now lost five turnovers this season, and the Cougars are up to seven as a whole, good for a total turnover margin of minus-4, which is tied for No. 119 nationally. It’s been a key reason behind some of the struggles of offensive coordinator Matt Miller’s group.
The Cougars played an OK game on defense, but they couldn’t slow down Wildcat QB Noah Fifita, who went 22-for-36 passing for 297 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. WSU also couldn’t limit receiver Tre Spivey, who hauled in seven catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns.
Four Cougar defenders played at least 60 snaps, led by cornerback Khamari Terrell with 72, perhaps opening a window into some of the reasons why WSU’s defense wore down in that game: Its best players were on the field too long.
“It adds up in fact that you’re going against a really good quarterback,” Moore said, “and we were very aggressive on defense, and you saw that in the first half. Over time, he’s gonna make some plays. He’s gonna create some passes downfield, and they had the quick drive right there, and just keeping our guys fresh because the coverage and the front, and it’s all gotta work together. If the front is tired and we’re not getting the rush that we want to, well, that’s affecting the back end. That’s what we gotta get solved there in the third quarter, and it really starts playing complementary football.”
In the third quarter, WSU slogged through some listless football, putting up several forgettable numbers: zero points, 149 total yards, 44 rushing yards, two three-and-outs, four punts and three sacks taken, giving Pinnick 10 sacks taken on the season. That opened the door for Arizona to turn a three-point deficit into a four-point lead, cushioning two more scoring drives in the fourth frame.
In the end, it added up to more question marks for WSU’s offense (two turnovers) and its special teams units, which had one field goal blocked and gave up a 39-yard punt return. The Cougars have now had two field goals blocked and given up two long punt returns, including a 62-yarder against Kansas State in Week 2.
The only bright spot on WSU’s special teams group has been punter Max Dean, who battled migraines in Saturday’s game to record five punts for 200 total yards, an average of 40 yards. He’s now averaging 45.2 yards per punt, which ranks No. 14 in the country.
Scouting Fresno State …
The Bulldogs, off to a 3-1 start to the season, are led by second-year head coach Matt Entz and quarterback Jayden Mandal. They began the year with a 39-0 road loss to USC before bouncing back with three straight wins: 49-3 over Sacramento State, 26-10 over San Jose State and 38-24 over Rice, the last of which unfolded last weekend.
Fresno State, which ranks No. 6 in the country with a turnover margin of plus-7, have the Pac-12’s best defense so far. The Bulldogs are allowing just 19 points per game, which ranks at the top in the conference, and star cornerback Simeon Harris has already collected three interceptions. As a team, Fresno State has also recovered three fumbles, tied for the conference lead.
The Bulldogs have also registered nine sacks, second in the conference, including two from linebacker Titus Khajavi and one apiece from six different players. Their Pro Football Focus pass rush grade of 65.3 ranks third in the Pac-12.
“That’s gonna be really important,” Moore said, “to make sure we take care of the football.”
On offense, Mandal has completed 67 of 104 passes (64%) for 789 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. His top target has been senior receiver Josiah Freeman – who was in his true freshman redshirt season in 2022, Moore’s final year at Fresno State – has totaled 18 catches for 261 yards and two touchdowns.
“The receiver was there when I was there. He was a really good, athletic player,” Moore said. “You see him show up on third downs and a lot of different situations.”
But a lot of the Bulldogs’ offense has also come from veteran running back Rayshon Luke, the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week. In Fresno State’s win over Rice, he tallied a game and career-high 167 yards with one touchdown on just 11 carries, giving him 240 rushing yards total on the season. He’s also averaging 6.7 yards per carry, which ranks third in the Pac-12.
What happened last time?
WSU and Fresno State’s last meeting came in 2024, when the Cougars eked out a 25-17 road win in Fresno. The Cougars got a key pick-six in the fourth quarter from cornerback Ethan O’Connor, who went on to transfer to Miami over the offseason.
- The Ball is the Boss: Moore's First Pac-12 Test is About Holdin' On
PULLMAN — This week, as Washington State prepares to host its first Pac-12 game in nearly three years, the Cougars’ new head coach has to toe a tightrope like he’s walking over the Grand Canyon.
Kirby Moore has to find the right balance between these two ideas. One: Emphasize to quarterback Caden Pinnick, who has lost five turnovers in his first four games, the importance of holding onto the ball this weekend. Two: Don’t psyche him out and cause him to become gunshy.
That’s because when WSU and Fresno State kick off, set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday on the USA Network, the Cougars won’t just be trying to earn their first FBS win of the season. They’ll be taking on a Bulldog (3-1) team that has blossomed into one of the country’s best at generating turnovers, earning a plus-7 turnover margin, good for the sixth-best mark in the country.
That could be bad news for WSU, which is on the other end of that spectrum, checking in at No. 119 nationally with a turnover margin of minus-4. Moore’s team has committed seven turnovers in its 1-3 start to the season. That’s where Saturday’s game could turn: Can the Cougars avoid turnovers against a Bulldog team that could pounce on one of the hosts’ biggest weaknesses?
Which is where the balance Moore has to find comes in.
“I think it’s just trusting the play-the-play, and each play has life of its own,” said Moore, whose first FBS coaching job came at Fresno State, where he worked as receivers coach and offensive coordinator from 2017-22. “Obviously, we want to create explosive plays, and then with that, the defense has a say in the fight. So there’s times where, shoot, if they’ve got a good call or they execute a little bit better than us, it’s OK at times, whether it’s taking a sack or throwing the ball away. Obviously, we’ve gotta have great ball security by the runners as well. So all those things you talk about. There was some instances of it on Saturday, and we gotta learn from it and carry it over this week.”
WSU’s offense, which is still looking to find its footing against FBS competition, might not be at full strength Saturday evening. Running back Kirby Vorhees, who has started two games, will be a gametime decision thanks to an upper-body injury he sustained during practice this week. If Vorhees can’t play, it would deal a costly blow to the Cougs’ ground game, which has yet to hit 100 yards from running backs against FBS teams this fall.
There’s also good news for WSU on that front. Tight end Trey Leckner, who missed all of spring practices and fall camp with a foot injury, could make his season debut. He’s listed as probable on the Pac-12 availability report, and Moore also described him as a gametime decision. That would provide a nice boost for the Cougars, who would get their best pass-catching tight end back in the fold, which could unlock part of their offense that they have yet to get to.
That comes at a key time for WSU, whose season might not hinge on this home contest against Fresno State, but it might come close. The Cougars might be 1-3 on the year, but none of those games have counted against their standings in the Pac-12, meaning they could still get a headstart in conference play with a win. But if not, they would be staring at a 1-4 start to the season, putting their bowl streak — they’ve earned bowl eligibility in 10 of the last 11 full seasons — in serious jeopardy.
Besides, WSU has two road games coming up next, at Utah State and at Oregon State. However the Cougars fare here on Saturday evening, they have a tougher stretch on the horizon.
So how can the Cougars get Pac-12 play, which they haven’t participated in since knocking off Colorado in November 2023, started on the right note? They will have to take care of the ball. That starts with Pinnick, who threw an interception and lost a fumble in a loss to Arizona last week. He also threw another near-interception, which he avoided because the Wildcat defender bobbled it on his way out of bounds.
Pinnick will have to keep a close eye on Fresno State cornerback Simeon Harris, who already has three interceptions this season, underscoring why he earned some preseason votes for Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. He’ll also have to avoid putting the ball on the floor against Fresno State, which has also forced and recovered three fumbles.
“It’s definitely a balance,” Moore said earlier in the week. “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.”
On defense, WSU defensive coordinator Trent Bray’s unit will lead the way in trying to slow down Fresno State quarterback Jayden Mandal, who has completed 64% of his passes for six touchdowns against just one interception. Leading his club to wins over Sacramento State, San Jose State and Rice, Mandal and the Bulldogs have averaged nearly 38 points per game in their victories.
Running back Rayshon Luke, the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, has looked just as dangerous. In Fresno State’s win over Rice last weekend, he piled up 167 rushing yards and a score on just 11 carries, highlighting the efficiency with which he’s operated.
“They’re a good football team,” Moore said. “I think you look at the number of wins they had last season, the tradition there. Those guys are going to come in expecting to win, and it’s shown up on offense, defense, the complementary football, special teams. They do it a very high level. John Baxter (special teams coach) does a really good job, so it’s gonna be a great challenge for us on Saturday night.”
