Sep. 21—PULLMAN — Headed into a home showdown against Arizona this weekend, Washington State may have found an offensive line group that works best.
The Cougars are planning to stick with the same group that started last weekend against Duquesne, coach Kirby Moore said Monday: left tackle Ashton Tripp, left guard Jonny Lester, center Noah Dunham, right guard Nick Bakken and right tackle Jaylin Caldwell.
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For WSU, that represents a change from the previous two games. In road losses to Washington and Kansas State, the Cougars started redshirt junior Kyle Martin at left guard and Lester at right tackle, where he had never started before. But against Duquesne, coaches benched Martin, moved Lester to left guard and slotted in Caldwell at right tackle, which paved the way for WSU to total 316 rushing yards, the program’s most in two decades, and that group didn’t allow a sack on quarterback Caden Pinnick.
That looked like WSU’s best five-man group yet this season, and the numbers back it up. In Saturday’s game against Duquesne, that unit finished with a Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade of 72.7, by far the team’s best in three games, as well as a run-blocking grade of 72.1, also its best thus far.
Individually, both Caldwell and Lester earned pass-blocking grades north of 80. Caldwell finished at 86.3 while Lester checked in at 83.3. For Lester, it was another sharp game playing left guard, which is where he’s played some of his best games. Last season, when he had to play right tackle due to injuries, three of his four worst games came in those situations.
Additionally, all five offensive linemen on Saturday posted run-blocking grades north of 69, which is above average. That lines up with the explosive day the Cougars enjoyed on the ground, getting two 100-yard rushers in one game for the first time since 2005.
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Moore also added that “we’re gonna need all six of those guys to keep each other fresh throughout the season,” referencing Martin, who has the lowest offensive PFF grade on the team at 28.1 as well as a pass-blocking grade of 0.0.
In other news, Moore seemed to express confidence in placekicker Jack Stevens, who has opened the season 1-for-5 on field goals, including a miss from 30 yards on Saturday. He also missed an extra point for the first time in his career
Asked Monday about the possibility of replacing him, Moore seemed to indicate the Cougars would stick with Stevens.
“We’re gonna go back to work. I think that’s the most important thing for us,” Moore said. “Operation, there’s been snap issues. There’s been protection issues. Obviously, we missed one there on Saturday. Jack’s made a ton of kicks throughout the offseason. Looking forward to seeing him make a bunch of kicks this week in practice and building up to Saturday.”
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If WSU were to 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.
Also on Monday, Moore called cornerback Jalil Tucker’s status “day-to-day” with an injury he sustained in the Apple Cup on Sept. 6. A transfer from Oregon State, Tucker missed the next game against Kansas State, wearing street clothes on the sideline. Tucker dressed and warmed up for Saturday’s game against Duquesne, but didn’t play.
“Just made the decision there close to game time that he wasn’t gonna go,” Moore said. “We gotta see where he’s at here this week and anticipate being close to game time there on Saturday.”
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.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
