Analysis: How Have Washington State’s Pass Catchers Performed Through Five Games?
Coming off a big road win at Colorado State, the Washington State Cougars will enjoy their first bye week under first-year coach Jimmy Rogers after a 3-2 start. With a new coaching staff and 74 new players, the process of developing a new identity on the field remains a work in progress on the Palouse, including with a revamped offense that has struggled at times to execute a more balanced approach.
With John Mateer under center last season, the Cougars continued to sling the ball around the yard at a high rate while also relying on their quarterback as a runner. Now at Oklahoma, Mateer led Wazzu in rushing attempts, yards, and touchdowns, which made him one of the most coveted transfer portal prospects available. Coming from South Dakota State, Rogers wanted to shift to a run-first identity, but with personnel better catered for the previous approach currently, Washington State has thrown more than it originally planned to.
Given those increased opportunities, how have the Cougars’ pass catchers performed thus far?
Receivers
Washington State has spread the ball around this season with six players catching nine passes or more, but the Cougars have clear duo of receivers atop the depth chart with Tony Freeman catching 21 passes for 212 yards and Josh Meredith catching 19 passes for 212 yards. Freeman has already exceeded last year's totals in catches and yards, whereas Meredith is about half way to his totals from 2024, and the two players have combined for just three drops on those targets. Senior transfer Jeremiah Noga, who came to Pullman from Oregon State as a Pac 12 ex-pat, has reeled in 10 receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown as the primary tertiary target.
Newcomer Devin Ellison, who only appeared in two games due to injury, was expected to be a huge contributor coming into the season. But with him being sidelined for more than half of the games so far, he has caught three passes for 52 yards and a touchdown on just seven targets, being relegated to a relative non-factor for the most part. Sophomore Brandon Ganashomoorthy hasn’t been quite as productive as hoped either, catching just two passes for nine yards.
Running Backs/Tight Ends
Freeman and Meredith are two of only a handful of Cougs that returned from last season, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise they have been the most targeted wideouts through five games. But with Ellison banged up, Washington State has been more reliant on its running backs and tight ends as weapons in the passing game.
Though running room has been tough to come by most weeks in the ground game, running backs Kirby Vorhees and Maxwell Woods rank third (12) and sixth (nine) on the team in catches respectively, while Leo Pulalasi has caught five passes for 39 yards, though the latter has two drops this year. Woods, who is forth on the team in touches among the running back group, has found a role as a pass catching back out of the backfield while also lining up outside and in the slot, emerging as a quality Swiss army knife for Wazzu.
Tight end Trey Leckner sits fourth on the Cougars in catches, fifth in receiving yards, and leads the team with two touchdowns, continuing to be a significant factor as a red zone threat. Only one other tight end on the roster - senior Ademola Faleye - has more than one reception this season, as the position hasn’t been much of a focal point in the aerial attack away from Leckner.
