Can WSU Keep Up In The New Era Of College Football? | Sports

“Is it an obstacle or an opportunity?” said Dickert, who begins his second full season as head coach of the Cougars with 15 spring exercises starting Tuesday. “Everyone on the outside sees it as an obstacle, but on the inside it has to be an opportunity. That doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges. That doesn’t mean we will always have the best facility or the most NIL (money), but we can do it our way. But we must be actively involved at all levels of our actions.

“I’ve always been the underdog. I think Washington state, in general, may have always been the outsider. It hasn’t changed, has it? Well, there are challenges. Let’s tackle these challenges. Let’s stick together and make it happen.”

Challenges this offseason have included replacing the two coordinators and key players in many positions – some who have graduated, others who have made changes.

Nevertheless, Dickert is optimistic in his team. Quarterback Cameron Ward, who Dickert said has NFL-level talent, is back. So does Star Edge rushers Ron Stone Jr. and Brennan Jackson, who are returning for a sixth season.

The Cougars are coming off 7-6 straight seasons that ended in bowl losses, and Dickert wants to “take that next step as a program.”

“So we have to come out of spring with the good feeling that it’s not a new start,” said Dickert. “I’ve often said that to the coaches: ‘This is not a restart, this is a step forward.’ So these 15 practices, we have to maximize every moment out there.”

Navigate the new world of college football

Since the end of the regular season, the Cougars have entered 19 players in the transfer portal. Many were deep reserves, but there were also key casualties, including Jarrett Kinsgton, a three-year starter on the offensive line, linebackers Francisco Mauigoa and Travion Brown, and receivers De’Zhaun Stribling and Donovan Ollie.

“A lot of these kids had to go somewhere because they had to play, and I totally support that,” Dickert said. “But I think in today’s world, you’re probably always going to get surprises, whether it’s us or Alabama, so you have to make sure you’re adaptable enough to overcome those things.” But I think losing a positional group that you expect to be there in the first week of December poses extreme challenges for all of us, not just for Washington State.”

As Dickert said, the transfer portal is “a one-way street”. WSU added several new players from the portal, and Ward was among those added prior to last season.

A new factor for players considering exiting is money from name, image and likeness deals. In a small college town, can WSU compete with other universities when it comes to zero money?

“That’s the question, right?” said Dickert. “What the NIL created was probably an advantage for universities in large metropolitan areas. That’s probably easy to say. … I can go out there and talk to our people about what everyone else is doing and the numbers will blow people’s minds. Or we can say, “This is what we gotta do, the hard, tough, gritty way cougars always did.”

There has long been a once-a-cougar, always-a-cougar mentality among the players—and all students—at WSU. The transfer portal and NIL are threatening to do so.

“I think Coug’s passion and pride is very important to our people,” Dickert said. “That comes from loyalty and I think that’s a challenge we all face.”

Dickert said it has become more important to recruit players from the Northwest who understand what it means to be a cougar.

That, Dickert said, could mean taking a Northwestern player with a little less talent than a player from elsewhere because “the kid loves it here, the family loves it here and he wants to be here.”

Working in two new coordinators

It’s been quite a December for Dickert, who juggled recruiting, prepped his team for a bowl game and worked to replace his offensive and defensive coordinators.

“I’ve had almost every head coaching situation in Year 1, right?” Dickert said, laughing.

The new offensive coordinator is Ben Arbuckle, who will also coach the quarterbacks. He spent the last two seasons in western Kentucky, where he served as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for an offense that ranked sixth in the nation at 497.3 yards per game.

Jeff Schmedding, a Spokane native who played in east Washington, is the new defensive coordinator — and linebacker coach — after spending last season as defensive coordinator at Auburn.

Dickert said the plan is to keep 80% of the previous program, “and another 20% of that will be new and[Schmedding]will put its spin on it.”

“I think a fresh pair of eyes that’s outside of our system was a huge benefit,” Dickert said. “I think you’re going to see some things with multiple fronts — we were four (linemen) to the core. I think you’ll still see some of our same print packs, but there will be new twists and turns and techniques. … I think he’s brought a little more attacking attitude to base downs, which I think can be a positive thing.

Can QB Cam Ward, Offense, make a move?

Ward made the move to Washington State to much fanfare after two fantastic seasons at FCS Incarnate Word. But it’s been a year of ups and downs for Ward and the WSU offensive in 2022.

The Cougars averaged 26.1 points per game, ranked 80th out of 131 FBS teams, and it was the fewest points the Cougars have averaged since 2012.

“There was a lot of buzz when (Ward) walked in, a lot of excitement, and I’m still super excited about Cam’s future,” Dickert said. “Cam is focused on what he needs to do to get better. There are mechanical things that he worked the tail off of in the off-season to get in sync.”

Dickert said Ward has taken a big step forward as a leader and he understands that “the two most tested individuals in our program will be me and him.”

However, Ward needs the help of his teammates. Dickert said he thinks with a few extra transfers the receiver’s position will be more athletic.

Dickert also expects a step forward from the offensive line, which has struggled to protect Ward last season.

“I know he got sacked 46 times last season and if it wasn’t for Cam Ward it would have been 60 times,” Dickert said. “We need to capitalize on that talent, play within our program but also help him in a variety of ways. I’m absolutely excited to see what Cam can do in Year 2.”

The two who stayed lead the defense

Dickert said it meant a lot to the team – and to him personally – that Jackson and Stone had returned.

Both are three-year starters and were second-team All-Pac-12s last season. Stone was the 2021 first-team All-Conference.

“I have a very strong sense of where we are on the defensive line and that’s a comforting feeling for any defensive coach,” Dickert said, “Obviously[Stone and Jackson]anchor that unit. I think they are ready to take off and finish what they started.

“Those guys are very valuable to me personally because when I came here in 2020 (as defensive coordinator) they were part of the change agents of what we had to do to get better on defense. We took on a defense that was very underperforming, so I’m proud of those guys.”

Dickert said replacing Armani Marsh at Nickel Back is the biggest question at the secondary level, but he expects the unit to be improved overall.

Dickert said he thinks junior cornerback Chau-Smith Wade is an NFL talent, and he said redshirt student Jaden Hicks “is hands down one of the best safeties I’ve personally seen — and I’ve coached a few that are in of the NFL – and he’s going to be a superstar.”

The big question is linebackers. WSU lost star Daiyan Henley by graduation, but also lost Mauigoa and Brown.

“We feel great with the guys we’ve got, but it’s like we’re adding a few newbies again,” Dickert said. “We need to teach them, and that will play a big part as the spring progresses.”

Dickert sees the schedule as 12 one-game seasons, with the goal being 1-0 each week. He doesn’t even predict overall victories privately.

“Why put a blanket on it?” he said.

Dickert said he goes in every week thinking the team will be 1-0. He said the Cougars have what it takes to succeed and the key is not battling with mistakes.

“There’s the reality of what every team has to do to win games,” Dickert said. “Ours is grittier. Ours doesn’t flip the ball. Ours eliminate explosive plays. We set benchmarks that we need to hit to win. We have chosen to focus more on these things than the outcome. When we do these things, you get the result you want.”