Editor’s note: Sixth in a series of articles examining each of the Pac-12 football teams heading into the 2022 season.
Washington State’s football program went through a bizarre set of circumstances last year when coach Nick Rolovich, and four of his assistants, were fired during the middle of the season because they refused to be vaccinated for COVID-19, a requirement set in place by Washington Gov. Jay Insee for state employees.
At the time of Rolovich’s dismissal, the Cougars were riding a three-game winning streak.
Washington State appointed defensive coordinator Jake Dickert as the interim head coach, posting a 3-2 record the rest of the season, highlighted by a 40-13 victory over arch-rival Washington in the Apple Cup, which snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series.
“That was a real special ending,” Dickert told the Pac-12 Network.
Dickert did a remarkable job keeping a divided program together and after the season was promoted to head coach.
The Cougars will move on from Rolovich’s run-and-shoot and back to the “Air Raid” offense this season.
Dickert hired a new offensive coordinator, Eric Morris, who spent the past season as the head coach at the University of Incarnate Word. Morris previously served as a receivers coach at WSU under then-coach Mike Leach, author of the Air Raid attack.
“Eric’s one of the brightest offensive minds in the country,” Dickert said. “Adding a tight end to our game adds to our multiplicity and allows us to use tempo and defenses are going to have to prepare for us week to week. We’re still going to have an exciting offense and one that Coug fans love, throwing the ball.”
But there will be more of a rushing game in this iteration.
“We will run the ball. That’s something I’ve told the team multiple, multiple times,” Dickert said. “That’s a mentality and a mindset that we’ll always have in this program.”
While Washington State saw quarterback Jayden de Laura transfer to Arizona, Morris brought in his QB from Incarnate Word, Cameron Ward. Last season, Ward completed 384 of 590 passes for 4,648 yards with 47 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
“It’s exciting for us to see how much he works behind the scenes,” Dickert said of Ward. “He’s like having an extra coach on the field. He’s taking this offense to a whole other level. I’m really excited about giving him the keys of the offense and letting him go to work.”
While WSU has the potential to be an explosive team offensively, the defense loses three starters in the secondary, including cornerback Jaylen Watson. The Cougars’ defense improved in 2021 and it will need to continue to get better this season.
2021 record: 7-6 (6-3 Pac-12).
Utah ties
DB Sam Lockett III (Utah State transfer)
DB Chris Lampkin (Utah State transfer)
Edge Lawrence Falatea (Alta HS)
OL Rodrick Tialavea (Highland HS)
OL Christian Hilborn (Highland HS)
2022 schedule
Sept. 3 Idaho
Sept. 10 @ Wisconsin
Sept. 17 Colorado State
Sept. 24 Oregon
Oct. 1 California
Oct. 8 @ USC
Oct. 15 @ Oregon State
Oct. 27 Utah
Nov. 5 @ Stanford
Nov. 12 Arizona State
Nov. 19 @ Arizona
Nov. 26 Washington
Up next: Arizona
