Oct. 12—PULLMAN — Six games into the season, Washington State is making a change at quarterback.
Redshirt freshman Owen Eshelman will start WSU's road game at Oregon State on Saturday, coach Kirby Moore said on Monday, replacing starter Caden Pinnick.
It's a major shakeup for the Cougars' offense, which has scored just four touchdowns in five FBS games this season, ranking as one of the country's worst offenses in several categories. A transfer from UC Davis, Pinnick has thrown just three touchdowns against five interceptions, including just one FBS touchdown pass. He has lost seven total turnovers, including a fumble in a Friday road loss to Utah State.
"Caden understands that this is a team-first decision, and it's about what's doing best for the team moving into the second half of the season," said Moore, who added that he made the decision on Saturday and informed each player on Monday morning. "Owen has been right there pushing the quarterback room for the past 10 months and has prepared like the starter, and done everything we've asked of him."
A native of Norman, Oklahoma, Eshelman's only college experience came earlier this season, playing two snaps in the final moments of a blowout win over FCS Duquesne. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 204 pounds, Eshelman redshirted his true freshman season last fall. Now as a starter, he figures to provide the Cougars with a sharper passing attack and even some more mobility, which he showed during fall camp practices back in August.
A class -of -2025 prospect out of Norman North High School, Eshelman played three seasons as the team's starter, totaling 6,666 yards of total offense and 79 touchdowns in that span. As a senior, he threw for 2,507 yards and 29 touchdowns, plus 1,312 rushing yards and 19 scores on the ground, earning all-conference honors.
Eshelman, who also started three seasons on the basketball team, originally committed to FCS South Dakota State before flipping to WSU, following former coach Jimmy Rogers in that transition.
"There's definitely some similarities in terms of playmaking ability," Moore said, comparing the two QBs' styles. "I think the big thing is we gotta continue to work on accuracy with the football, and when something's there, we gotta take advantage of it and be more efficient on first and second down. Had opportunities there to drive in the red zone and didn't take advantage of it, and then on third down, we gotta make sure we do a good job of taking care of the football. And sometimes it's OK to punt. We've had some turnovers in those situations the last few games that have put our defense in bad positions."
The move was necessary for WSU (1-5, 0-2 Pac-12), whose offense had almost no life under Pinnick. In Friday's game, Pinnick completed 23 of 36 passes for just 156 yards. He did not complete a single pass further than 9 yards downfield, according to Pro Football Focus, highlighting one of his main weaknesses: He either can't or won't stretch the field vertically.
Underscoring that reality is this statistic: Pinnick is one of three QBs in the country to attempt at least 150 passes and total less than 1,000 yards, which illustrates how unwilling he was to move the ball downfield.
After six games, WSU's offense has scored just 12.6 points per game, which ranks No. 133 of 138 FBS teams in the country. The Cougars are producing 236 yards per game, one spot up from dead last, and their 8.5 yards per completion also ranks one place better than last in the nation.
"Owen does a great job in the meeting room. He really does," Moore said. "He's a student of the game. He's worked like heck throughout this offseason. He's gonna continue to tackle that, and that's gonna translate to the practice field throughout this week with more reps and more on his plate. Naturally, that's play-to-play. Sometimes there's checks with plays. Sometimes we're calling and hauling. Sometimes there could be protection checks that are on the quarterback. But we feel very confident about Owen making all those decisions."
Can Eshelman turn around WSU's moribund offense against Oregon State, which boasts the country's best offense? The Cougars can probably count on better accuracy — in Friday's game, Pinnick missed a wide open Leo Pulalasi, who could have scored on the play — and improved pocket presence. Pinnick has taken 11 QB-fault sacks, according to Pro Football Focus, tied for the most nationally.
Moore, who called plays for the first time in Friday's game, might get better QB play this time around. Whether it leads to the Cougars' first FBS win remains to be seen, but the program was due for a change.
"I think there's not a lot of guys that could do what he does and he's a very mentally strong person," Norman North High coach Justin Jones told Sports Illustrated back in 2023. "He's an ultimate competitor and I think him playing multiple sports and being an exceptional basketball player as well, he brings that to the game and gets some tough runs. ... He takes a lick a lot and he just has a growth mindset and doesn't worry about the previous play. Moves on to the next one and that's why he's having some success right now."
Extra points
—Left tackle Ashton Tripp is day to day with an ankle injury he sustained against Utah State, Moore said. If Tripp can't play against Oregon State, the Cougars will turn to Washington transfer Maximus McCree, who filled in when Tripp went down.
—Safety Kyle Peterson and defensive ends Malachi Wrice and Michael Hughes will return to practice this week and will be game-time decisions against Oregon State, Moore said. Wrice has missed the past four games, Hughes has been out since the Apple Cup and Peterson has missed the past two contests.