Newly named Wazzu starting QB Pinnick aims high in introduction

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Aug. 26—PULLMAN — Since his arrival in Pullman from UC Davis eight months ago, two goals have been top of mind for Washington State's newly announced starting quarterback Caden Pinnick.

"Beat the team across the west and go get that Pac-12 championship," Pinnick said following WSU's Tuesday practice at Gesa Field, his first since being named a starter on Monday. "(That's) something that I echoed very clearly. I think we have a lot of guys here that feel the same way, offense and defense. They want it."

That's a pretty high bar for a sophomore starter to set, but Pinnick, last year's Big Sky Freshman of the Year, may have the work ethic to back it up.

Pinnick will get a chance to check off that first box during a unique Seattle Apple Cup at 1 p.m. Sept. 6 at the University of Washington.

"He's a really good learner in all aspects," said first-year WSU coach Kirby Moore, who also said it "was pretty dang cool" seeing Pinnick in WSU's academic center early Monday morning on the first day of school. "We talk about doing more than what's expected, so the (practice) film is going to be up here in about 20 minutes, and I'm sure he'll be watching it and texting his coaches and asking questions about the good things and maybe the ones that we can learn from."

Pinnick said he learns best through practice reps and the chance to fail. His 15-practice fall camp, which kicked off Aug. 6, featured plenty of pinpoint accurate throws and athletic plays with his arm and his legs.

It was in those settings where he flashed many of the tools that boosted him past redshirt freshman Owen Eshelman and sophomore Julian Dugger for the starting job, to which he was officially named following a one-on-one meeting with Moore and his staff.

Advertisement

Pinnick said he stepped into the room with a little bit of butterflies in his stomach, but kept his composure and hoped for the best.

When he stepped out of his 8:30 a.m. meeting with Moore and company, he was WSU's starting quarterback.

His first call to share the good news?

"My mom, of course," Pinnick said. "It's just me and my mom all 20 years that I've been on this planet, and yeah, she was the first one to call because we're on this journey together. And then obviously had to thank the Lord Christ for allowing me to get into this opportunity that I have right now."

Moore said that Pinnick began to separate himself toward the middle of camp with a series of solid practices. Next for Pinnick is continuing to crack the Cougar defense's coverages and not making the same mistake twice.

Pinnick has emerged as a natural leader for WSU after piloting his UC Davis Aggies to the FCS playoffs and a 9-4 overall record last year, when he completed nearly 70% of his passes for 3,206 yards with 32 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and ran the ball 125 times for 437 total yards.

It's that resume that helped him fit right in with Wazzu.

"You look at being thrown in the fire there last season at UC Davis, going into the playoffs, some of the hostile environments that he played in in that conference, and then coming here and transitioning and meeting a lot of new teammates, being quite a bit away from home," Moore said, "and he's done an excellent job of just meeting teammates where they're at on offense and defense."

WSU linebacker Nylan Brown was complimentary of the Cougars' quarterbacks, particularly Pinnick, whom he called "a commander of the offense," who overcame doubts about his performance based on his 6-foot frame.

"Especially being a little bit of a shorter quarterback, people tell him he can't do it all the time, and that man stands strong in how he feels and how he goes about his business," Brown said. "So I love him, and I'm grateful for him to have him as my quarterback."

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2260, staylor@lmtribune.com, or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos