Kirby Moore Stresses Importance of Player Retention, Adaptability of Cougars Offense

Washington State's Kirby Moore has hit the ground running in his first head coaching gig. Since being named the Cougars head man back in December, he has had to build a coaching staff, navigate the ever-fluid transfer portal and reconstruct the team's roster in preparation for the 2026 season all while learning the ropes of being the head honcho. The new-look Cougs are starting to take shape as Spring ball is fast approaching and, in a recent interview, Moore was able to shed some light on his process throughout the last few busy months.

"Right away for me it was about meeting the current players in the building," he said. "You want to make sure that the guys in the building are the immediate priority... I think the best thing right now in college football is making sure we have a ton of transparency from coaching standpoint."

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Moore made it clear that from the start it was he and his staff's top priority to build relationships with the players that were in the program and work on retention of the talent that the team already had, something that began late last season when he was in attendance at Washington States bowl game in Boise (his former stomping grounds).

"It was very important for me to not be sitting at a desk in Pullman... I wanted to make sure [I] was going to Boise and being around our guys. I think that was super beneficial."

Those efforts undoubtedly helped the Cougars retain several of their key players from last season. Standout receiver Tony Freeman, who caught 54 passes for 590 yards, is coming back as is running back Leo Pulalasi who withdrew his name from the transfer portal after initially entering. Backup quarterback Julian Dugger is also back and is expected to be in the mix for the starting job this season.

All of those guys should play a big role on offense this upcoming season; an offense that Moore says will need to be versatile.

"This whole offense has got to be super adaptable. It's got to be about the players. At Fresno the offense looked different because of the quarterback than it did at Missouri. That's something that we've got to build this offseason."

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Moore previously served as the offensive coordinator at Missouri and Fresno State before being named Washington State's head coach. His background on that side of the ball has been evident over the last several weeks in terms of the additions his team has made. One of the most notable has been former UC Davis standout signal caller Caden Pinnick who comes in after being named the Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year last fall. Pinnick, too, is expected to compete for the starting QB job this offseason.

Also helping the offensive versatility will be the new receivers that have come aboard. Tank Hawkins, Darrius Clemons, Daniel Blood and Jordan Dees are the newest names in that room and are all hoping to make an impact this season as well. The heavy focus on receivers should come as little surprise as Moore played the position in college.

The revamped Cougars will hit the field next month as Spring ball gets underway with Moore behind the headset for the first time.