Rogers Using Bowl Game Prep To Develop Washington State's Younger Players

Oct 25, 2025; Pullman, Washington, USA; Washington State Cougars running back Kirby Vorhees (9) takes the hand off from Washington State Cougars quarterback Zevi Eckhaus (4) against the Toledo Rockets in the first half at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images | James Snook-Imagn Images

The first year of a head coach's tenure doesn't always result in postseason play. However, Jimmy Rogers managed to lead the Washington State Cougars to a 6-6 record in the regular season.

Now with extra time on the schedule and other TBD opponent on the horizon, Rogers has the opportunity to further develop the younger players on his team as he lays the foundation for future seasons.

"That's what the bowl games do," Rogers noted after the season finale win over Oregon State. "You're able to continue to consistently get better as a football team and grow the youth of your program. So, I'm excited for that. There's a lot of young talent on this team and a lot of guys have worked extremely hard to become bowl eligible right now."

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A prime example of that youth is redshirt sophomore running back Kirby Vorhees, who finished the regular season as WSU's leading rusher. The South Dakota State transfer carried 138 times for 590 yards with five touchdowns.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Anthony Palano also showed tremendous potential throughout the season, finishing with 63 tackles, half a sack, and two pass breakups.

Coming from an FCS program at South Dakota State where he won a national championship and was part of another as a coordinator, Rogers has set high standards for himself. Even in achieving bowl eligibility, Rogers pointed out that four of their six losses came by four points or less.

"Every season has its own challenges. I've never lost six times in a season, I don't think, in my life," Rogers noted.

"This has been a really hard year for me personally. It's been a really hard season for a lot of players because we've been so close in so many games and we should honestly be, you know, looking at a 10 and two season. But at the same time, I'm not going to live in the past or steal the joy in any way because they're hard to come by. I'm just happy for these seniors that they get a couple more weeks to live it out and enjoy the time together....I'm just happy that at the end of the season we have the opportunity to spend more time together, grow the program through the youth, and celebrate it with these seniors one last time."

WSU are expected to find out the postseason destination after conference championship weekend.

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