Washington State Cougars fill their Coordinator openings
Ed Stein
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Washington State Cougars head coach Jake Dickert filled his vacant coordinator positions. The new coaches have interesting backgrounds.
In Jake Dickert‘s first year as a college football head coach, he led the Washington State Cougars to a 7-6 record and a Bowl appearance. Of course, he didn’t do it all by himself. Dickert had great assistants and coordinators.
Unfortunately, after such a great season, the Cougs lost both of his coordinators. Offensive coordinator Eric Morris replaced Seth Littrell as the head coach at North Texas. Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Brian Ward made a lateral move to Pac-12 rival Arizona State.
Dickert went out of the box to fill one position and went the traditional route on the other.
Offense
Last Friday, the Washington State Cougars announced Ben Arbuckle as their new offensive coordinator. At just 27 years old, he’s the youngest coordinator in the Power 5.
A hot, up-and-coming coaching prospect, Arbuckle led Western Kentucky’s high-powered offense. 2022 was his first season as an assistant, and he ran with his opportunity. WKU was among the NCAA leaders in several categories:
- Total Offense – 6th
- Passing Offense – 2nd
- Scoring Offense – 15th
- 20+ yard plays – 1st
It will be interesting to see what he can do with the Washington State Cougars offense. Quarterback Cam Ward returns to Pullman for 2024, along with running back Nakia Watson.
Although several key receivers from last year’s team left via graduation or portal, Arbuckle still has good talent to work with. Holdovers Leyton Smithson, Lincoln Victor, and Orion Peters will be joined by UNLV transfer Kyle Williams.
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Defense
Coming in to lead the defense is Jeff Schmedding. The Spokane native was the DC at Auburn last season.
Auburn had a very unAuburn-like season in 2022, going 5-7. Head Coach Brian Harsin was fired with four games left in the season. Interim coach Cadilac Williams kept Schmedding, but new head man Hugh Freeze brought in his own staff.
Schmedding’s defense was mid-pack in the SEC. The War Eagles struggled against the run, giving up 204 yards per game. But they were solid defending the pass, allowing a respectable 224.0 YPG.
He’ll have his work cut out for him as the Washington State Cougars will have a high personnel turnover on defense. On the bright side, Schmedding was an assistant and coordinator at Boise State and Eastern Washington. He knows the area.
What do you think about WSU’s new coordinators?