PULLMAN, Wash. — With spring football practice just around the corner for Washington State, head coach Jake Dickert stopped by the KING 5 studios to talk about what's ahead for the program.
Just as there is a whole new crop of players, there are some key additions to the coaching staff as well. New offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle helped lead Western Kentucky's offense to the second most passing yards in the nation last season. Dickert says a new offense could be particularly beneficial to second-year quarterback Cam Ward.
"This isn't a restart, it's a little bit of a rebranding," said Dickert. "It all centers around Cam Ward. I think Cam is poised to have his best season. I'm excited about the growth of that entire offensive unit. Anytime you don't achieve at the level you want to, there's a tremendous urgency among our offensive players and they want to prove what we're capable of doing."
Ward was sacked a league-leading 46 times last season. Dickert says it could have been worse.
"If Cam wasn't Cam, that number could have been 60. He got out of some of those plays that only Cam Ward can," said Dickert. "You win games at the line of scrimmage in the Pac 12. That was noted last season and I think the Pac 12 is strong. We have to match that intensity at the line of scrimmage. We have to keep Cam upright and allow him to go through his progressions. I don't care what quarterback you are, if you're not comfortable back there you can get a little antsy and go off script pretty quick."
The Cougars hold their first spring practice on March 21. It'll be their first time on the field together since a loss in the LA Bowl last December. Some of the Cougars' key players chose to skip the bowl game to avoid any injuries as they prepare for a potential career at the professional level. When pushed, Dickert would rather his players compete.
"There's still some old school Wisconsin roots that says finish, and finish with your team," Dickert said. "I think there's some value that can be added to players by playing and finishing and seeing it all the way through. Each individual situation is different, but I support those guys. We have many conversations about those things, but the old-school competitor in me says finish what you started."
One of the popular topics in college athletics is the ability of student-athletes to create revenue off their name, image and likeness. Some NIL agreements involve very lucrative deals. Dickert says those deals are here to stay.
"It's created opportunities for players. The student-athletes are still bringing in tons of money to our universities and need to be compensated," said Dickert. "As Cougs, we're not going to go out there and match it. We don't have Fortune 500 companies at every corner of our streets. But we do have a lot of passion and we do have Cougs all over this great country who want to give back to our program. NIL still needs to be a big part of that."