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KIRBY MOORE‘S ARRIVAL to Washington State has felt like a tidal wave of upward momentum since the Prosser native was named the 36th head coach in WSU football history. Moore joined The Couch GM Podcast for an exclusive inside look into WSU’s remarkable roster retention, bringing in FCS Freshman All-American Caden Pinnick at quarterback, how a medical sales job out of college blossomed into his current coaching journey and more.
COUGFANcom: How are you feeling so far about this roster and build out at Washington State?
Moore:: Really just proud of our staff, attacking the process and being very proactive and really first, right? Definitely been a whirlwind, but first starting with our players and for me meeting them right where they’re at. Getting off the flight from Missouri on Sunday and setting up meetings with our players with everything that they’ve been through and meeting with them Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.
I think the best thing right now in college football is making sure we have a ton of transparency from a coaching standpoint, from a playing standpoint about where they’re at, where they’re going. ‘Hey, are you thinking about transferring?’
And then it was very important for me not to be sitting at a desk in Pullman. So I wanted to make sure, right, going to Boise and being around our guys and meeting their parents, and we had some of the staff there as well. I think that it was super beneficial to be around our guys again at practice, meet their parents.
We met with five or six parents immediately right after the bowl game because naturally, being on semesters, those guys were going to go away for three weeks and we wanted to make sure we had a firm foundation. The staff did a tremendous job with the retention piece.
Then it was about finding the right fits in the portal. We attacked it when it opened. I believe we had 45 visits there within that two-week period, and it was about finding the right fits. There were certain positions that we attacked right away.
COUGFANcom: At what point do you assess the roster to figure out which spots you need to fill in the transfer portal?
Moore:: I’ll give a ton of credit to Brad Larrondo — his experience from a roster standpoint at Boise, at Auburn, and with us at Missouri was a huge part of our success. Those conversations were super fluid. There are eligibility things, guys moving on, and we talked through all of that in Pullman.
Some guys you felt pretty good about, some guys you knew those conversations were going to keep going there in Boise at the bowl game. After that, I felt like we had a pretty good idea of where things were at, but it was constant communication. That was the biggest thing.
COUGFANcom: When you took the head coaching job timelines were critical: did you immediately shift toward portal prep after the season?
Moore: Naturally with the earlier signing period there are challenges. Signing day was December 4 this year, and those relationships had been built for over a year with a previous staff. Right away for me it was about meeting the current players in the building — the 105 guys — and everything they had been through.
You want to make sure the guys in the building are the immediate priority. Then you’re playing catch-up a little bit with some of those high school commits. That dictated some of the numbers from a portal standpoint.
COUGFANcom: We’re curious about getting a quarterback like Caden Pinnick in the transfer portal. What were the conversations like in getting a FCS Freshman All-American who was highly sought?
Moore: It was great jumping on the phone with [Caden] right away, asking what he’s looking for. You see the production he had on the field. I think a ton about Tim Plough and what he’s able to do offensively. You watch the good plays, you watch the ones that didn’t go his way, and you ask what he could control.
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 we’ve got to build throughout this offseason.
I think Julian Dugger, as well, you look at the athleticism that he has and how he ended the season in with that really good run in that empty formation. Owen Eshelman has also done a great job going up against the starting defense this past season … I’m excited about all the guys in that room, their best ball is ahead of them.
COUGFANcom: Take us back to 2014 — your medical sales days — and how you got into coaching.
Moore: I had surgery right at the end of my senior year and missed quite a few games. That was really my initial step toward coaching because I was trying to stay involved, on the headset, signaling. Then Chris Petersen took the Washington job. There was a conversation about being a grad assistant, but it didn’t work out.
I jumped into medical sales … realized it was a great profession, but I wasn’t into blood. Meanwhile, I had this side job coaching receivers at College of Idaho. I’d be in the hospital all day and couldn’t wait to get to practice. That pushed me fully into coaching. Every stop after that, Washington, Fresno State, Missouri, I just learned from great mentors. But the biggest message I’ve gotten from all of them is: be yourself.
COUGFANcom: If we would have told you the second you took the job that you’d be able to retain Kirby Vorhees, Maxwell Woods and Leo Pulalasi would all return, what would you have told us?
Moore: Fired up. What those guys have already done, how much they’re working already throughout this offseason. The first Sunday I flew in, it was an off day here, I’m walking through the weight room and there’s two guys on the practice field doing extra work. It’s Maxwell Woods and Kirby Vorhees. That’s exactly who they are, and Leo as well.
I’m really looking forward to working with those guys and not just from a run standpoint. I think sometimes the most uncovered guy on the field is the running back in the pass game. Very excited about working with those guys.
COUGFANcom: Working off in-state recruiting and your Washington tour, what’s it like getting out there and hitting the pavement in-state?
Moore: We want to make sure we’re not flying over anyone in the Northwest and especially in the state of Washington. Tackling the Tri-Cities, Spokane, we’ve gotten over to the Seattle and Tacoma area for a couple of days … and we want to make sure we’re embracing the alumni. So as we progress here and get into spring ball, that’s going to be a huge emphasis. Getting alumni back around our players.
COUGFANcom: Take us through your receiver room, the vertical threats in it, and what a guy like Daniel Blood does for the room having years of experience at Missouri?
Moore: From a receiver room standpoint, you’re building a basketball team. I think it’s really valuable to have guys with different strengths, shapes, sizes and lengths.
Tony Freeman, we know what he’s done here, can’t say how much I appreciate him trusting me and our staff coming back here. Daniel Blood, his versatility, he was a glue guy for us. We can plug him into the slot or the outside spots. He has a quarterback mindset at the receiver position. Tank Hawkins … you said it, he can take the top off and stretch the field.
Related: Defensive depth chart projection as WSU spring football kicks off this month