"Moore to the Story" The Next Chapter in Cougar Football

[Deuce2223]

SEASON STATS

TEAM OFFENSE
PPG-39.6 (Ranked #11 Nationally/#2 in Pac-12 (BSU was 41.0)
Offensive Yards-6,989 (Ranked #5 Nationally/#1 Pac-12)
Yards per Game-537.6 (Ranked #1 both Nationally and Pac-12)
Passing Yards-4,261 (Ranked #15 Nationally, and #2 Pac-12 (Stanford was #1)
Rushing Yards-2,768 (Ranked #4 Nationally and #1 in Pac-12)

TEAM DEFENSE
PPG-30.7 (Ranked #6 in Pac-12)
Yards Allowed-5,408 (Ranked #7 in Pac-12)
Yards per Game-416(Ranked #5 in Pac-12)
Passing Yards-3941 (Ranked #9 in Pac-12)
Rushing Yards-1467-(Ranked #3 in Pac-12)
Sacks-35 (#2 in Pac-12, BSU had 37)
Fumbles-12 (Tied San Diego State for #1)
INT's-7 (Tied for 5th, BSU was #1 with 18)

PLAYER STATS (*-Denotes Senior,, **-Denotes player is joining the Portal)

QB A. Sheppard-13 Games 304/479 (63%) 3497 yds 24 TD 18 INT, 109 carries 485 yds 4 TD
**QB D. Bayer-5 games 37/57 (64%) 525 yds 4 TD 2 INT
** QB J. Dugger- 4 games 20/46 (43%) 239 yds 2 TD 6 INT, 15 carries 96 yds

RB L Pulalasi-10 games 197 carries 880 yds (4.5 avg) 9 TD, 32 rec 274 yds 1 TD
RB A.Abbott-13 games 145 carries 561 yds (3.9 avg) 12 TD, 8 rec 91 yds
FB C. Provo-13 games 114 carries 523 yds (4.6 avg) 3 TD, 29 rec 239 yds 1 TD
RB G. Ard-9 games 41 carries 174 yds (4.2 avg) 4 TD, 3 rec 19 yds

WR L. Creer-13 games 98 rec 1195 yds 17 TD
*WR D. Faupel-13 games 66 rec 931 yds 4 TD
*WR T. Merriweather-12 games 50 rec 551 yds 2 TD
WR C. Pabst-11 games 16 rec 219 yds 3 TD
WR B. Ganashmoorthy-13 games 4 rec 60 yds
TE J. Fineanganofo-13 games 50 rec 619 yds 1 TD
*TE H Cedarland-13 games 3 rec 47 yds 1 TD

LB G. Jones-96 Tackles 11 TFL, 2 Sacks
FS K. Patu-83 Tackles
FS A. Palano-81 Tackles 3 TFL
*CB K.Rapolla-77 Tackles 3 TFL 4 INT
LB C. Reynolds-68 Tackles 6 TFL, 1.5 Sacks
*CB J. Mickey-67 Tackles 1 TFL, 2 INT
SS T. Ridley-66 Tackles 10 TFL, 1 Sack
*DT Bryson Lamb-57 Tackles 17 TFL, 6.5 Sacks
LB D. Pritchard-56 Tackles, 3 TFL 2 Sacks
DE M. Wrice-55 Tackles 16 TFL, 6.0 Sacks
*CB A. Davis-54 Tackles, 3 TFL 1 INT
DE F. Lecuona-46 Tackles 14 TFL 5.5 Sacks
DT K. Beatty-33 Tackles 10 TFL, 4.5 Sacks
DE M. Hughes-17 Tackles 7 TFL 3.0 Sacks

PK A. Lounsbury-20/23 FG (86%) 49 Long, 56/57 XPT (98%)
P R. Harris-57 Punts 2499 yds (43.8) Avg, (36.6) Net 64 Long

M. Wood-28 KR 739 yds (26.4 avg) 1 TD, 38 PR 378 yds (9.9 avg)
L. Creer-26 KR 584 yds (22.5 avg) 1 TD
L. Wright-5 KR 126 yds (25.2 avg)


PORTAL NEWS

QB
SO Julian Dugge (76) and Doug Bayer (65) both declare for the Portal after Coach Moore announces that the Cougars will pursue a Transfer Portal QB to compete against returning starter Ajani Sheppard and incoming 4* QB Johnathan Provo

RB
FR Matthias Rourke (72 ovr) redshirted last season but has decided that after seeing both former 4* Antonio Abbott and Clifford Provo carve out large rolls in the offense as well as WSU adding BSU transfer Greg Ard, the former 3* from Salt Lake City Utah is hitting the Portal.

WR
RS FR Carter Pabst (71) didn’t play a ton of snaps last season as the team’s #4 but when he did he made some plays (16 rec 219 yds/13.7 avg) well catching 3 TD’s. He originally announced he was hitting the portal after WSU added another pair of 4* Recruits but withdrew after both Moore and Miller promised him the opportunity to be the team’s #2 next to Lester Creer next season.

LB
FR Manny Quinn (69) has announced his intentions to join the portal. The former 3* From Sammamish WA redshirted last year and

[djp73]

hopefully Pabst can be a real blue ribbon receiver for you next season after you talked him into sticking around

[redsox907]

putting up 35 against LSU should definitely be a morale victory - not that we count those

get the defense at least playing decent and ya'll cruising next year

[Deuce2223]

hopefully Pabst can be a real blue ribbon receiver for you next season after you talked him into sticking around

To be completely honest I never put his last name and Blue Ribbon together. To funny..

He is one of those guy's who seems to play better then his attributes.. Last year he had several big plays for touchdowns but yet he is one of the slowest guy's in the WR room but he does have the highest catch rating (81) of any of the guy's returning .

[Deuce2223]

MOORE DOUBLES DOWN!!!

Last season Kirby Moore came to Pullman and reloaded the roster with 32 incoming players with a recruiting class that finished ranked #43 Overall in the country.. Moore was able to retain 3 key incoming 4* Recruits in WR Lester Creer and RB's Antonio Abbott and Cliff Provo. Creer went on to set a new school record leading the team in receptions (98) yards (1195) and touchdowns (17) well Abbott and Provo combined for 159 carries for 1083 yds and 15 TD's (Abbott lead the team with 12), well Provo also excelled in the receiving game with 29 rec for 239 yds and 1 TD.

This year Moore doubled down yet again landing a Trio of 4* Recruits and then pushed hard in the Transfer Portal landing 11 players including several impact players on both offense and defense that helped push the Cougars class to 23 players (3-4*,20-3*) that finished ranked #38 Overall and #2 in the Pac-12 (BSU was #36 Overall).

Here is a look at the entire 23 man class.

HIGH SCHOOL (12)
4* WR Calvin Wayne (#96/#2 OR/#21 WR)
4* QB Johnathan Provo (#101/#2 MS/#11 QB)
4* WR Deon Rugamba (#317/#5WA/#62 WR)
3* CB Jay Cotter (#445/#4AR/#39 CB)
3* OT Leati Tuipulotu (#461/#3HI/#34 OT)
3* OT Javier Bueno (#570/#86TX/#42 OT)
3* C Miles Ejiofor (#701/#9CO/#23 C)
3* CB Marques Stroughter (#840/#14NV/#65CB)
3* C Devon Livings (#1179/#12WA/#37C)
3* CB Chuck Hajrullahu (#1446/#26PA/108CB)
3* OG Scott Gibbs (#1500/#208TX/#76 OG)
3* OG Chuck Anders (#1679/#17WA/#83 OG)

**We lost out on 4* WR Rayshon Jones (Idaho #1 POY) who signed with Washington in Week 4**

With the departure of Duggin and Bayer, Provo will have a chance to battle any portal additions this spring for the opportunity to backup Sheppard and be ready incase the INT's continue to plague his career. Wayne and Rugamba are both future starters and should push Pabst and any portal additions this year for a chance to play as true freshman like Creer did.

With the graduation of the Top-3 CB's on the roster, landing 3 CB's is huge toward future depth and to see if we can develop one or 2 of them into potential starters.

0-Line was a huge priority so landing 6 players here was huge.. We missed out on some key targets but again these are guy's who could very well redshirt and become 3-4 year starters starting in 2028.


TRANSFERS (11)
3* TE RS JR Mason Williams (Minnesota)-Ranked #2 TE in the Portal/#78 Overall
3* RB RS SO Brevin Doll (Iowa State) Ranked as the #21 RB in the Portal and #102 Overall
3* QB RS JR Malachi Nelson (USC/BSU/UTEP/Kansas)-Ranked #20 QB in the Portal/#121 Overall
3* CB RS JR Sharif Denson (Florida)-Ranked #19 CB/#156 Overall
3* CB RS FR Tre Poteat (Tennessee) Ranked #28 CB/#277 Overall
3* RB RS FR Alex Goings (Iowa State) Ranked #59 RB/#327 Overall
3* OG RS SO Terrell Kim (Arizona State) Ranked #11 OG/#329 Overall
3* WR RS JR Dazmin James (Cal) Ranked #74 WR/#373 Overall
3* OT RS SO Robert Bourdon (Texas A&M) Ranked #20 OT/#586 Overall
3* DT RS JR Bryce Butler (Middle Tenn) Ranked #28 DT/#579 Overall
3* OT Nikola Milovac (Kennesaw State) Ranked #21 OT/#620 Overall

** I went all in after former Washington QB Demond Williams JR as my portal QB. Offered him 50 points, had him visit in Week 2 was #1 going into Week 4 but he signed with Colorado to be their backup. Landing Nelson a a former 5* Recruit who was the #1 QB in his class when he signed with USC was the backup plan.. Nelson has some history with OC Matt Miller after serving as the Boise State backup in 2024 before transfering to UTEP in 2025.. He only played 5 games with the Miners before going to Kansas where he appeared in just 1 game last year.

Mason Williams will push True Freshman Junior Fineanganofo for TE1.. J.F. played well last year despite only rated a 66 Overall finishing with 50 rec for 619 yds and 1 TD, but Williams is 6'5 and with the graduation of my #2 TE and no true #3 on the team last year I was actually hoping to land another TE but he signed with Louisiana in Week 4.

Doll and Goings add nice depth in our RB that didn't really need to add anyone but both scouted well and have great speed so worse case they help on special teams

James appears to be the best WR rating wise on the team and will likely slide into the #2 role next to Creer for at least a season which could allow Wayne or Rugamba or both to redshirt.

Denson and Poteat are instant starters with the graduation of our Top-3 QB's. Denson could very well end up as the highest rated player on the team similar to the Cougars signing of CB Jayden Mickey last year.

Kim and Bourdon will likely push for starting jobs, with Kim potentially moving to Tackle as well, but worse case we just added 3 solid backups to the O-Line that was desperate for help.

Bryce Butler appears to be a instant starter as well at DT if we continue to run a 4-2-5 Defense.. If the team switches to a 3-3-5 then he could be the primary backup...

[Deuce2223]

2026 SIGNING DAY

TRANSFER PORTAL NEWS
After a (7-5) finish and the firing of HC Steve Sarkisian, QB Archie Manning has decided rather than enter the NFL draft he would instead look to finish his career elsewhere as he get a NIL deal from the Georgia Bulldogs that will likely pay him more money than any NFL rookie contract would pay. With the addition of Manning, Georgia comes away with the #1 Overall Class signing 35 players to a roster (32 High school/3 Transfer).

Texas didn’t waste anytime finding his replacement as they offered RS JR Brad Jackson (Texas State) the starting job. Jackson threw for 4467 yds with 33 TD and 2 INT last year for the Bobcats in 2025 but missed all of last season with a injury

Well Manning and Jackson both made smart moves changing schools and retaining starting jobs, several top tier QB's did not.

Demond Williams JR turned down the starting role at WSU after backing up Manning last year in Texas to become the backup at Colorado. Not sure why he didn't just stay in Texas to be the starter there either.

Former Notre Dame starter CJ Carr left the Irish in 2025 to be the backup in Michigan last year but after coming away with a title after failing to beat out Underwood for the starting job, Carr is on the move again this time to be the backup at LSU.

Kamario Taylor started his career at Miss State, then went to Ole Miss and now is headed to Auburn where he will replace Deuce Knight who left for Tennessee.

Former Hawaii starter Micah Alejado is headed to North Texas to replace Mestemaker who declared for the NFL Draft.

A RB Jordan Davison (Oregon) was the highest rated RB in the Portal he signed with USC

Virginia lost both of it's Top-2 WR as Terrell Anderson signs with Clemson and Que'Sean Brown signed with Alabama. Both players were Top-15 in the portal at #13/#14.

Oregon also lost TE Jamari Johnson to UCLA. Johnson was ranked the #1 TE in the Portal and #8 Overall

CB OJ Frederqiue Jr. (#3 Overall) leaves Miami for Florida, CB Colton Hood (#4 Overall) leaves NC State for Duke, CB Blake Woodby (#6 Overall) leaves Auburn for Alabama.

TOP-25 CLASS
# (5*/4*/3*/2*)

#1 Georgia-35 (5/30/0/0) *Besides Manning they also signed 5* QB Max Jones the #2 QB in the Class and #6 Overall, they also signed the Khari Ismail the #1 WR and #2 Overall player in the Class
#2 Notre Dame-27 (2/21/4/0) *Signed 5* QB James Richard the #4 QB and #11 Overall.
#3 Alabama-30 (2/21/7/0)
#4 USC-28 (2/17/9/0)
#5 Penn State-28 (3/11/14/0) *They signed a pair of 5* WR in Imani Stout the #2 WR/#7 Overall and Reggie Snow #3 WR/#15 Overall
#6 Michigan-28 (1/21/6/0) *Signed 5* TE Xavier Cherry #1 TE/#24 Overall
#7 Ohio State-31 (0/28/3/0)
#8 Nebraska-30 (2/11/17/0) *Signed 5* RB Gerald Tolson the #1 RB and #9 Overall
#9 Clemson-26 (1/13/12/0) *Signed 5* RB Lamarcus Sisk #32 Overall/#3 RB
#10 Auburn-28 (1/14/13/0)
#11 Oklahoma-23 (2/11/10/0)
#12 UCLA-28 (2/9/17/0 *Signed 5* RB Duke Reynaud #2 RB and #11 Overall
#13 Florida-27 (1/13/13/0)
#14 Miami FL-27 (0/14/13/0)
#15 Oregon-28 (0/14/14/0)
#16 LSU-22 (0/13/9/0)
#17 Ole Miss-32 (0/12/20/0)
#18 Tennessee-29 (0/13/16/0)
#19 Texas-30 (0/13/17/0)
#20 Florida State-22 (0/9/13/0)
#21 Louisville-21 (1/6/14/0)
#22 Pitt-23 (1/7/15/0)
#23 Duke 25 (0/8/13/4)
#24 UNC-19 (0/8/11/0)
#25 BYU-22 (1/5/16/0)

Other noteworthy
#27 Texas Tech-18 (0/7/11/0)
#28 Missouri-17 (1/5/11/0) They signed the 5* QB Tre Ahlers (#1 QB and #3 Overall player in the class)
#31 Utah-18 (0/6/11/1)
#41 Washington-23 (0/3/17/3)
#44 North Texas-22 (0/2/18/2)
#136 Missouri State 16 (0/0/0/3/13)

**#1 Overall Player was Mike LB Seth Hurley who signed with Virginia Tech


PAC-12 CLASS'S
#36 Boise State-18 (0/6/11/1)
#38 WSU- 23 (0/3/20/0)
#54 UTSA 26 (0/0/17/9)
#76 Oregon State-14 (0/1/11/2)
#82 Stanford-11 (1/0/10/0)
#87 Rice-14 (0/0/8/6)
#92 Fresno State-25 (0/0/4/15/6)
#96 San Diego State-18 (0/0/4/14)
#98 Colorado State-19 (0/0/0/5/7/7)
#124 Texas State-16 (0/0/0/11/5)
#130 Utah State 13 (0/0/0/9/4)
#132 Cal 5 (0/2/3/0)

Despite a HC change, BSU still comes away with the highest rated class and the most 4*

Stanford signs the only 5* and it's a good one as they nab 5* QB Kyle Goss the #3 QB and #8 Overall player in the class.

Crazy to see Cal sign just 5 players will be interesting to see how far they drop in Overall ratings. Last year they were a 82 and the highest rated team in the Pac-12 but finished just 6-6 Overall and lost in their Bowl game.

[ShireNiner]

Only six defensive recruits coming in, hopefully that means you have a ton of returning defenders then. The offense is going to be stacked with the addition of these 3 and 4 star guys for Moore to utilize.

[Deuce2223]

Only six defensive recruits coming in, hopefully that means you have a ton of returning defenders then. The offense is going to be stacked with the addition of these 3 and 4 star guys for Moore to utilize.

Only had 9 Seniors (5 Offensive and 4 Defensive). James, my transfer portal add at WR replaces 1 of the outgoing staters at WR leaving either the incoming 4* Freshman or last year's backups to fill the other. On Defense 3 of the 4 were my Top-3 CB's well the other was my #2 DT.. The transfer DT i signed will fill that spot Well the 2 CB's I signed form the Portal are instant starters as well. The Bulk of my Defense were Sophomores so they will be Juniors this year giving me 2 years to find replacements. The O-line was my priority this year. Next year will be D-Line and LB's. as well as Safeties.

Right now my Big Board for next season has 5 D-Line, 7 LB's and 3 DB's. but I only have 5 Seniors on Defense and only 14 Seniors on my roster again.

Roster breakdown is 75 players Offensive has 40 (9 SR/7 JR/ 14 SO / 10 FR) the Defense has 33 players (4 SR/ 10 JR,/ 5 SO/ 14 FR) then I have a SO PK and a SR Punter.

[djp73]

Looks like a good class, feeling like a net improvement?

[Deuce2223]

Looks like a good class, feeling like a net improvement?

I am hoping so. I was really bummed with Williams didn't sign,, but I guess now I know how Huskie fans feel like IRL. It's funny cause I saw today that Nelson is going back into the Portal and will be playing for his 4th team next year IRL as well. Nelson played well for me last year in CFB25 well at Boise State and attribute wise he is a huge upgrade at QB at least as my #2 if Sheppard continues to throw INT"s.

I wasn't planning on adding any RB's but to anytime I can someone with above 90 speed it's tough to pass up. I missed out on some 3* LB's that would've been nice but Overall yes the team jumps from a 72 Overall to a 80 Overall this year.. BSU is a 81, Cal drops to a 79 and Stanford to a 77 well Oregon State is a 74.