Countdown to camp: Which WSU tight ends will stand out and earn a starting gig?

PULLMAN – Here is the 10th installment of our countdown to Washington State fall camp, which starts on Wednesday. This issue covers the Cougars’ tight ends.

Which WSU tight ends will stand out and earn a starting gig?

WSU’s tight end competition looks a little like the race at the running back spot: There’s several candidates, and if spring ball was any indication, it remains tight as ever.

Candidates to become the Cougars’ starting tight end this fall include incumbent starter Cooper Mathers, redshirt senior Billy Riviere, junior Andre Dollar and redshirt freshman Trey Leckner, a relative unknown but who came on strong in spring practices in April.

Which way will coaches go? It might depend on what they want out of the tight end position. Mathers, a 6-foot-2 senior, fashions himself as more of a pass-catcher, more of a finesse player. Starting in seven of 10 games last season, Mathers registered 21 catches for 251 yards and one touchdown. He earned the starting role but missed a pair of games due to injury.

That opened the door for Riviere, who started the two games Mathers missed. For the season, he totaled eight catches for 77 yards, signaling what is clear by watching him play: He’s more of a force in the ground game, using his 6-4, 250-pound frame to flourish as a blocker. A former North Dakota transfer, Riviere made some of his best plays paving the way for WSU rushers.

“We need more from Billy,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said during spring ball.

It’s also important to note that Mathers was dinged up during spring practices, missing time with a hamstring injury, which made evaluating his progress a little difficult. Coaches still see him the same way, though, a tweener who can offer production in both the pass and blocking departments.

Then there’s Dollar, who received a little notoriety over the summer when internet personality Dan Katz, host of the podcast “Pardon My Take,” used him in a huge role when streaming the new EA College Football 25 video game. Katz would call out “Dollar time,” before punching in close-range runs, a catch phrase that caught on with viewers. The real Dollar would certainly love to see that kind of usage this fall. A season ago, he appeared in all 12 games, tallying three passes for 44 yards.

Could he be in line for more playing time this season? If he’s useful anywhere, it’s the red zone, where WSU coaches might be able to capitalize on his 6-5, 242-pound size. They didn’t do so last year – in fact, red zone offense consistently eluded the Cougars, who converted 77% of their red zone opportunities, second-worst in the Pac-12 – but with more experience under Dollar’s belt, it’s possible coaches will trust him a little more this time around.

To hear him tell it, Dollar worked accordingly over the offseason.

“Really it was those contested catches,” Dollar said during the spring, referencing the part of his game he worked hardest at. “Just being able to go up and get the ball, be a big-body threat in the red zone is something coach (Nick) Whitworth and I have talked about ever since I got here. Just being able to be an asset in the red zone is really huge for me.”

It’s also possible WSU coaches give a look to Leckner, who redshirted last year, his true freshman campaign. He ran with the second team for much of spring practices, hooking up with QB Zevi Eckhaus for a touchdown in the Cougs’ second scrimmage of the spring, but more telling will be his usage when fall camp starts.

Physically, he’s a little like Mathers, checking in with a 6-3, 215-pound frame. He starred as a running back in high school, rushing for more than 1,000 yards as a junior in the Seattle area, so he provides some speed and athleticism that other candidates for the job might not have.