How WSU’s offensive line is leading the charge in trying to avoid a fall-off like last season’s

PULLMAN – During the past couple of weeks of Washington State practice, Fa’alili Fa’amoe has started to speak up.

One of the Cougars’ most tenured offensive linemen, Fa’amoe has been around for several years, long enough to witness all kinds of developments, all kinds of trends.

Fa’amoe, WSU’s starting right tackle, had a front-row seat to the Cougars’ slide last season. He started all 12 games last fall, meaning he saw the way WSU opened with four straight wins, only to drop its next six, falling out of bowl eligibility by the end of the regular season.

So in practice this week, as the 4-1 Cougars come out of a bye week and prepare for a road test against Fresno State this weekend, Fa’amoe has started to get in his teammates’ ears.

“We were in this position last year,” Fa’amoe has said. “Remember that feeling. Don’t let these days get away. Every rep is a rep that you can dominate.”

It hasn’t fallen on deaf ears. Fa’amoe might be one of the Cougars’ most experienced offensive linemen, but he isn’t one of their most vocal. He’s often soft-spoken, teammates say, so when he does say something, he tends to get their attention.

“He does lead through example,” WSU left tackle Esa Pole said. “He does lead through the way he fights, the way he strains in practice and what he puts on film. I feel like he’s a big leader by example, and we really appreciate having him in the room.”

WSU would do well to heed Fa’amoe’s advice. Almost a year ago to the day, the Cougars’ six-game losing streak began, kicking off the program’s longest slide in more than a decade. At the heart of the issues was WSU’s offensive line, which couldn’t run-block credibly enough to force defenses to commit more defenders to the line of scrimmage, affecting the rest of the offense.

To avoid a similar fate this season, the Cougars are taking steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again. WSU’s offensive line seems to be leading the charge, at least in practice, where players like Fa’amoe have reminded their guys how much that slide last year stung, how much it should fire everyone up now.

If his pass protection is any indication, Pole has taken his teammate’s message to heart. WSU’s highest-graded pass-blocker, according to Pro Football Focus, Pole has permitted just five pressures in five games, including two in a double-overtime win over San Jose State last month. Pole yielded zero pressures in the Cougars’ last contest, a 45-24 loss to Boise State, earning a pass-blocking grade of 87.3 – the highest of his two-year WSU career, a far cry from the 0.0 figure he earned in a loss last year to UCLA, which kicked off the six-game streak.

Pole is bringing stability to a unit in real need of it. Fa’amoe is still working his way back into the rotation because of a knee injury he suffered at the beginning of the calendar year. In the second half of that Boise State game, left guard Rod Tialavea subbed out in the second half to make room for Christian Hilborn, who is at his best at that position.

But WSU coach Jake Dickert and other coaches want to end that experiment and establish a permanent starting five for the rest of the season, which will be a key part of the Cougars’ practices this week. As Fa’amoe works his way back to full strength, they want to establish the better candidate at left guard, Tialavea or Hilborn. That will help them cement the rotation, which will be set in time for WSU’s game against Fresno State , Dickert said.

Tialvea has allowed 10 pressures, most on the offensive line, including seven hurries, two sacks and one hit. Hilborn has not allowed a sack, but he has let pass-rushers get to quarterback John Mateer for six hurries and one hit.

It’s an issue for the Cougars because of the role their offensive line played in that loss to the Broncos. Fa’amoe and Tialavea permitted sacks, part of the seven Boise State’s pass rush produced, prompting Dickert and his staff to take a longer look at the front five.

The short answer to solving that issue is to find the right personnel. The longer one involves the way linemen like Pole are taking it upon themselves to prevent this season from unraveling like last year’s did.

The main way they’re doing that, Pole said, has to do with this week’s practice. Headed into their game against the Broncos, the Cougars and offensive line coach Jared Kaster were working on more advanced techniques – “stacking on top of the fundamentals,” in Pole’s words.

“Going into the bye week and going this week, preparing for Fresno,” Pole said, “I think he really took a step back and wanted to hone in on the fundamentals that we’ve learned from Day 1. Sometimes we get away from what we do best, and that’s just the base fundamentals – hat placement, hand placement, footwork, stuff like that.”

That’s what they’re doing physically. They’re also reminding themselves of last year’s bye week, which WSU entered at 4-0. This fall, the Cougars entered their first week off with a blemish on their record, and to hear Pole tell it, they’re turning that into motivation.

It starts with Fa’amoe, whose experience has earned him respect around his fellow offensive linemen, enough to fire them up with only a few words of encouragement.