Washington State Adds Two Offensive Coaches Before BYU Game

PULLMAN, Washington – Less than 24 hours before the all-Cougar matchup between BYU and Washington State, the Cougs from the Palouse announced a pair of additions to their shorthanded staff.

Washington State hired Dan Morrison as quarterbacks coach and Dennis McKnight as the offensive line coach.

Cougs announce coaching staff updates

Welcome to the Cougar Family, coach Morrison and coach McKnight!https://t.co/H3opmdd59B#GoCougs | #BackHome pic.twitter.com/q2jLnck2xn

— Washington State Football (@WSUCougarFB) October 22, 2021

Both men previously worked under former Washington State head coach Nick Rolovich at Hawaii. As a result, each of these coaches know the Run & Shoot offense that the Cougs from Pullman currently run.

These moves come after Wazzu fired Rolovich and four assistants for not complying with the state of Washington’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Washington State also promoted analysts to fill positional roles

The Cougars are still three coaches short of a full staff (one head coach plus 10 assistants) heading into Saturday’s game against BYU at Martin Stadium. They did promote a pair of analysts into position roles to oversee the defensive line and the cornerbacks.

Washington State is currently 4-3 on the season and in the thick of the Pac-12 North division title race.

BYU comes into Saturday’s game against the Cougars clad in red, not letting their guard down for the understaffed Washington State team.

But at the same time, they can’t help but have some sympathy for the student-athletes that are greatly impacted by these changes.

“It is unfortunate for the players and I feel bad for those guys,” said BYU quarterback Jaren Hall to KSL Sports. “You still have your assistants and can still have a game plan. To lose four assistants – including the offensive coordinator – that puts a lot of stress on those players. That could be seen as an opportunity with those players to gameplan and scheme something up. It might be something cool for them to step in and take that role.”

The kickoff for BYU versus Washington State on Saturday, October 23, is set for 1:30 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on FS1. Radio call from BYU’s broadcast can be heard on your legacy home of the BYU Cougars, KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM). Pregame radio coverage begins live from Pullman starting at 9 a.m. (MT).

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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