Washington State Football 2025 Roster Preview: Offensive Line

Roster upheaval has been a huge part of Washington State's 2025 offseason headlines. From quarterback on down, the Cougs are going to look little like what they did a year ago. In spite of all the change, however, it's safe to presume that much of this fall's success will hinge greatly on what goes on in the trenches. Protecting new signal caller Zevi Eckhaus is priority number one and Jimmy Rogers' big boys up front know it too. What will that group look like when things kick off next month?

The Starters

The most seasoned vet on the o-line will be Christian Hilborn. Big No. 61 checks in at 6-5, 318 lbs and has played every position on the front save for center. Hilborn, a redshirt senior, comes in with 37 career starts under his belt. He and sophomore Ashton Tripp are currently pegged to start at the right and left tackle spots respectively. Tripp will be one of the youngest offensive line starters for the Cougs this season if that projection holds true. He has not started yet but did appear in all 13 games for WSU last season.

Moving to guard, it looks to be redshirt junior Jonny Lester and redshirt sophomore Noah Dunham, both of which were on the squad last year as well. Lester played in a dozen contests last year and specifically came in on short-yardage sets. Dunham, meanwhile, only showed in three games. Both, though, have climbed the depth chart greatly this offseason after the Cougars lost nine linemen to the portal.

Finally, at center will be senior Brock Dieu, who was the team's starter last year as well. Dieu, though, got the nod at guard for the first ten games before shifting over to center toward the end of the year. Now he's expected to stay there for 2025.

The Reserves

Deeper down the depth chart at guard will be ex-South Dakota State guard Nick Bakken. Bakken, who is actually the only current incoming transfer on the roster at the O line position, is a redshirt freshman who appeared in six games for SDSU in 2024. He will be joined by fellow freshmen Xavier Thorpe and Chris Lino. Both Thorple and Lino return after serving their redshirt seasons with the Cougs last year. Rounding out the room will be sophomore Kyle Martin who also did not appear in a game last year.