PULLMAN — Real momentum was starting to build for Dylan Paine.
What started as him walking on to the Washington State football team five years ago turned into figuring out a role as a hard-nosed, grind-and-grit running back.
In perhaps one of the wackiest games of the entire 2024 season, Week 4 against San Jose State, Paine scored two touchdowns – the final in overtime that sealed a 54-52 victory for the Cougars.
“It is a new season and we’ve all made plays in the past,” Paine said. “I have a lot of confidence in myself as a player.”
Nearly two weeks later, Paine’s fifth year was over.
The Tumwater grad suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament after WSU’s loss to Boise State in Week 5 and it was official during the bye week. It was the second ACL injury in his playing career, both on the left leg. He also suffered an ankle injury in 2023.
“I knew exactly what I was getting into before I got the surgery,” Paine said. “Way smoother than it was in high school. I knew how to attack it.”
The wild part?
Paine had to rehab both knees at the same time.
In surgery, doctors took the third of the patella from Paine’s right knee into his left. The goal was to take the load off his right knee and put it into both.
“It was a lot more work,” Paine said. “In the end, (the left knee) feels so much better. I knew I had to do what I had to do. From what the doctors were telling me, I trusted them.”
It went from the typical run-of-the-mill rehabilitation to double the work. Mentally, it was a grind the 5-foot-9 running back endured throughout the winter and spring. Paine got fully cleared in time for fall camp.
Yet even to first-year running backs coach Donnell Kirkwood Jr., that toughness only confirmed what he saw on film from the former Class 2A state champ.
“He’s a hard and physical runner,” Kirkwood said. “He is super coachable and that comes from experience. He just does a good job welcoming the new guys into the atmosphere.”
Like much of the Cougars roster, there was plenty of change after the loss in the Holiday Bowl. Only Paine and Leo Pulalasi are back in the Palouse. The rest of the room features three transfers from South Dakota State that followed head coach Jimmy Rogers plus one true freshman.
As the one with the most experience playing Division I Power-5 football, it thrusts Paine into a leadership role.
“Bringing Angel (Johnson) and Kirby (Vorhees) over from South Dakota State, they’re great leaders too,” he said. “It has helped me become a better leader for the younger guys.”
What Rogers took away more than anything from spring was Paine’s ability to ask questions and recite playcalls. All without taking a single live rep.
“He was always consistent and felt like his work ethic, he’s a tough kid,” Rogers said. “I’m glad he stuck with us. I feel like he is a winnable player.”
While Paine won’t have his younger brother by his side — Ashton Paine transferred to South Dakota — he will have another Tumwater native in true freshman Malijah Tucker to play alongside.
“He’s gonna try to run through the smoke and he's a very consistent player,” Kirkwood said. “He has to be ready at all times. We play a physical style of football. He’s done a good job being prepared.”
Paine will get to play in front of his home-away-from-home six more times. He’ll experience senior night when WSU plays Pac-12 rival Oregon State on January 29. He may be able to write his own finishing chapter.
Still, after six years in college, Paine doesn’t have a single regret.
“It is kind of crazy,” he said. “It has become my whole life. The goal is to win games and hopefully send all of the seniors out with a good taste in our mouth.”
