Nov. 26—Dean Janikowski didn’t get the news until shortly after Tuesday’s Washington State practice, which took place in the new Taylor Sports Complex, thanks to temperatures dipping into the 30s as November rolls along.
He’s one of three finalists for the Wuerffel Trophy, which goes to the college football player who best exemplifies community service, academic excellence and athletic performance.
“It’s a huge honor,” Janikowski said. “I remember being young and seeing that award, and it’s a huge honor, especially just all the work that we put in, giving to the community. It’s cool to be given that recognition. It’s a really honorable award, and we’re super pumped about it.”
Janikowski, the Cougars’ sixth-year kicker, has earned the recognition in large part through the Heather Janikowski Foundation in honor of his late mother, raising more than $150,000 to support cancer research and patients. Since arriving at WSU, he has launched the “More Than a Kick” and “Kicking Cancer” initiatives, encouraging donations for each field goal and extra point he makes.
Janikowski has stayed busy organizing fundraising events like the Do it For Her 5K and Monserrate Memorial Hike, donating to people in need and using his platform to support cancer patients in his community.
The winner will be announced live on an awards show on ESPN on Dec. 12. The recipient will also be formally honored at a gala in February at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
Before then, Janikowski will wrap up his time playing at Gesa Field — Martin Stadium when he joined the WSU program as a preferred walk-on in 2019 — when the Cougs host Wyoming on Saturday afternoon.
Bowl-bound WSU will still get another several weeks of practice and a bowl game, but it amounts to the end of a long career in Pullman for Janikowski.
After some struggles early in the season, in which he missed enough field goals to endure a 3-for-9 stretch dating back to last year, Janikowski has turned things around .
For the season, he’s connected on 8 of 11 field goals, the highlight coming on a 52-yarder to force overtime in WSU’s double-overtime win over San Jose State in September.
He’s made six of his last seven attempts.
He’s also handled nearly all of the Cougars’ kicking duties this season. Punter Nick Haberer missed the first eight games of the season with a back injury, and kickoff man Ryan Harris has been on the shelf a good chunk of the year with an injury, so Janikowski has stayed busy on the field.
For the season, he’s punted 26 times for 1,111 yards, an average of 42.7 yards — only a tick down from Haberer’s 2023 average of 44.4.
Janikowski has also kicked six punts 50-plus yards, more than Haberer’s mark of five last season.
He’s also landed five punts inside the 20.
He’d rather not have to come out for punts anyway. He hasn’t needed to now that Haberer is back in the fold, returning for WSU’s win over Utah State earlier this month.
Either way, with WSU’s regular-season finale coming up, it’s given Janikowski a chance to reflect on his time in Pullman, going from walk-on, to being put on scholarship, to walking out on Gesa Field for the final time.
“I think it’ll be really cool being with KT (Kyle Thornton, Quinn (Roff), all the guys that I was here with my first year, the sixth-year boys. That’ll be really cool,” Janikowski said.
“Obviously, gonna miss my mom being out there, not being able to give her the roses. Gonna miss that. But it’s gonna be cool to have my family, my sister, my brother, out there. I’m super excited.”
