Jirah Leaupepetele holds the NT · Starter spot in Washington State Cougars’s defensive tackle room. Where he sits among the room’s front-line roles:

Jirah Leaupepetele is a 6'3", 344-pound nose tackle from Apple Valley, California, who transferred to Washington State in January 2026. At Eastern Washington, he appeared in 12 games during the 2025 season, recording 24 tackles, five solo tackles, one tackle-for-loss, and a fumble recovery. As a redshirt sophomore in 2024, he played in four contests and posted eight tackles, including a four-tackle performance against Southeastern Louisiana on September 14. In his freshman year, Leaupepetele appeared in eight games with seven tackles, making his collegiate debut against Southeastern Louisiana on September 16, 2023.

Eastern Washington2023 – 2025

Washington State2026 — present