Aug. 3—Washington State junior John Mateer and senior transfer Zevi Eckhaus have every reason not to be fond of eachother. One of them will be taking snaps and leading the Cougs down the field in less than 30 days, the other will be holding a clipboard on the sideline, waiting for their opportunity.
As things stand following three days of fall camp, the two have an equal shot at the starting quarterback job.
Mateer said there is “no bad blood” between the two men.
“I wouldn’t say he’s like my best friend — like, I hang out with a lot of linemen — but I mean, it’s nothing against him,” he said. “It’s not like I don’t like him. Yeah, he’s a great dude.”
Eckhaus said he and Mateer are handling the competition the right way.
“Do you have the maturity to be competitive in a friendly manner? And what I mean is when we’re off the field obviously all things are good and when we’re on the field, it’s competitive and it should be. It’s competitive between us, it’s competitive between the receivers, it’s competitive between offense and defense and so on and so forth,” Eckhaus said.
Head coach Jake Dickert said he spoke to the team about the idea of healthy competition in his Friday post practice pep talk.
“Football’s a fun game. You know, you see the second field of young guys who a lot of them maybe know they’re not going to be cracking the field this year just yet. And they’re flying around celebrating, having fun. And then sometimes you feel the strain and stress of the competition,” Dickert said, gesturing to the starting and second-string field. “So always find your joy. We get to be out here in 100 degree weather playing ball, doing something we love to do. Those guys know we got to make big decisions. But at the end of the day, they’ve all supported their teammates, and they’re sharing in our vision.”
Mateer and Eckhaus are each taking snaps with the ones and twos during the first three days of fall camp, reinforcing a joke that head coach Jake Dickert said in the spring that he could wait until the Cougs’ first gameday versus Portland State, Aug. 31 at Gesa Field to decide a starter.
While the Cougs likely won’t wait that long to pick a starter, the competition will decide a single starter versus a shared responsibility.
“I’m a believer you really roll through one guy. Now once again, with the understanding that when we make this decision, that guy has to perform. Now that doesn’t mean a quick leash or anything like that, but these guys know the responsibility of that position, if we don’t feel like that position is getting done, just like we would at guard or linebacker, we’re gonna make a substitution there.”
On the second day of fall camp, Mateer and Eckhaus struggled on several occasions to take care of the ball, throwing several picks apiece and other incompletions.
The two quarterbacks have cashed in on the work they put in over the summer in Pullman, finding favorite targets such as Kyle Williams and Leon Neal Jr. respectively.
Mateer said he picked up on a lot of the receivers’ tendencies while working with them over the summer and took advice and feedback from veterans such as Williams and Oregon transfer Kris Hutson.
“This is the first fall camp I really get a chance to be ‘The guy,'” Mateer said.
Dickert said he is factoring intangibles such as poise and leadership into his QB decision in addition to talent, skill and the ability to limit turnovers.
“John threw an interception, came back, the very next snap, threw a beautiful out route on the run,” Dickert said. “Who can handle those types of things? When we’re not having a good day, who’s willing to speak out and lead? Because half of being a quarterback is who is this team going to follow?”
Mateer spent the last two seasons backing up Cam Ward, who transferred to WSU from Incarnate Word in 2022 and ascended to the seventh-most passing yards in WSU history in the span of two seasons (6,968 yards). He was brought in to run the ball as a second QB on the field or for trick plays. He also led drives during blowouts.
In limited action, Mateer has completed 15-of-19 passes for 262 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Eckhaus comes to WSU after a three-year starting QB career at Bryant University (R.I.) in the Northeast Conference, Football Championship Subdivision.
The senior chose to transfer to WSU to pursue the opportunity to start at the FBS level after racking up 2,907 passing yards and 28 touchdowns to seven interceptions in the FCS.
“This was obviously a gamble, it was a risk. It was something I wanted to do to elevate my game and to show people that I’m worthy to play at a higher level,” Eckhaus said.
Mateer has familiarity with the system whereas Eckhaus has starting experience being the guy that a team relies on for leadership. Mateer has waited his turn for two seasons on the Palouse while Eckhaus seeks to take his first FBS snap.
“Right now it’s just compete,” Eckhaus said. “Put your best foot forward and let the coaches’ make the hard decision.”
Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.
Lewiston Tribune, Idaho
