Wazzu delays naming QB1 until game day

Four quarterbacks engaged in a competition to start for Washington State are still fighting it out, leaving head coach Jimmy Rogers to declare he won’t name his QB1 until the season opener on Aug. 30.
The Cougars open with Idaho and staged a four-way battle for the starting quarterback job after John Mateer transferred to Oklahoma. Mateer was the replacement for Cam Ward, who went to Miami and became the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft.
Rogers is making no guarantees about extending the streak of breakout passers but promised tight lips for the next two weeks as the Cougars sort out their depth chart.
“You guys won’t know so, I’ll never tell you. You’re gonna see it on game day,” he said. “There’s a battle continuing to happen. Proud of the guys as far as their maturity and how they handled it and we’ll see how it shapes.”
Returning senior Zevi Eckhaus started in Mateer’s place in the Holiday Bowl and has been credited with better conditioning by Rogers.
in the Holiday Bowl start, Eckhaus and the Cougars lost to Syracuse 52-35. He completed 31 of 43 passes for 363 yards with three TD passes and two picks, and opened the shootout with a touchdown run.
Jaxon Potter, a redshirt sophomore in his third season in the program, and redshirt freshman Julian Dugger are considered the closest competition for Eckhaus, who is the most experienced.
Potter attempted only two passes last season. Dugger transferred from Pitt, where he appeared in just one game and completed 7 of 13 passes and rushed for 88 yards in a six-overtime loss to Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.
Eckhaus said he’s confident he’ll be the starter.
“I don’t think you can ever stop finding ways to be a better leader. I think that’s what separates me,” he told 4 News this week.
Sophomore Ajani Sheppard transferred from Rutgers and has been less involved in live team drills.