Analysis: Breaking Down Cougars’ Quarterback Room After Spring Ball
Even after losing starter John Mateer to Oklahoma, the Washington State Cougars have a very intriguing quarterback room with some added depth in the transfer portal. Current QB coach and offensive coordinator Danny Freund will have a young, but experienced room with four scholarship quarterbacks having taken previous snaps at the FBS level. It is unquestioned that Zevi Eckhaus is the expected starter, but it remains to be seen how the rest of the room will shake out.
PROJECTED STARTER
Zevi Eckhaus, 6-0, 209 pounds, Culver City High School (Culver City, California)
Before transferring from Bryant, Eckhaus was named 2023 OVC-Big South Player of the Year and a Walter Payton Award finalist, throwing for 2,907 yards to go along with 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Eckhaus showed promise in his first start with the Cougars in the Holiday Bowl versus Syracuse, amassing four total touchdowns and 363 yards through the air. In that bowl loss, he showed more mobility than expected. It will be interesting to see how he does in this new offense.
That's 3⃣TD for Zevi Eckhaus! Cougs cut it to 28-35!! 👀
📺 @CFBONFOX
📍 @holidaybowl #GoCougspic.twitter.com/TppOp6YKDV— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) December 28, 2024
Reports out of spring ball seemed to be positive for Eckhaus, as he went 14-19 with 143 yards and a touchdown in the Spring Showcase. Since arriving at WSU, coaches have raved about his leadership ability and according to coach Jimmy Rodgers, he “ has a great grasp on the team.”
PROJECTED BACKUPS
Ajani Sheppard, 6-2, 233 pounds, Iona Prep (Bronx, New York)
Julian Dugger, 6-3, 210 pounds, Penn Hills High School (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Jaxon Potter, 6-5, 205 pounds, Santa Margarita High School (Huntington Beach, California)
Sheppard, a third year sophomore, and Dugger, a redshirt freshman, are two players that transferred into Washington State in May. They join Potter, a third year quarterback who has been at Washington State his whole career. All three players have played in limited action with Sheppard going 2-2 through the air with 23 yards and four carries for 34 yards on the ground, Dugger going 7-13 through the air with 72 yards, two touchdowns, and 88 yards on the ground, and Potter completing both of his passes for 26 yards in his career.
Julian Dugger threads the needle to stretch the lead for Pitt 👀 pic.twitter.com/JbB7jHNUEb— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) December 26, 2024
Potter has shown positive signs as the second quarterback on the depth chart, as he went 9-11 with 100 yards and a touchdown in the Spring Showcase. Sheppard and Dugger are highly mobile quarterbacks and will make the QB room more competitive. It looks to be a true competition for the backup quarterback job. With Sheppard and Dugger’s ability to run and with Potter having a quality arm, Freund looks to have plenty of options to choose from.
I could see whoever wins the specific battle between Sheppard and Dugger to have a similar role to John Mateer in the 2023 season with either quarterback taking a few snaps a game to take advantage of their legs. With the new system looking for more of a mobile quarterback, I expect Dugger to be the backup quarterback heading into the season.
OTHER SCHOLARSHIP QUARTERBACKS
Dalton Anderson, 6-2 205, Roosevelt High School (Seattle, Washington)
Anderson, a local kid out of Seattle, threw for 2,519 yards along with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions. His recruitment heated up late and within the span about two and a half months, he committed to Utah State and then decommitted after a coaching change and being offered by Boise State and Washington State. Anderson seems to have a high ceiling, as he told Micah Chen from 247 Sports that his junior year was his first year as a starting quarterback.
“Before that I was a backup, a linebacker or a receiver,” Anderson said.
Anderson has a big arm and the ability to move outside the pocket. With not having a whole lot of game reps, you can expect him to rapidly improve, but it will take time before he’s ready to play for the Cougars.
Owen Eshelman, 6-3 195, Norman High School (Norman, Oklahoma)
Originally committed to join Rogers at South Dakota State, Eshelman decommitted to join him and his staff on the Palouse. Eshelman is a mobile quarterback with plenty of arm talent, as he threw for 2,691 yards and 29 touchdowns with 13 interceptions. He also added 1,383 rushing yards to go along with 19 touchdowns at the prep level. Having a very productive high school career and being a dual threat quarterback, Eshelman can impact the game in a myriad of ways and more time to sharpen his passing skills could pave the way for him to play for the Cougars down the road.
With four quarterbacks that have had Division I reps ahead of them, it would be tough to for Anderson or Eschelman to find their way into the quarterback competition as true freshman and they likely will redshirt. Both players have plenty of potential and are going to be interesting to track in 2026 and beyond.
