Analysis: Comparing Washington State’s Quarterbacks Through Six Games
There have now been three games since Zevi Eckhaus took the reins as the starting quarterback for the Washington State Cougars from Jaxon Potter, who was benched after a 59-10 throttling at the hands of the North Texas Mean Green.
Turning to Eckhaus, the Cougars inserted a more mobile quarterback whose running ability has brought more versatility to the offense. But his improvisation skills using his legs have also helped the Washington State passing unit by making plays off script when something goes wrong and he’s forced to move outside of the pocket.
As the games go on and opposing defensive coordinators have more film, the more an offense can do makes it harder for opponents to game plan for. Regardless, through his first three starts as the starting quarterback this year, Eckhaus has shown that he deserves to be the guy under center moving forward.
Let’s compare both quarterbacks in their first three starts this season:
Zevi Eckhaus
Completions/Game: 22
Attempts/Game: 32
Passing Yards/Game: 228.7
Rushing Yards/Game: 19.3
Completion Rate: 68.3%
Passing Touchdowns: 6
Rushing Touchdowns: 2
Interceptions: 2
Sacks: 8
Passer Rating: 145.3
QBR: 76.4
Team Points/Game: 21.6
Jaxon Potter
Completions/Game: 22.3 completions
Attempts/Game: 31.7 attempts
Passing Yards/Game: 201.3 yards
Completion Rate: 70.5%
Passing Touchdowns: 4
Interceptions: 3
Sacks: 0
Passer Rating: 131.5
QBR: 48.0
Team Points/Game: 19.6
When comparing the two quarterbacks, the stats match the eye test indicating Eckhaus has been the superior quarterback this year. Eckhaus has given the Cougars something on the ground from the quarterback position, adding another element defensive coordinators have to be worried about. He’s leading teams to slightly more points per game against better competition with Washington and Ole Miss being the two best teams on the schedule. Plus, Eckhaus has a better touchdown to interception ratio, more yards per game, and a substantially higher passer rating as well as QBR. You could see the last two weeks, there were some RPO concepts in Washington State’s playbook, which was something due to Potter’s lack of speed you didn’t see in the first three games. Eckahus has shown the ability to make tough throws inside and outside the pocket, which has helped as a catalyst for Washington State’s offensive improvement.
Part of the reason Potter was named the starter before the first game of the season was due to his ability to take care of the football. But due to three first half turnovers against North Texas, he lost his starting job and Eckahus has done a pretty good job avoiding turnovers over the last two games, helping Washington State win in the turnover margin against Colorado State and Ole Miss. Not giving the Rebels extra possessions was a big reason the Cougars stayed in the game throughout. As we’ve seen the last three games, Eckhaus is the best quarterback on the Cougars roster, and it’s worth wondering why he wasn’t the starter in Week 1 to begin with. For Washington State to continue getting better and earn a bowl bid, they are going to need the senior signal caller to continue making plays with his legs, limiting turnovers, and making quality throws inside and outside the pocket down the stretch.
