‘Who is this team going to follow’ Mateer, Eckhaus battle for the starting QB job

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…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/team-going-mateer-eckhaus-battle-121600248.html

Author : Lewiston Tribune, Idaho

Publish date : 2024-08-03 12:16:00

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