‘I was freaking ready to go.’ John Mateer opens tenure as Washington State QB with record-setting effort against Portland State

Aug. 31—PULLMAN — John Mateer got a good night’s rest before making his first start as Washington State’s quarterback.

No overriding anxiety or nerves that would’ve impacted the calm Texan roughly 15 hours before taking his first meaningful snaps Saturday afternoon against Portland State.

The only interruption came from roommate Kyle Thornton, a starting linebacker who activated a meditation device minutes before the WSU teammates were ready to shut their eyes at the team hotel in Pullman.

“He turned on this meditation guy,” Mateer said. “This guy was talking to us and I was like, ‘Bro, turn it off.’ But it might have helped, I don’t know. But I slept good. But I actually woke up before my alarm, I guess I was … ready to go.”

That was the understatement of the day after Mateer accounted for six total touchdowns, passing for five and rushing for another as WSU dismantled Portland State 70-30 in the season opener at Gesa Field.

Mateer’s six touchdowns were the most by a WSU quarterback making his first start since at least 1976, the last year stats are available. His five touchdown passes tied the record for a first-time starter previously shared by Luke Falk (2014 vs. Oregon State) and Anthony Gordon (2019 vs. New Mexico State).

“I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I’d be, and I’ve been here for a while and I’m mature enough to understand I’m good enough to play at this level,” Mateer said. “But yeah, I was a little nervous, unfortunately, going into that first drive. After that, I was good.”

The early stages of the game didn’t unfold the way Mateer hoped. WSU went three-and-out during its first drive after consecutive incompletions from Mateer. After Mateer delivered a 16-yard pass to Kyle Williams, his next three passes hit the turf, stalling the Cougars’ offense once more.

After hitting on just one of his first six…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/freaking-ready-john-mateer-opens-020200245.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2024-09-01 02:02:00

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