“I think John Mateer is one of the best ten quarterbacks in the country. I think he’s the best quarterback on the west coast,” said WSU head coach Jake Dickert.
Mateer is already a household name in the college football world in just his first season as QB1. He’s led the Cougars to an 8-1 record in just nine career starts.
“Quarterbacking is hard, there’s no doubt about it. It’s the hardest thing to do in sport. And for him to play it at this level, this early in his career, is phenomenal,” Dickert said.
When former Coug Cameron Ward transferred to Miami, Mateer was the next man up.
Now both guys are at the top of the list for most scores in the country.
Mateer is responsible for the second most points scored so far this season which includes 22 passing and 11 rushing touchdowns.
That’s right behind Heisman front-runner Cam Ward.
Both guys were a part of the Washington State program last season and even with Mateer on the bench, Coach Dickert says he always flashes of potential in Mateer, even as a backup.
“John has done a good job not trying to be Cam, I think sometimes when you see success in front of you, you just want to replicate how they did it… I think that’s probably what John has done the best this season is just being him.”
Wide receiver Kyle Williams has caught passes from both Mateer and Ward.
His confidence in Mateer has always been high.
“I [saw] spurts of it last year, and this year I was just waiting for all the pieces to just get put together,” said Williams. “John is a tremendous player he has great potential and I feel like he’s going to be one of the best quarterbacks to play in college football.”
Mateer has the opportunity to lead the Cougars to the best season result in program history, but winning out the rest of the regular season is a must.
The Cougs are on the road this Saturday against New Mexico. Kick off is at 6:30 p.m.
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