Countdown to fall camp: Which WSU QBs will rise to the top of the rotation?

PULLMAN – Washington State’s final season adrift in the world of traditional conferences is a little more than a month away.

The Cougars have quite the schedule lined up, with home games against San Diego State and road ones against James Madison on deck. With last year’s Pac-12/Mountain West scheduling alliance scrapped and the new Pac-12 set to launch next year, WSU is playing a mishmash of opponents this fall, an arrangement unlike any other in program history.

To get ready, the Cougars will kick off fall camp on Wednesday. To get you ready, we’re doing a countdown, with one story per day to preview WSU’s preseason practices and what to look for. Here’s the first installment .

What will the competition at the quarterback spot look like?

Even for WSU fans casually following the program, there might be a temptation to zero in on senior quarterback Zevi Eckhaus and pencil him in atop the Cougars’ quarterback rotation. It makes sense: After serving as QB2 last season, Eckhaus took the starting reins for the Holiday Bowl, faring reasonably well and fostering confidence around the program that the team’s QB duties might still be in good hands.

But even after new head coach Jimmy Rogers lured him out of the transfer portal after a brief two-day stint in early January, a few months later, he made one thing clear: Eckhaus wouldn’t be taking over as WSU’s QB1 right away.

“The job isn’t just straight up Zevi’s. That’s part of this,” Rogers said in April, after the Cougs wrapped up spring practices. “There’s gonna be competition, and there’s gonna be more competition coming in this summer.”

Within a few days, Rogers and the rest of the coaching staff brought in the competition. Pitt transfer Julian Dugger committed to WSU, as did Rutgers transfer Ajani Sheppard, both of whom seem to fit the profile of what the Cougars are looking for at the quarterback spot – dual-threat athletes who feel equally comfortable making plays with their arm and their legs.

Not to say Eckhaus can’t play that way, but in their young careers, those two have put together lots of promising tape of plays they’ve made on the ground. The question that may come to color WSU’s fall camp: Will Rogers host a three-way QB battle between Eckhaus, Dugger and Sheppard, akin to the one last year between Eckhaus and since-departed John Mateer? Will Rogers be forthcoming and disclose that something like that will be unfolding?

That also makes no mention of redshirt sophomore Jaxon Potter, who could just as easily enter the mix for QB1 honors. Potter was a firm No. 3 last season, but with imposing size and razor-sharp accuracy, he could be just the kind of quarterback Rogers, offensive coordinator Danny Freund and coaches are looking for.

Even if no WSU coach tells the media that the quartet will be vying for starting duties in an official, structured capacity like Eckhaus and Mateer competed in last August, it’s fair to expect that Eckhaus, Potter, Dugger and Sheppard will be looking to impress coaches.

“They’re bringing a lot of great intel, great knowledge and competition to the QB room, which is very much needed,” Eckhaus said earlier this month, referring to the new additions of Duggar and Sheppard. “Because, like I said, competition brings out the best in players, so I’m really glad that they’re on our roster, that they’re gonna be with us here. I think we’re all going to push each other to be better.”