April 13 – PULLMAN – Zevi Eckhaus had everything prepared for his flight to Alabama, home of Jacksonville State, where he had signed to play football.
The former Bryant quarterback was ready to move on, ready to play at a higher level, when his phone rang.
On the other side was Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, putting pressure on Eckhaus in January.
“We have an open position,” Arbuckle said. “We’re looking for a guy. It’s an open competition. Do you want to be the guy?”
“I want to say it took me less than 24 hours to get back to him,” Eckhaus said. “I could have slept through it.”
The next day, Eckhaus reorganized his plans. He decommitted from Jacksonville State — players in the transfer portal don’t enter into binding agreements until they enroll on campus — and signed with WSU. Without visiting Pullman, without a guarantee that he would see the field next fall, Eckhaus became a Cougar.
“I think it’s just the name and the reputation this school has,” Eckhaus said. “They’ve obviously produced a lot of great players. We have some players that will be in the (NFL) draft this year. The name speaks for itself. It was an opportunity to put myself in a great position as an athlete.
“I feel like whether you’re a high school athlete, or Pop Warner, or whatever, I think every kid’s dream is to play in (Power Five) one day, and I had that opportunity. and I couldn’t let this one go.”
Washington State may not enjoy Power Five status as it did in the last century – WSU and Oregon State are using a two-year grace period to try to rebuild the Pac-12 by playing as Mountain West affiliate members next season – but it had enough status to attract Eckhaus to Pullman.
In Eckhaus, the Cougars got a nimble quarterback, last season’s Big South-OVC Offensive Player of the Year, a finalist for the 2023 Walter Payton Award, which goes to the best FCS player in the country. Eckhaus tied the school record for single-season touchdown passes last season with 28. He also holds the school record for career touchdown passes, total offense and completions. He spent three years with the Bulldogs (2021-23), starting nearly all three seasons.
Last season, the 6-foot-5 Eckhaus completed 238 of 379 passes (62.8%) for 2,907 yards, 28 TDs and seven interceptions, leading Bryant, of Smithfield, Rhode Island, to a 6-5 record. .
During WSU’s spring practice schedule, including Saturday’s ninth edition, Eckhaus has mostly been taking reps with the second team. Rising junior John Mateer, the starter, has been working with the starting lineup, signaling that he is likely in the lead for the starting spot at the moment.
But Eckhaus may not be far behind. This spring, coaches worked with Mateer on limiting interceptions, which he did in practices that followed. The coaches added that Eckhaus offers a slightly different skill set, a mobile quarterback compared to pocket passer Mateer.
Receivers like sophomore Carlos Hernandez also note that there’s a difference between the two quarterbacks — Mateer throws a harder ball, Hernandez said — but WSU coach Jake Dickert was careful to note that no one’s job will be achieved during the spring.
That’s good news for Eckhaus, who said he’s still adjusting to football with the Cougs, still adapting to Arbuckle’s schemes and calls. It can be a learning curve — “Just asking as many questions as I can to try to learn the verbiage, the terminology, to improve my game and help everyone around me,” he said — but he’s enjoying the process.
“Air Raid is a lot of fun,” said Eckhaus. “Coach ‘Buck’ loves to throw the ball. Obviously, we have a great running game. Our O-line does a great job. The run obviously sets up the pass.”
