THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Spotlight on new QB-elect at WSU

In other critical voting news this week…

Maybe it got lost in the national hubbub, but true freshman Jayden de Laura won the starting job at quarterback for Washington State.

He will be the first true freshman QB to open a season at Wazzu, like…

Ever.

The de Laura era (if we can call it that) begins Saturday night when the rebuilding Cougars open this abbreviated Pac-12 season at Oregon State.


De Laura obviously impressed first-year coach Nick Rolovich enough to win the job from redshirt sophomore Cammon Cooper and redshirt freshman Gunner Cruz.

De Laura, you may recall, is the four-star prize that Rolovich recruited heavily for the University of Hawaii, and now has convinced to take his shot on the Palouse.

De Laura’s teammates seemed willing to chip in and offer a vote of confidence, too.

“He’s not an idiot,” tackle Abe Lucas mentioned during a Zoom call with the media this week.

Well, that’s good.

Right?

WE’RE actually not being fair to Lucas, who had more to say about the freshman quarterback.

“He comes in, he has confidence with people,” Lucas said. He’s not a shy guy or anything.

“He’s vocal, he’s respectful. Like I said, he’s not an idiot, he’s not a stupid freshman we have to worry about on the field — and that’s really what we care about.

“The on-the-field stuff will take care of itself as long as you work hard, but you can throw it all away off the field if you’re acting stupid, and he doesn’t do that.”

As you would expect, it was mostly that work on the field that won the job for de Laura — who didn’t throw the ball off the premises (as Lucas noted).

The young man had a big advantage, playing Rolovich’s run-and-shoot offense at St. Louis High in Honolulu, where he went 23-0 and bagged two state titles in his final two seasons.

Winning big in Hawaii is not insignificant.

Competition is fierce and there’s plenty of talent. De Laura, for instance, was preceded at St. Louis High by the likes of Tua Tagovailoa.

It’s not exactly surprising that Rolovich, who saw almost every one of the kid’s snaps in Hawaii, would have a level of trust in him to step up a level at Wazzu.

HERE’S Rolovich on his young quarterback…

“(He) came in obviously with a history in the family of the offense,” the coach said. “I think there was some stuff he still had to learn …

“Everyone (including Cooper or Cruz) was going to be a first-time starter, right?

“But (de Laura) came in, just put in the work, (we) thought he was productive and consistent, and was going to give us the best chance to move the ball this Saturday.

“That didn’t mean the other two didn’t do some good things. We’ve got to be able to count on them also.”

De Laura, though, has plenty of natural skills besides his familiarity with the run-and-shoot (which might be more run than shoot at the beginning).

“Good arm strength, good understanding, good timing, good zone manipulation of defenders,” Rolovich said.

“Gets the ball out quick, has some accuracy, has some ability to make some plays off script.

“And (there’s) his competitive nature. I think he came here for a reason.”

DE LAURA will debut in a strange game.

Even though Oregon State has more returnees in a program that is now somewhat established, the Cougs were originally installed as a slight favorite on the road. OSU is now favored by 1 1/2 points.

It’s likely this could be the last time WSU was favored in what might be a “learning year.”

Maybe the oddsmakers have noticed that the Beavers are also starting a new quarterback, redshirt junior Tristan Gebbia.

It’s going to be interesting, at the very least, with the Cougs also giving debuts to several wide receivers and — slightly scary — a few defensive linemen.

If nothing else, WSU has a history of first-year quarterbacks creating explosions.

Now they need another one.

Welcome to the Palouse, Jayden.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “Moments, Memories and Madness,” his reminiscences from several decades as a sports journalist, runs each Sunday.

Steve also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball, once per month during the offseason.