As WSU opens spring practice, new faces surface and a QB battle unfolds

PULLMAN – Kyle Williams will be the first to admit he isn’t a naturally talkative guy.

He may be Washington State’s top receiver, perhaps the Cougars’ best returner on offense, but leadership doesn’t always come naturally to him.

“It’s something that I’m still getting used to. I’m not really too much of a vocal person,” Williams said. “I like to lead by my style of play. But I understand that we’re gonna need a voice and I might have to be the one to step up. So I’m getting used to it. I’m getting more comfortable to it. But once I get it, you’re gonna hear a lot more of me.”

That matters much more for this WSU team, which kicked off its spring slate with practice Tuesday morning, rolling out on Rogers Field a new-look club.

Williams is the team’s most tenured receiver. He took turns catching passes from quarterbacks John Mateer and Zevi Eckhaus, by all accounts the two leaders in that room, as did a host of new receivers: Oregon transfer Kris Hutson, Louisiana Tech transfer Kyle Maxwell, College of San Mateo (California) transfer Tony Freeman and Austin Peay transfer Tre Shackelford.

Elsewhere on the field, other position battles unfolded. Utah Tech transfer Syrus Webster took first-team reps. Defensive back Tyson Durant, an Akron transfer, did too.

Absent was offensive lineman Fa’alili Fa’amoe, who head coach Jake Dickert said Monday would be out until the summer recovering from surgery on the knee injury he played through last season. Maxwell, Dickert said, is also managing a slight groin injury.

While Dickert made sure to mention no jobs will be won in March, much of the intrigue around this WSU team will involve the quarterback position. Mateer, the incumbent, took lots of first-team reps in Tuesday’s practice. But the Cougars also gave plenty of looks to Eckhaus, a transfer from Bryant, where he became one of the most prolific quarterbacks in program history.

It’s a departure from the norm for the Cougars, who haven’t hosted a quarterback battle like this in three years. Former QB Cam Ward made sure of that, but over the offseason he transferred to Miami, opening up the door for the previous backup Mateer to take the reins. He might have experience on his side, but Dickert is giving Mateer and Eckhaus a real look.

“It’s gonna be a long, drawn-out process,” Dickert said. “I just think I’m looking for a guy that’s really gonna command the offense, command the leadership that is required at that position and run our offense, I believe, in a more efficient manner.

“We’ve really looked hard under the hood at some of our failures from last season. Obviously, running the ball is still gonna be a big thing, and we gotta go out there and do it. So a lot of those things, command points. But John and Zevi are vastly different players. So don’t expect the offense to be the same when either one of them are out there. We’re gonna tailor it a little bit here and there to their strengths.”

WSU will host its pro day on Wednesday morning at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho, thanks to ongoing renovations at the facility in Pullman.