‘I was freaking ready to go.’ John Mateer opens tenure as Washington State QB with record-setting effort against Portland State

PULLMAN – John Mateer got a good night’s rest before making his first start as Washington State’s quarterback.

No overriding anxiety or nerves that would’ve impacted the calm Texan roughly 15 hours before taking his first meaningful snaps Saturday afternoon against Portland State.

The only interruption came from roommate Kyle Thornton, a starting linebacker who activated a meditation device minutes before the WSU teammates were ready to shut their eyes at the team hotel in Pullman.

“He turned on this meditation guy,” Mateer said. “This guy was talking to us and I was like, ‘Bro, turn it off.’ But it might have helped, I don’t know. But I slept good. But I actually woke up before my alarm, I guess I was … ready to go.”

That was the understatement of the day after Mateer accounted for six total touchdowns, passing for five and rushing for another as WSU dismantled Portland State 70-30 in the season opener at Gesa Field.

Mateer’s six touchdowns were the most by a WSU quarterback making his first start since at least 1976, the last year stats are available. His five touchdown passes tied the record for a first-time starter previously shared by Luke Falk (2014 vs. Oregon State) and Anthony Gordon (2019 vs. New Mexico State).

“I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I’d be, and I’ve been here for a while and I’m mature enough to understand I’m good enough to play at this level,” Mateer said. “But yeah, I was a little nervous, unfortunately, going into that first drive. After that, I was good.”

The early stages of the game didn’t unfold the way Mateer hoped. WSU went three-and-out during its first drive after consecutive incompletions from Mateer. After Mateer delivered a 16-yard pass to Kyle Williams, his next three passes hit the turf, stalling the Cougars’ offense once more.

After hitting on just one of his first six passing attempts to start, Mateer concocted his best stretch of the game, beginning with a 30-yard touchdown toss to Oregon transfer Kris Hutson, who made a leaping dive in the end zone to bring the ball in with both hands.

“First drive, I think it was my fault. We’ll see the tape,” Mateer said. “Started off slow, but Kris Hutson’s diving catch, he really helped me get going, and that run on third down on the second drive, I was like, ‘OK.’ When you’re playing football and you take that first hit, it’s like, yeah, you’re just playing football. It was good, it was pretty clean, made some good checks and it was fun.”

Mateer’s strike to Hutson opened a sequence that saw him throw touchdowns on three of his next four passing attempts. The Cougars, who trailed 7-0 within the game’s first 3 minutes, entered the second quarter with a 22-7 lead and scored 49 of the game’s next 52 points.

“It’s hard to shake John, and I know it’s early in the football season, but really good to see him bounce back, take a hit, get back up,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said. “That’s John Mateer football, it is. You saw it on full display what he’s capable of doing.

“He’ll probably be nitpicky about his performance and want to be better, and that’s what I love about John.”

Mateer also demonstrated the mobility and athleticism that WSU relied on in specific packages last year, when the backup would replace heralded starter Cam Ward in certain goal line sets.

On a second-and-8 play late in the second quarter, Mateer took the snap, looked off one receiver and sprinted through the middle of Portland State’s defense, shaking off one tackler on his way to the end zone for a 40-yard rushing score.

“If we can keep John upright, he can get the ball out on time and on rhythm, and when the play breaks down, you saw what he can do with his feet,” Dickert said.

Of Mateer’s 17 passing attempts, five resulted in touchdowns. The Little Elm, Texas, native finished 11 of 17 with 352 yards and an exemplary passer rating of 335.7. Mateer completed 10 of his final 11 passes after opening the game 1 for 6 and tossed his five touchdowns to four receivers.

Williams, who was on the end of two of those, probably spoke for more than one member of WSU’s offense when he gave thoughts on the quarterback’s impressive debut.

“I loved it,” Williams said. “Heisman.”