For WSU QB John Mateer, what’s the key to unlocking a more consistent deep ball?

PULLMAN — In the weeks leading up to this Washington State season, as coaches selected John Mateer as the team’s starting quarterback this fall, they did so for a few reasons. They liked his ability to run, his ability to lead, his ability to use what head coach Jake Dickert called his “big arm.”

In a few spots across the first five games of the Cougars’ season, Mateer has let his arm get a little too big.

If Mateer has shown one weakness during WSU’s 4-1 start to the season, which picks back up next weekend with a road test against Fresno State, it’s his deep ball. He’s connected with his receivers on a few — the Cougars kept last weekend’s loss to Boise State close thanks to Mateer’s long touchdown pass to Kyle Williams — but he’s also let his accuracy elude him on several sequences.

On throws of 20-plus air yards this season, Mateer has completed 12 of 32 passes (38%) for 429 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions, according to Pro Football Focus. That has earned him a PFF grade of 71.5 on those throws, which ranks No. 11 in the country among players who have tried at least 30 of them.

Which raises a question: Is Mateer’s deep ball a real issue for WSU’s offense? Or has he only missed so many because of the sheer number of attempts?

“I think when you take the Boise tape in particular, we just got off our progressions way too fast,” Dickert said this week. “In an early season, he’s a five-game starter. We call some shot plays, and he just stays on the shot instead of making that read.”

Several of Mateer’s interceptions this fall have come when he’s made that mistake. For example, in WSU’s win over rival Washington in last month’s Apple Cup, Mateer tossed a pick down the sideline, looking for Williams. He underthrew Williams, but to Dickert’s point, he doesn’t appear to look elsewhere.

Mateer made the same kind of error in WSU’s loss to Boise State last weekend. In the final seconds of the first half, the Cougars had a chance to tie the game, and Mateer had pieced together a promising drive to this point with eight straight completions. Then he locks on to Williams, missing the waiting BSU safety in the end zone.

“My eyes were in the wrong spot,” Mateer said after the game. “Tried to force it in there.”

That interception also highlighted an area of the field, the deep middle, that has flummoxed Mateer in spots. He has connected on 2 of 8 throws for 82 yards in that section, according to PFF, tossing two touchdowns and two picks.

On those deep throws, Mateer has been at his best to the sidelines. On the left side of the field, he’s hit on 7 of 15 passes for 228 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, per PFF. On the right side, he has completed 3 of 9 throws for 119 yards, one touchdown and no picks.

What’s interesting about Mateer’s struggles on deep passes over the middle: He’s been much better on shorter throws. On intermediate throws (10-20 yards) over the middle, he’s connected on 13 of 22 passes for 257 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He’s just missed when he has to extend his range a tad.

That pattern has shown up on several occasions this season. On one play in WSU’s win over San Jose State late last month, he missed receiver Kris Hutson, who came wide open over the middle — the part of the field Mateer has struggled with.

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On other sequences, Mateer just hasn’t been able to find the right touch. In the third quarter of WSU’s loss to Boise State, the Cougs found themselves in the Broncos’ territory, facing second-and-long. Mateer scrambles to his right and spots Hutson, who turns around and burns his defender, coming open in the end zone. Mateer underthrows him, and Hutson looks frustrated.

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“I’ve never thought it’s been a struggle of mine, but apparently it has been,” Mateer said. “That’s gonna be something I’m gonna work on…. That’s stuff I can’t miss. I’ll get better.”

For Mateer, is there a rhyme or reason to these kinds of mistakes? Or is he just a young quarterback learning on the fly? We might be able to glean something from Mateer’s latest connection on a deep ball, a 33-yard touchdown pass to Williams in the fourth quarter last weekend.

On this play, Mateer might be leaning a little on his back foot, but he puts some nice touch on the ball and places it right in Williams’ chest in the corner of the end zone.

The key to unlocking Mateer’s deep throws, though, might not involve Mateer at all. It might have more to do with the Cougs’ offensive line, which allowed seven sacks in WSU’s loss to Boise State, the program’s most in three seasons. Even on Mateer’s best plays in this game, he faced some real pressure in the pocket.

That unit is still in flux. Right tackle Fa’alili Fa’amoe, who was dinged for two sacks in that one, is still working his way back to full health after missing the first four games of the season with a knee injury. When he’s rotated into the game, the Cougs have asked left guard Rod Tialavea to stay in the game, slotting in a lineman who has allowed 10 pressures and two sacks, both the most among WSU’s offensive linemen.

That has moved left guard Christian Hilborn, the team’s most tenured lineman and one of the best, to the bench. This week, Dickert indicated that experiment will not last much longer, sharing that the Cougs will use practices to settle on a starting five, that way they won’t need to rotate anymore this season.

Will that help Mateer improve his accuracy on deep passes? Only time will tell, but better protection wouldn’t hurt. When he’s been kept clean, Mateer has completed 77 of 120 passes (64%) for 1,252 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. Under pressure, he’s hit on just 12 of 33 throws (36%) for 176 yards, three touchdowns and no picks.

“Amazing learns,” Dickert said. “John’s a competitor. He wants to do better. He knows he can. This was a really high-level defense. We just didn’t stay on our progressions and our plan enough, and he knows that. And in pressure situations, he’ll continue to react and be better, and that’s what I love about John.”