In a program first, WSU football did not hold an official spring game, but instead a series of practice drills and a drive-by-drive scrimmage with rotating lineups for the 2025 Crimson and Gray Showcase Saturday.
While the day’s events resembled more of a typical spring practice, the Cougs still used Saturday as a chance to give fans a preview of what next season’s team will look like in front of approximately 1,000 fans.
First-year head coach Jimmy Rogers addressed his team before the event, telling them to play clean football, make tackles, block and come together as an offense and defense. The Saturday showcase marked the last of 15 spring practices and Rogers said the team accomplished a lot of what it wanted to during the spring sessions.
“The biggest thing about spring, especially with the new staff, is seeing the evaluation of a whole team right?” Rogers said. “The group has come together as far as the connection to one another and the connection to the coaching staff and us back to them. So, we’ve got a long ways to go like I said, but we’re going to move forward this summer healthy at least from from leaving this game healthy.”
Expected starting quarterback Zevi Eckhaus said Rogers also emphasized not pressing and focusing on loosening up for the last practice.
“We’ve been working so hard and busting our butts for weeks now you know waking up early and doing the long practices, [so] go out there and have fun,” Eckhaus said. “There’s obviously fans and we got the game jerseys on and we’re on the game field you know don’t press and feel like you have to do more than what you actually need to do. When you just relax and you go out there and have fun that’s usually when your best performances come out.”
Eckhaus said he felt the team did just that.
Saturday’s events brought positive energy from the team but it also revealed a lot about what this Cougar team will look like this fall. Many things could be said about spring camp, but there were a few specific things that stood out on Saturday.
There will be QB competition, but Eckhaus looks like the QB1, for now.
Quarterback Zevi Eckhaus warms his arm up with practice throws before the Crimson and Gray Showcase on April 12 in Pullman, Wash.
All four quarterbacks on the spring roster saw action in Saturday’s scrimmage with Eckhaus taking over half of the 63 snaps played. Unsurprisingly, Eckhaus trotted out with the number ones and made a number of plays on offense, but redshirt sophomore Jackson Potter also had a strong outing.
Eckhaus, whose first drive stalled out on a turnover on downs on the defense’s side of the field, caught a break and got his highlight play when he found a wide open receiver in redshirt senior Leon Neal Jr. for a t0uchdown to get the offense’s first points on the board. Eckhaus was able to make connections with other receivers like seniors Josh Meredith and Tre Shackelford and demonstrated poise in the pocket, not being overwhelmed by the pass rush.
Eckhaus was sacked a couple of times and threw a near interception to South Dakota State transfer Matt Durrance who could not make the catch on an ill-advised lob downfield. Eckhaus’ average mobility and scrambling ability was exposed on the pair of sacks as he was slow to get make reads outside the pocket.
Potter was mobile in and out of the pocket and made a couple of successful scramble attempts. The sophomore only had two incompletions and completed a touchdown pass to tight end Ben Dutton.
Eckhaus, a senior, stood out from Potter in a different way though: with his leadership and charisma. Eckhaus could be seen hyping up his teammates in the huddle before the showcase, showering his teammates with praise during postgame interviews and giving loud shout-outs to players during their media sessions.
The projected starting quarterback received praise from his teammates and Rogers, but Rogers opened up the possibility of a QB battle.
“I think Zevi has a great grasp of the team which is maybe the most critical part of playing quarterback is that the guys will rally around them,” Rogers said. “I think Potter’s taking huge jumps, I’ve been impressed with Potter. The job isn’t just straight up Zevi’s. That’s part of this, there’s going to be competition and there’s going to be more competition coming in this summer.”
Eckhaus has the hold on the starting spot after spring practices, but Rogers’ words means the job is not on lock.
Eckhaus is in good hands with his weapons, especially with Leon Neal Jr.
Running back Leo Pulalasi walks onto Gesa Field at Martin Stadium for spring scrimmages.
“I mean if you were to ask me one player, I would say Leon Neal has come out and made plays pretty consistently every day through spring ball and it’s a guy that maybe hadn’t had an opportunity to come onto the field and have meaningful reps,” Rogers said. “But he’s made every he’s made the most of every moment thus far this spring, so I’m excited for him.”
Those positive words from Rogers were generated by a performance that saw Neal make multiple catches in stride and an excellent cut in the middle of the field to give Eckhaus an easy touchdown completion.
“I’m so proud of the growth that Leon has had and it’s a shame that you guys are just now finding out how damn good that player is,” Eckhaus said. “But he is a hell of a player and I’m really excited to see what he does this fall.”
Linebacker Parker McKenna pointed first to former SDSU running back Kirby Vorhees as a standout player from the spring practices and added Eckhaus and Meredith to that list.
Eckhaus was also a Vorhees advocate and described Vorhees as a “dog” and someone who “really, really freaking cares” about football and his team.
The wide receiver room has a variety of options in Shackelford, Meredith and Neal Jr. The running backs may take a committee-like approach with Vorhees, Leo Pulalasi and Josh Joyner all showing flashes, including a 34-yard explosive run by Joyner. That is not to mention fellow SDSU transfer Angel Johnson, who did not participate on Saturday and a deep tight end group as well.
Eckhaus said Cougar fans should expect “a little bit of everything” from the offense, with a combination of gritty run-heavy drives and explosive pass plays. Eckhaus should feel good about his team’s ability to execute that vision.
Matt Durrance showed promise to lead a physical defense.
Safety Matt Durrance (23) scans the offense after a play in the Crimson and Gray scrimmage.
The Cougar defense did give up 16 points in a shortened scrimmage on a field goal and two touchdowns, but several individual players made big plays.
One of those players was Durrance, a senior safety, who nearly came up with the interception against Eckhaus. Durrance was physical in his coverage, making it difficult for receivers to beat him on their release off the line of scrimmage. Things even got a little chippy with Durrance, who was penalized for a late hit on Joyner. Durrance made a statement for a defense that is looking to improve on its pass defense struggles from last season.
Rogers, who recruited Durrance out of high school, is familiar with Durrance’s style of play and defensive talent.
“He’s a competitive kid and we brought him here for a reason and he’s going to have the opportunity to showcase his skills next fall,” Rogers said.
Freshman edge rusher Ben Beatty was another standout, notching a pair of “simulated” sacks in the scrimmage. The defensive line depth was another critical question mark on the roster, a position group that has been in flux ever since the transfer portal opened.
The defense also made a stop on fourth-and-two and forced a pair of three-and-outs. The Cougs did not force any turnovers.
Despite a solid all-around defensive showing, junior defensive tackle Bryson Lamb still expressed hunger to keep improving on that side of the ball.
“I mean everything we can do can be better,” Lamb said. “Being complacent is something that we will never be. Constantly improving on the mental part of the game, the physical part of the game, having knock back especially on the D-line working the pass rush getting home is important. So this summer we’re going to be working really hard on everything that we can do to improve to be the most dominant defense.”
Lamb, who was walk-on just a couple years ago, said the “world definitely turned upside down” when former head coach Jake Dickert left and Lamb entered the transfer portal. Lamb had never gotten a call from a college head coach before, but Rogers would be the first after being hired last December. For Lamb, the call from Rogers and defensive line coach Jalon Bibbs would seal the deal on his return to the Cougs.
“Having a conversation and them introducing me to them was just huge and having a head coach actually call my phone for the first time ever and being in college really speaks a lot of volume for the person that [Rogers] is,” Lamb said. “It made the decision pretty easy coming back after meeting them and having about four months with them, I know I made the right decision.”
Both Lamb and McKenna also described their new coaching staff as “genuine” people. Lamb said when the team met the new coaches at a bowling alley shortly after their hiring, that he had never had so many coaches come up and shake his hand, something he never really got as a former walk-on.
“I mean, it’s so joyful and it’s refreshing because you know these are human beings, but they’re coaches at a high level so you expect so much out of them and they expect so much out of you,” Lamb said. “But I just really appreciate their genuineness and it just makes me want to be the best football player I can for them, especially coach Rogers.”
The inaugural Crimson and Gray Showcase may have not carried the same thrill as the spring games of old, but it still revealed much about the identity and progression so far of a team in transition.
