Klatt: WSU QB Mateer’s transfer highlights ‘totally broken’ system
Dec 17, 2024, 3:11 PM | Updated: Dec 18, 2024, 9:48 am
WSU Cougars quarterback John Mateer runs for a TD against the UW Huskies in the 2024 Apple Cup. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
(Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
Like many other programs across the country, the WSU Cougars are feeling the adverse effects of the transfer portal window overlapping with college football’s postseason.
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After a breakout season on the Palouse, WSU dual-threat quarterback John Mateer entered the transfer portal, according to multiple reports on Monday that were later confirmed by head coach Jake Dickert. Mateer won’t play in the Holiday Bowl, where the Cougars will face No. 21 Syracuse on Dec. 27 in San Diego.
As of Monday night, Mateer was one of eight WSU starters and 19 Cougars overall who had entered the portal, according to The Spokesman-Review. The window to enter the portal is Dec. 9-28. There also is another window in April. Players who enter the portal are still allowed to play for their teams until they sign with another program. But the longer they wait to sign, the fewer their options typically become.
WSU’s situation is far from unique in today’s era of college football. Penn State backup quarterback Beau Pribula, who plays spot snaps for the Nittany Lions as a change-of-pace weapon, left his team ahead of its College Football Playoff appearance due to entering the transfer portal. And Marshall even opted out of the Independence Bowl due to a slew of players entering the transfer portal after head coach Charles Huff left to take the same position at Southern Miss.
FOX college football analyst Joel Klatt, who will be on the broadcast for WSU’s Holiday Bowl game, voiced his frustration with the current system during an appearance Tuesday on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.
“It is absolutely crazy to open the transfer portal and have roster construction while a season is being played,” Klatt said. “We do not open free agency the week before the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs. That is lunacy. And it’s so obvious that it’s lunacy. And yet, in college football, we do it and then we look at guys like Mateer or Beau Pribula and we’re like, ‘I wish they were more committed.’ It’s just so frustrating.”
Mateer, a redshirt sophomore, has two seasons of eligibility left. As a first-year starter this year, he threw for 3,139 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions while also rushing for 826 yards and 15 scores. He ranked fifth in the FBS in total offense, sixth in quarterback rushing yards and 16th in passing yards.
Dickert said backup Zevi Eckhaus will start at quarterback for WSU in the Holiday Bowl. Eckhaus, a senior, has attempted just seven passes this season.
“The system is totally broken,” Klatt said. “I don’t fault these players. I think that if you’re looking at these players and you have some sort of contempt for their decisions, I think that reflects poorly on you. I think that if you look at this in reality, it is not just a flawed but totally broken system.”
Listen to the full conversation with Joel Klatt at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
