Washington State names de Laura as starting QB for opener

Freshman Jayden de Laura has been named starting quarterback for Washington State when Cougars open ir season at Oregon State on Saturday, first-year coach Nick Rolovich said.

“Jayden’s going to take first snap for us at Oregon State,” Rolovich said Monday evening during a Zoom call with reporters.

De Laura, a true freshman from Holulu, won a three-way competition with redshirt sophomore Cammon Cooper and redshirt freshman Gunner Cruz. De Laura is thought to be first true freshman quarterback to start for Cougars in a season opener.

Rolovich, who was hired from Hawaii, pointed to de Laura's familiarity with run-and-shoot offense Rolovich has installed at Washington State.

“Came in obviously with a history in family of offense,” Rolovich said. “But he came in, just put in work, thought he was productive and consistent and was going to give us best chance to move ball this Saturday. ”

De Laura comes from Holulu’s Saint Louis High, which produced former WSU quarterback star Jason Gesser, plus star quarterbacks Marcus Mariota and Tua Tagovailoa.

Im credits: AP