Schoeler: Jayden de Laura's first-game report card

Schoeler: Jayden de Laura’s first-game report card

The true freshman QB started the season about as well as anybody could have expected

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Posted on November 12, 2020


  By Cody Schoeler of Dash Sports TV for SuperWest Sports

On Saturday against Oregon State, Jayden de Laura became the first true freshman quarterback in program history to start the first game of the season.

Fans did not know what to expect from the first-year player from Hawaii. There were a lot of unknowns about him heading into his first time on the Pac-12 stage.

De Laura started the season about as well as anybody could have expected, leading the Cougars to a 38-28 victory over the Beavers. He never looked out of place and proved that he belongs as the leader of this offense going forward.

As good as he played on Saturday, he was not flawless, though nobody expected him to be. There were certain things de Laura did quite well, and other things he still needs to work on.

Decision making: B+

This was one of the reasons the coaching staff had so much confidence in de Laura coming into the offense—his familiarity with this type of system. He ran a similar Run-and-Shoot style offense in high school, and it showed on Saturday.

The Run and Shoot offense can be a difficult system to learn, but de Laura demonstrated a significant command of the offense, especially for a freshman.

He started out a bit slow, failing to complete his first three passes, but he rebounded to finish with a 55 percent completion percentage.

Jayden de Laura’s decision-making will improve with experience. | Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

The only thing keeping him from a higher grade in this category is a few questionable decisions.

He threw an interception late in the first quarter while trying to force a ball downfield to wide receiver Jamire Calvin. He also attempted some deep passes earlier in the game when he probably could have taken a safer pass and completed it.

As the game went on, de Laura improved a lot in this category. He started taking what the defense was giving him, throwing shorter passes and getting the ball to his playmakers.

The best example of this was on a fourth down attempt at the start of the fourth quarter. He rolled out to the right and hit wide receiver Renard Bell for the first down. He could have tried for a deep shot and maybe a touchdown, but he took the sure option and made a great pass to Bell.

De Laura also displayed a knowledge of when to take off and run. He made a few scrambles for first downs, but did not try to make plays that were not there. Although he is a mobile quarterback, he was not too quick to tuck the ball and scramble.

Arm talent: B

It will take a few games for fans to truly see de Laura’s arm talent on full display, but the early returns are promising. He only threw for 227 yards, but did so on 18 completions, meaning he was able to press the ball down the field.

His looked a little shaky in the beginning, short-arming a few deep balls, but he did drop a handful of dimes throughout the game.

His two most notable throws came on back-to-back plays in the third quarter.

Cougar QB de Laura showed arm talent with room to grow vs. OSU. | AP Photo/Amanda Loman

The first was a pass to Bell to tight coverage in the right side of the end zone. It was originally ruled an incompletion, but was overturned when replay showed that Bell actually did come down with it in bounds. Unfortunately, the touchdown was called back due to a penalty on the play.

De Laura responded on the very next play with another beautiful throw, this time to wide receiver Travell Harris on the opposite side of the end zone.

Both balls were great examples of the accuracy and precision that de Laura possesses.

The reason that de Laura earns just a B in this category is because he has not shown off his full potential as a passer just yet. He was not put in a position where he had to test the defense with his arm on multiple occasions, although that does not mean he can’t.

Running ability: A

This is where the freshman really impressed in his first start. He finished with 43 rushing yards on eight carries including a rushing touchdown.

His score on the ground came on a zone-read decision where he pulled the ball when the defensive end bit on the play. That play was a welcome change for Cougar fans, who are not used to quarterbacks that can make plays with their legs.

The offensive line did an exceptional job protecting de Laura in the pocket, but when they did allow a rusher to break through, they had a hard time actually taking him down.

WSU QB de Laura showed himself to be an escape artist in the pocket. | wsucougars.com

De Laura was impossible to tackle in the pocket.

He was constantly making Oregon State pass rushers whiff on sacks by spinning or juking them out. It was the same type of pocket mobility and awareness that has been taking over football in recent years from guys like Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes.

He was also adept at scrambling and making plays off-script. Once de Laura got out of the pocket, he did not just throw the ball away or slide down for a two-yard gain.

Defenders had just as good of a chance of tackling him on the run as they did in the pocket. He was shifty enough to make potential tacklers miss and also unleashed a deadly pump fake that got guys off their feet with ease.

If there is one reason to be excited about de Laura’s future in Pullman it is what he showed on the ground. He will be able to improve his decision making and develop more arm talent, but the playmaking ability with his legs is an intangible that can’t be taught.

You can watch Schoeler’s Cougar Dash Sports Talk Shows on Dash Sports TV, and read his other sports articles at the Daily Evergreen.