Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura experienced the good, the bad and the ugly during his time at Washington State; his former QB coach believes those episodes helped him grow and mature.
Michael Lev Washington State had won two games in a row, and the Cougars appeared to be on the verge of making it three straight. They led Stanford 27-16 entering the fourth quarter of their Oct. 16, 2021, matchup in Pullman.
People are also reading… "For him to make those plays and win that game, I was like, ‘He's a man now,’"Stutzmann said."I'm getting goosebumps just talking about it." The Cougars carried on. They qualified for a bowl berth under interim coach Jake Dickert. They won the Apple Cup for the first time since 2012.
It was the perfect soundbite — a delectable appetizer to a spicy storyline. But it’s what de Laura said in between — the words behind the ellipses — that was truly meaningful. It took only four days for WSU to identify Rolovich as Leach’s success. De Laura couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. Bumps in the roadIt wasn’t a smooth ride, though. The pandemic hit in spring 2020, sending the world — and the world of college football — into chaos.
The football element — the playbook, the X’s and O’s — wasn’t that difficult a transition for de Laura. It was"growing up" that was the hard part, Stutzmann said. Again, not unusual. In January, quarterback Jarrett Guarantano had transferred to WSU. Guarantano had played four seasons at Tennessee. Rolovich and his staff wanted to add a veteran presence and legit competition to the QB room. Guarantano checked all the boxes, which also included having high character and only one more year of eligibility.
WSU clinched bowl eligibility with a 44-18 victory over Arizona in the penultimate game of the regular season. De Laura threw a career-high four touchdown passes despite wintry conditions in Pullman. UA coach Jedd Fisch — who had no idea de Laura would be coming to Tucson less than two months later — recalled being impressed with the second-year quarterback’s moxie and confidence.
The Cougars were set to fly from Pullman to El Paso right around Christmas. De Laura, who had gone home to Hawaii for a few days, got delayed returning to Washington. He missed the team charter and had to make it to West Texas on his own. He reportedly rerouted through Tucson, which is about a 4½-hour drive from El Paso.
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