Jarrett Guarantano grew up in New Jersey and spent five seasons at the University of Tennessee. In his first news conference as a Washington State quarterback, he chose to be frank.
The West is different.
So in addition to learning the Cougars’ run-and-shoot offense the past three months, he’s learning the dynamics of the Wazzu locker room and trying to tweak his leadership style.
Other players are making their own adjustments for the Cougars, who staged their first spring scrimmage in two years Saturday, learning new schemes at a less hurried pace than they could afford during a 2020 season disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Even the venue required adjustment. Amid blustery weather conditions, the Cougars moved inside to their practice bubble and, because of the pandemic, shut off media access. Later, three coaches and two players participated in a Zoom news conference.
It was WSU beat reporters’ first chance to interview Guarantano, the graduate transfer who’s battling Camm Cooper, Xavier Ward and others for the top quarterback job. Eventually joining the fray will be last season’s starter, Jayden de Laura, who still is being held out of practices after drawing a DUI in February.
“To be honest, it was a little weird,” he said. “It’s not easy going into a locker room and saying, ‘OK, I’m going to be the big man here.’ You’ve got to get relationships with the guys, you’ve got to feel the surroundings out, then you’ve got to show them how hard you can work. Those were kind of the steps I took.”
Complicating his task is an unfamiliarity with the run-and-shoot, the distinctive offense coach Nick Rolovich brought from Hawaii when hired a year ago. But the staff likes the approach he’s taking.
“One of the great things Jarrett has done since he’s been here has been his approach to fitting in with the team,” offensive coordinator Brian Smith said. “He’s been very humble. Anytime you get into a new offense, especially as a quarterback, that can humble you initially, just because it’s not everything you’re used to. So you’re relearning some things.
“And the approach he’s taken to try to develop trust with teammates, and working with (quarterbacks coach Craig Stutzmann) and putting in extra time to learn how we do our drops, is going to pay dividends in the end.”
Guarantano completed all eight of his passes for 115 yards in the scrimmage, while Cooper went 5-for-8 for 81. When Gurantano was asked for a highlight, he mentioned a Cooper throw on a vertical route to walk-on transfer Drake Owen, who was the session’s surprise star with six catches for 139 yards.
But Cooper, Gabalis and Ward each threw an interception (to Daniel Isom, Jaylen Watson and Chad Davis Jr.), and there were no passing touchdowns. Smith described it as a typical first scrimmage offensively and didn’t seem as pleased as his defensive counterpart, Jake Dickert.
“The first five days, it’s a massive install, right?” Dickert said. “So you can see them even on Tuesday and Thursday, there was that bog-down, and I thought they pushed through today and I think they played pretty clean. It wasn’t perfect. I love the effort, I love the energy, I love the approach of the unit.”
Scrimmage leaders
Rushing — Max Borghi 2-25, Camm Cooper 4-23, Victor Gabalis 5-11.
Passing — Jarrett Guarantano 8-8-0-115, Cooper 5-8-1-81, Gabalis 5-11-1-50, Xavier Ward 6-13-1-29.
Receiving — Drake Owen 6-139, De’Zhaun Stribling 4-45, Travell Harris 4-37, Zion Lucia 3-16, Lincoln Victor 2-19, Marshawn Buchanan 2-5.
Grummert may be contacted at dale@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-0290.
