De Laura was on a roll. Then he wasn’t

Before the snap on third-and-3, Jayden de Laura scooted forward and extended both arms above center Konner Gomness, pointing to where he anticipated pressure from the defense.

He stepped back again, began calling signals, saw something else he didn’t like and barked instructions to left tackle Liam Ryan.

Then the ball was snapped and de Laura zipped a short pass to slotback Calvin Jackson Jr. on a slant. First down.

Washington State’s sophomore quarterback looked in full command of the offense as the Cougars jumped to a 14-0 lead Saturday at Gesa Field against USC.

That’s why it was such a blow to them when he incurred a mysterious leg injury prior to the second half. Coaches inserted walk-on Victor Gabalis, the momentum gradually but drastically shifted, and the Trojans pulled away to an uncanny 45-14 win.

It was a reminder of how important quarterback play is to the Cougars (1-2, 0-1), who are again in QB quandary mode as they prepare to face Utah (1-2, 0-0) in a Pac-12 football game at 11:30 a.m. Pacific on Saturday (Pac-12 Network) in Salt Lake City.

Cougars coach Nick Rolovich said Wednesday that grad transfer Jarrett Guarantano and junior Camm Cooper have been getting the majority of reps this week, but he didn’t rule out de Laura being ready by game day.

“We’ll see what Jayden does,” he said. “If he can come out and do some more stuff, we’ll see.”

He was definitely doing some stuff in the first half against the Trojans. In probably his best half of college football so far, the second-year starter completed 10 of 16 passes for 117 yards, two touchdowns and nothing close to an interception.

Everyone knows he can scramble with panache, but in this game he didn’t need to. He was making sound decisions and, in terms of reading the defense and communicating with teammates, he was operating at a level that would have been hard to imagine in 2020.

“I felt like he was directing traffic very well,” Rolovich said. “He was in control. He was commanding it. I think he’s done a really good job the majority of this year.That was a question mark after last year: Can he control it like that? And I think he’s proven us all right.”

His injury is a stumper. Rolovich won’t specify when and how it happened, saying only that it came after his fourth-down pooch punt late in the half. Did it happen on the Cougars’ only remaining offensive play before intermission? It was a 1-yard scramble, and tacklers brought de Laura to the turf decisively. But he bounced up immediately and showed no signs of distress. Was he just being stoic? Or was there a freak accident during halftime?

Rolovich said it was a doctor’s call to bench de Laura for the start of the half, and the coach opted to use Gabalis instead of risking further injury to Game 1 starter Guarantano. How Gabalis had inched ahead of Cooper on the depth chart is another mystery.

But de Laura apparently continued to make a plea to return. After the surging Trojans took a 28-14 lead late in the third quarter, he appeared to be using smelling salts on the sideline. Moments later, he surprisingly took the field for the Cougs’ next series.

On first down he threw deep for Jackson, but nickelback Calen Bullock defended perfectly and intercepted. On WSU’s next possession, de Laura threw two way-off incompletions before leaving the game for good on third-and-10.

Hence an unwelcome revival of the three-way quarterback battle that dominated preseason camp.

Gabalis, a sophomore, actually threatened to make it a four-way battle in August, but he’ll go back to the drawing board after failing to muster a first down in his five series against the Trojans, not to mention fumbling on a blind-side sack that resulted in a USC touchdown.

Guarantano is a seasoned quarterback but hasn’t seen action since injuring a knee in the season opener against Utah State. And Cooper, a former four-star recruit, played his best football as a collegian on the final series, directing a 55-yard drive that ended with an interception. He’s still an enigma.

The Cougars, in short, would like very much for de Laura’s injury to vanish as stealthily as it first appeared.

Grummert may be contacted at daleg@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2290.