The 2025 Washington State football season was a roller coaster of a year. The Cougars finished with a 6-6 record and will go to a bowl game, but they had many missed opportunities and could have beaten teams like Ole Miss, Virginia, and James Madison. The athletic director's firing also highlighted it. Now, the Cougars are about to lose their quarterback, Jaxon Potter, who is leaving after serving as a backup for most of the year.
On3's college football reporter and insider, Pete Nakos, was the first to report on Potter leaving the Cougars. Potter has three more years of eligibility and could be in the market to go back home to California, since he is from Huntington Beach. Still, this is a big blow for the Cougars, considering that Zevi Eckhaus is a senior and no longer eligible.
Potter is a three-star recruit from California. The most intriguing aspect about Potter is his physical tools. He is 6-feet-5 and weighs 190 pounds. Potter only threw two passes as a freshman, but saw a more expanded role this past season in the Cougars' offense. He went 67 for 95 with a 70.5% completion percentage, while throwing for 604 yards and four touchdowns with three interceptions.
The main reason Potter lost his starting job was a disaster in Week 3, when he threw three interceptions over six possessions and was benched in a game Washington State lost, 59-10. Head coach Jimmy Rogers pulled him and went with Zevi Eckhaus for the rest of the year.
It has been a struggle for Washington State since the Pac-12 blew up. Last season, the Cougars lost head coach Jake Dickert to Wake Forest, offensive coordinator Eric Morris to North Texas, and quarterback John Mateer. It is a significant accomplishment that the Cougars made a bowl game in the first place, but this could be the start of more portal moves, because the Cougars are now seen as lesser than the power schools.
The Cougars are struggling in this new world of college athletics. However, things could still be looking up for them with the emergence of a new Pac-12.
