BOISE — When Boise State safeties coach Tyler Stockton watches film on Washington State quarterback John Mateer, there’s a former Heisman Trophy winner he’s reminded of.
Good thing Mateer has a name that fits.
“It’s funny because his name is John, and he reminds me of Johnny Football,” said Stockton, referring to Johnny Manziel, the former Texas A&M quarterback who became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy in 2012. “So, I’m giving him his new nickname right now, ‘Johnny Football 2.0.’”
The challenge for Stockton and the rest of the Bronco defense is figuring out how to stop Mateer when Boise State (2-1) hosts Washington State (4-0) Saturday night at Albertsons Stadium. The redshirt sophomore has been a matchup nightmare for just about everyone he’s faced this season, averaging 275.5 passing yards per game and 106.2 rushing yards per game.
“It’s like we’re really playing basketball on grass,” said Stockton. “Normally you don’t have a dual threat quarterback and you don’t have to account for a lot. If he’s dropping back, he’s going to throw it, if he doesn’t, he’s going to get sacked. This guy, it’s 11 on 11, he’s one of the best players in the country. I’m fired up for Bronco Nation to make it as loud as possible to help us out on defense. Hopefully we can have 12 people on the field at all times.”
In his first season as the Cougars’ starting quarterback, Mateer has sparked an offense which ranks 10th in the nation with 515.3 yards per game. In last Friday’s 54-52 overtime win over San Jose State, Mateer showed just how dangerous he can be.
He finished with 390 passing yards, 111 rushing yards and accounted for five touchdowns. It was his second 100-yard rushing game, following a 197-yard rushing performance on Sept. 7 against Texas Tech.
“Running game and passing game, he’s a threat at all times,” said Boise State linebacker Marco Notarainni said. “He’s a super athletic guy. We’ve got some stuff schemed up, like every other team in the country has done. The biggest difference between us and other teams in the country is going back to fundamentals.”
Boise State has already faced three quarterbacks who have the ability to run or pass in Georgia Southern’s JC French, Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel and Portland State’s Dante Chachere.
But Mateer is nothing like what the Broncos have faced, coaches say.
“I think Mateer is on his own level right now,” said Boise State defensive coordinator Erik Chinander. “He’s run for a ton of yards on not as many carries as you want somebody to have for having that many yards. He’s turned runs into explosive plays, designed QB runs. He also has a lot of yards rushing when the pocket breaks down or the coverage is really good.”
But he also has a wide range of weapons that he can use to hurt opponents in the pass game. Wide receivers Kyle Williams, Kris Hutson and Josh Meredith each have more than 250 receiving yards through the first four games of the season. The 12 touchdown passes thrown by the Cougars this season — 11 by Mateer, one by backup Zevi Eckhaus — have gone to seven different receivers.
“He’s a pivotal part of not only their offense, he’s a pivotal part of their whole team,” said Boise State coach Spencer Danielson. “He can put the team on his back. What he did to finish the San Jose State game, what he did at Washington, they’re undefeated for a reason. They played some really good opponents, they’re undefeated for a reason, they’re coming in here hot, they’re really well coached, they’ve got some really good players. We got a huge challenge coming to The Blue Saturday night.”
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