WSU Cougars adding Weber State QB Jake Constantine through graduate transfer

Washington State’s quarterback room finally found the one thing it was lacking: experience.

For the third straight season, the Cougars have picked up a graduate transfer quarterback and for the second year in a row, they went the Big Sky Conference route to do so.

Jake Constantine, a one-time Boise State quarterback who played a season at Ventura College before leading Weber State to a pair of Big Sky titles, announced on Twitter he’d be spending his final college football season in Pullman.

Before opting to play in the Pac-12, Constantine had planned to transfer to Towson, committing in late May and signing with the FCS Tigers on June 24. Constantine is still listed on Towson’s official roster. His decision to leave Towson could be tied to the Colonial Athletic Association recently canceling its football season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Spokesman-Review learned from sources close to the program Constantine will be joining the team as a walk-on.

The Cougars have had varying degrees of success with transfer quarterbacks, but most would argue there’s little risk in bringing a player like Constantine, who threw for more than 4,000 yards and had 33 touchdowns in two seasons at the Big Sky level.

Before Constantine’s addition, WSU’s is believed to be the only program in the country at the Power Five level without a returning snap at the quarterback position, and returning players Cammon Cooper, a redshirt sophomore, and Gunner Cruz, a redshirt freshman, were thought to be the favorites to replace national passing leader Anthony Gordon, along with incoming freshman Jayden de Laura.

Now Constantine enters the mix as a fifth-year senior whose path to the Pac-12 Conference was anything but ordinary. WSU is the fifth school for Constantine, who signed with Boise State as a three-star prospect out of California’s Camarillo High School. After a redshirt season in 2016, Constantine left the Broncos in the middle of fall camp the following season, transferring to California juco powerhouse Ventura College, where he threw for more than 2,800 yards and 28 touchdowns before tearing his ACL.

Constantine landed the starting job his first season at Weber State, making 11 starts in 12 games, and threw for 2,223 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, guiding a talented Wildcats team to the Big Sky championship.