Jason Gesser

Marcus Mariota isn’t the only quarterback from St.Louis High School in Hawaii to take the Pacific Northwest by storm. Over a decade before Mariota ever stepped foot on Oregon’s campus, a quarterback by the name of Jason Gesser was lighting the Pac-12 on fire. Gesser, who led St.Louis High School to multiple state championships in the late 90’s, was a star on The Palouse.

Gesser took over as the starting quarterback at Washington State, and with him the Cougars found success. In 2001 and 2002 Jason Gesser led the Cougars to back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in program history, culminating in a trip to the 2003 Rose Bowl. The Cougars lost the Rose Bowl to the Oklahoma Sooners, but it was still one of the greatest seasons in program history. The Cougars went 10-3 that year behind the 3,408 yards passing and 28 touchdowns of Gesser, and were at one point ranked No.3 in the nation. To his day, that is the highest ranking the Cougars have ever achieved.

In the years since Jason Gesser left WSU, the Cougars have won 10-games just once (2003) and have yet to return to the Rose Bowl. The Wazzu legend ended his career in Pullman having passed for 8,830 yards, 70 touchdowns, and in 2002 was named Pac-10 Offensive Player of Year.