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Nearly a year after he verbally committed to WSU, Peyton Bender is officially a Cougar after he faxed in his letter of intent on National Signing Day 2014.
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Bender, a consensus 3-star quarterback prospect, committed to WSU in late March of 2013. He was the first player to commit in the 2014 class and never wavered. He drew significant interest from Penn State and Utah. Bender ran a variation of the Air Raid in high school and should fit well into WSU's offense. Accuracy is one of the major requirements to play quarterback in the Air Raid. Not only is he an accurate thower, but Bender has a very quick release. Although he probably won't win many arm strength competitions, he isn't lacking in that department either.
Overall, Bender appears to be a very solid quarterback prospect. Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 25 pro-style quarterback in the 2014 class while 247Sports was even higher on him, ranking him No. 22. He'll come to Pullman from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., one of a couple of prospects from Florida in this signing class.
Although he has all the traits you're looking for in an Air Raid quarterback, Bender still isn't likely to step into the starting lineup any time soon. With Connor Halliday slotted into the starting spot and Austin Apodaca and Tyler Bruggman competing for backup duties, Bender will likely redshirt next season. He could, however, have the chance to start in 2015 when Bruggman, Apodaca, Bender and the 2015 quarterback signee presumably battle for the starting job.
You can check out Bender's senior highlights on his Hudl page.
