And no one was there to watch. Except those who mattered to him the most -- his teammates. Not the fans. Not the coaches. Just Matt and 100 players who had asked him -- the player so admonished by Cougars everywhere the night of Nov. 23 -- to lead them.

Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review Matt Kegel's ability to lead Washington State -- as a player and a captain -- has not been called into question in the preseason.

‘‘It was the greatest honor of my life,'' the fifth-year senior said.

And so Matt told them. He stood in Martin Stadium and he talked, not from the hip, but from the heart. He told his teammates how he was honored to lead them after they voted him team captain. Honored just to know them.

And this season, it didn't matter that he had waited four long years just for it to happen. It wasn't about him. He wasn't out playing for himself. He was out here playing for each of them. The accomplishments, each of them, were shared accomplishments. The last man on the team is just as important as the first. No person will be playing for himself. Each person will be playing for each other. Each person will be playing for Washington State.

‘‘From that speech you just knew he would be this team's leader,'' said tight end Troy Bienemann. ‘‘He just speaks and acts with so much confidence.

‘‘After being a backup for four years, it's amazing to see how much he has turned it on and how much of a leadership role he has taken. I couldn't ask for a better leader.''

For years Kegel asked himself what he was doing at Washington State. He had been the recruit everyone wanted to sign. The first day coaches could visit prospects, two made the trip to Havre, Mont. Being a starting quarterback had not only been Matt's dream, but, he thought, his destiny as well. Ever since those days when Matt and his father would toss the ball from floor to armchair in the living room at 2171 Rich Street, his future had been planned.

Then Jason Gesser took over. And Matt's waiting began. So did the thoughts of transferring. ‘‘But he stuck with it,'' said WSU coach Bill Doba. ‘‘And I can't thank him enough for that.''

‘‘I wouldn't have stuck around if I didn't believe I could do it,'' Kegel said.

Right now the team wouldn't be following Kegel if they didn't think he could do it. But every day he has proven to them that he can. ‘‘It's amazing how much he has grown just since December and how much he has taken over the team and how much he just knows more about the game,'' said center Mike Shelford. ‘‘Just watching him during passing league during the summer. He sees the defenses more. He knows what the safeties are doing, he knows where the pockets are going to be and what receivers are going to be open.''

He knows it because he has dedicated himself to it. Just the other night Doba was the last one leaving when he heard somebody in the next room. He walked in and there was Kegel watching more film, learning more about the offense and his position.

On the practice field it's Kegel who is directing traffic, breaking up fights, pushing the blocking sleds off the field so the drill can begin 10 seconds earlier.

‘‘He doesn't get credit for how much he does and how much he knows,'' said Shelford. ‘‘The football team, the offense, everybody knows that he is the leader. We know how he has grabbed the team and he is carrying us along.''

‘‘He started that right after the Rose Bowl,'' said Doba.

And not just with the current team members, but with future WSU players as well. The first recruiting weekend it was Kegel saying, ‘‘Where can I help? Have them come over to the house.'' He was doing anything he can do for the program that has done so much for him.

‘‘The lessons I've learned in four years here . . . I have learned so much about football and life,'' Kegel said. ‘‘Everything you can possibly think of I've learned about here in Pullman. I think that has helped me mature greatly in my years here.''

The team has matured right along with him. Five years ago, they were the one-trick ponies of the Pac-10 Conference. The past two years they have won 20 games and become much more visible on the national scene.

‘‘We have got something special going on here and I don't want to lose that,'' Kegel said. ‘‘And I know that discipline has been a big part of that. We just want to keep up on that plateau. We don't want to start going down. We want to shoot for the stars and keep on going up.''

‘‘He's taken ownership of this team,'' added Shelford.

And that day, just months and yards away from a bitter 29-26 defeat in triple overtime to Washington, Kegel told his teammates he couldn't and wouldn't do it on his own.

‘‘What a lucky man I am to lead such a fine group of men,'' he said.