Portland State needs a new quarterback. Last fall, the Vikings football team relied on star quarterback Connor Kavanaugh to lead the team. Kavanaugh is graduating this year, along with reserve quarterbacks Drew Hubel and Justin Engstrom. PSU has a handful of new players ready to step up and fill those empty shoes, though.
Portland State needs a new quarterback. Last fall, the Vikings football team relied on star quarterback Connor Kavanaugh to lead the team. Kavanaugh is graduating this year, along with reserve quarterbacks Drew Hubel and Justin Engstrom. PSU has a handful of new players ready to step up and fill those empty shoes, though.
Currently, junior transfer Collin Ramirez, sophomore Josh Milhollin, senior Nick Green, redshirt freshman Thomas Carter and incoming freshman Paris Penn are looking for a shot to lead the Vikings. While the final decision on the lineup is yet to come, Ramirez and Milhollin agree it will be a close race.
“Personally, I think that it will be good for our quarterback group to be bringing different pieces to the field, learning from each other and then putting it all into one quarterback on opening day,” Milhollin said.
As a transfer, Ramirez did not personally work with Kavanuagh last season; however, he and Milhollin emphasized the importance of living up to the standards Kavanaugh set.
“From what I know about Connor, they all called him the general for a reason—because he was the team leader and the team captain—and I think filling his shoes is going to be a tough thing, but someone has to do it,” Ramirez said.
Coming from Butte College, Ramirez is known for his throwing game. He beat current Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ touchdown passing record at Butte, with 30 completions.
While Ramirez’s record speaks for itself, being the newest addition to the PSU quarterback lineup has given him opportunities to learn from his fellow quarterbacks and from the returning receivers as well.
Milhollin added that having experience on the receiving end is crucial to meshing well with the new lineup of quarterbacks coming in. “They make us look good,” Milhollin said. “We can throw an easy two yard pass and they run 50 yards for a touchdown. So it’s really getting the ball into their hands, letting these experienced, veteran guys do what they can and live up to their potential.”
In 2012, the Vikings were a team known almost entirely for the running game. Kavanaugh beat the Viking and Big Sky records for rushing for both a single season and his overall career: 1,060 yards in his senior season and 1,965 overall. But Milhollin said that this year the reliance on running will be less. The goal for the season is to get closer to a 50-50 run-pass offense.
Milhollin and Ramirez join veteran Vikings Green, Carterand Penn to fight for the starting quarterback position in the fall. “The quarterback competition is really close right now,” Milhollin said. Both Ramirez and Carter are fighting hard for the position, and having two upperclassmen and two freshmen eyeing the spot is bringing out the best in everyone.
With summer training set to start mid-July, the five will need to prove themselves to the coaching staff and to each other who is best to fill Kavanaugh’s shoes.
