The lessons to take from Ryan Hilinski’s feet — and how they can impact 2020 season
As early interactions go, the one between South Carolina offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and returning starting quarterback Ryan Hilinski was blunt to say the least. This isn’t so uncommon, a new coach putting his charge on notice, part of the push-and-pull natural in that sort of relationship.
Hilinski had just come off a season when he was asked to do a lot without a ton of training on the college level. His new position coach had some thoughts.
“The first conversation I had with him I said, ‘Your footwork is terrible,’” Bobo said.
But that footwork in some ways told the story of Hilinski’s freshman season.
“A lot of that is due to, we don’t know what’s happening up front,” Bobo said. “We don’t understand the protection so our feet are in a bad place. Somebody’s coming on us. We don’t understand that they’re coming free. So, you know, we’re taking some shots we probably shouldn’t have. And he was a freshman last year and he threw it 406 times last year and he got hit, hit a lot, and that wears on a young guy.”
That total of 406 attempts, not counting sacks, ranked 26th nationally. He played 11 games. Of the players ahead of him, only seven played played fewer than 13 (and all played 12).
It also didn’t help that his offensive line had two young guards — both of whom were better in the run game than in pass protection — and one of the tackle spots was occupied by true freshmen for half the games.
Bobo said the passing efficiency from last season was not close to where it needs to be. The team was at 5.7 yards per pass, 5.5 against FBS opponents, a number that ranked 125th nationally.
That wasn’t all on Hilinski’s shoulders. His thin wide receiver group was made thinner by injury, and the tight end group was down to one or two reliable targets most of the season.
Hilinski said he’s working on those issues this spring and said he’s liked the coaching he’s getting from Bobo, some on the injury prevention front.
“We’re just trying to work on a little bit of upper body stuff,” Hilinski said. “Just trying to get my elbow up a little bit more, puts less stress on my shoulder, puts less stress on the elbow. Trainers have done a lot of good stuff with me as well talking about foot plant and stuff like that. It takes less pressure off my knees, takes that pressure off my lower hips.”
Hilinski came to Columbia as an Elite 11 passer. He expected to work behind Jake Bentley in 2019 after the veteran eschewed the NFL, but one game into the season Bentley’s broken foot pushed Hilinski into the lineup.
He threw for 2,357 yards 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.
This spring he’s working alongside incoming four-star freshman Luke Doty and fourth-year passer Jay Urich, who spent time at receiver and on special teams last season. Once summer rolls around, veteran Collin Hill, a former starter with Bobo at Colorado State, will get involved coming off a torn ACL.
That competition projects to be open, with two passers with starts under their belts. And if Hilinski is to hold onto the job, he’ll have to clean up that footwork, with all it can unlock.
“Your feet tell you when to cut the ball loose,” Bobo said. “They tell you when to go to the next progression. They tell you when it’s time to tuck the ball and run or tuck the ball get out of the pocket or throw the ball away. Your feet are a big indicator of timing, and when your feet aren’t right usually it leads to inaccurate passing. Now you can overcome it at times. There are times when we’re not always going to be all balanced so because of a rush, we’ve got to move.
“When we’re on balance, we’re throwing things on time, our percentage of completing that ball goes up drastically.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 2:19 PM.
