How last season is helping Ryan Hilinski through South Carolina quarterback battle
The future is anything but clear for South Carolina quarterback Ryan Hillinski.
Will he start this fall? Maybe, or maybe not. The competition with veteran Collin Hill continues to rage on, with no public decision yet made. No matter the choice, the threat of COVID-19 still lingers, and there’s no telling how the virus could affect the season or playing time.
But Hilinski has grown accustomed to uncertainty. In fact, there is evidence that he thrives on it, like the way he filled in for an injured Jake Bentley last season as a true freshman. That experience of being unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight is one that Hilinski is calling on now as he enters another season under strange circumstances.
“I think, last year, it was a really good experience,” Hilinski said over Zoom on Friday. “I think going in, Jake was an older guy, just like Collin is now, and both of those guys have helped me tremendously become a better quarterback and better person. But taking just from last year and going into this year, it’s just made me realize that I can only control what I can control.”
Hilinski said that last year, like a lot of freshmen, he was caught up in the “glamour” of playing football at the college level for the first time. He never expected to appear in the season opener after Bentley got injured or to be starting against No. 2 Alabama two weeks later. All the while, the freshman was adjusting to college life and still coping with the loss of his older brother, Tyler, who died by suicide in January 2018.
“I think last year, especially with all the games that happened and then of course off-the-field stuff and just thinking about Tyler in my first year of college, it was crazy for sure,” Hilinski said. “But that’s college football for a quarterback.”
Embroiled in a quarterback competition for the second straight year, Hilinski has refined his approach and established a routine to help him maintain his focus.
For starters, he’s stopped looking at social media, eliminating one of his chief distractions. He’s used the time he once spent scrolling on phone apps to dig into new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo’s playbook and work on his footwork under center.
Faith, too, has been central in keeping Hilinski on track from a mental perspective. On Wednesday mornings at 8:30, Hilinski joins fellow quarterback Jay Urich to talk about life and their religious studies over coffee. This Thursday, Hilinski called his priest since middle school, Father Charles, and prayed with him — something he also does before every game.
Hilinski said the South Carolina quarterbacks room talks often about the importance of life outside of football. Though Hilinski’s competition with Hill might appear heated from the outside, the two have grown close and bonded over their faith, as well.
“We actually have a really good relationship,” Hill said of Hilinski. “He’s been really welcoming ever since I showed up in January. And I think that relationships continue to grow. We got a great quarterback room. Everybody gets along well. We help each other out. But it’s been a good competition. We’ve been just splitting reps and trying to make the most of opportunities, but Ryan’s a talented guy for sure. He’s got a high football IQ. We’ve definitely been pushing each other.”
While Hilinski has made strides in terms of his comfort level and mindset, his play will ultimately determine how the quarterback battle shakes out. Because he followed Bobo from Colorado State to South Carolina, Hill has a leg up on Hilinski in terms of knowing the offense.
But Hilinski said he’s grown more comfortable under center after spending most of his football career playing out of the shotgun, and he said the offense as a whole is “operating with a lot of confidence.”
“I think the quarterback competition is going really good right now,” Hilinski said. “When we think of competition, a lot of people think about, ‘Who’s No. 1? Who’s No. 2?’ And right now, Collin and I are just competing and making each other better every single day, on and off the field.
“We’re doing devotions in the quarterback room. And then on the field, I’m helping him with footwork or he’s helped me with certain stuff. So right now it’s back and forth. You know, iron sharpening iron.”
