Ryan Hilinski
 Hilinski with South Carolina in 2019 | |
| Northwestern Wildcats – No. 3 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class |  Senior |
| Major | Broadcast Journalism |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | October 24, 2000 Orange, California, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 230 lb (104 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| High school | Orange Lutheran (CA) |
| |
Ryan J. Hilinski (born October 24, 2000) is an American football quarterback for the Northwestern Wildcats. He previously played for the South Carolina Gamecocks, where he started 11 games in 2019.
Early years
Hilinski attended the Lutheran High School of Orange County (commonly known as Orange Lutheran High School). As a senior, he played in 11 games and threw for 2,771 yards and 29 touchdowns. While in high school, he participated in the 2018 All-American Bowl.[1][2]
Hilinski committed to South Carolina after receiving offers from 30 teams, including Stanford, USC, LSU, and Ohio State.[2][3]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Hilinski QB |
Orange, CA | Orange Lutheran | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 222 lb (101 kg) | Apr 4, 2018 | |
Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 84
| ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 2 (pro-style QB) Rivals: 3 (pro-style QB) 247Sports: 2 (pro-style QB) ESPN: 4 (Pocket Passer) | ||||||
Sources:
| ||||||
College career
South Carolina
2019
Hilinski was named backup quarterback prior to the start of the 2019 season.[4] His first game appearance came during the 2019 Belk Kickoff Game against North Carolina after then starting quarterback Jake Bentley was injured in the game.[4] Hilinski was named starting quarterback later that day.[5] He made his first starting appearance in the second game of the season, a 72–10 win over Charleston Southern.[6] With Hilinski starting, the Gamecocks would set a school record 775 yards of offense, as well as a school record 493 rushing yards.[6] Next week, Hilinski would start in a home game against the Alabama Crimson Tide, a 47–23 loss, where he would complete more passes against Nick Saban's Crimson Tide than any other freshman quarterback.[7]
Hilinski started 11 games his freshman year, completing 58.1 percent of his passes. He finished with 11 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.[8]
2020
In September 2020, Hilinski was named the backup quarterback behind Collin Hill.[9] He has appeared in 2 games. On December 30, 2020, Hilinski entered the transfer portal.
Northwestern
On January 19, 2021, Hilinski announced that he had transferred to Northwestern.[10]
Statistics
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | |
| South Carolina Gamecocks | |||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 11 | 11 | 4–7 | 236 | 406 | 58.1 | 2,357 | 5.8 | 11 | 5 | 113.4 | 33 | −55 | −1.7 | 1 |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 6 | 66.7 | 34 | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | 114.3 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Northwestern Wildcats | |||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 9 | 5 | 2–3 | 95 | 176 | 54.0 | 978 | 5.6 | 3 | 4 | 101.7 | 23 | −67 | −2.9 | 1 |
| 2022 | 8 | 6 | 1–5 | 144 | 258 | 55.8 | 1,644 | 6.4 | 6 | 7 | 111.6 | 20 | −4 | −0.2 | 2 |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 4 | 50.0 | 88 | 22.0 | 1 | 0 | 317.3 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | — | 7 | 12 | 58.3 | 110 | 9.2 | 0 | 1 | 118.7 | 1 | −4 | −4.0 | 0 |
| Career | 36 | 22 | 7–15 | 488 | 862 | 56.6 | 5,211 | 6.0 | 21 | 17 | 111.5 | 80 | −128 | −1.6 | 4 |
Personal life
Hilinski was born to Mark and Kym Hilinski as the youngest of three children in the family.[11] Ryan's oldest brother, Kelly, played as a quarterback for Notre Dame High School, Columbia University, Riverside City College and Weber State University.[11] His second older brother, Tyler, who was also a quarterback at Washington State, died by suicide following his junior season.
References
- ^ Williams, James H. (September 7, 2019). "Who is South Carolina's true freshman quarterback? Ryan Hilinski of Orange Lutheran". Los Angeles Daily News. Digital First Media. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- ^ a b Breiner, Ben (August 21, 2019). "Ryan Hilinski, now one snap away for the Gamecocks". The State. McClatchy. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- ^ Dodd, Dennis (September 11, 2019). "Brotherly love, family pain test strength of Ryan Hilinski, South Carolina's new starting QB". CBS Sports. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
- ^ a b Del Bianco, John (September 2, 2019). "Hilinski to start for Gamecocks, Bentley out indefinitely". 247Sports.com. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ Bilodeau, Kevin (September 8, 2019). "Jake Bentley to have surgery, miss the rest of the season". WCSC-TV. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
- ^ a b Hadley, Greg (September 7, 2019). "Hilinski shines, Gamecocks set records in rout of Charleston Southern". The State. McClatchy. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
- ^ Ramspacher, Andrew (September 15, 2019). "'He's a true leader.' USC gives Hilinski high marks after Alabama game, 2 starts". The Charlotte Observer. McClatchy. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
- ^ "Ryan Hilinski College Stats". College Football Stats and History. Sports Reference. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
- ^ Matthews, Joshua. "South Carolina football: Collin Hill named opening day starter". Fansided. Garnet & Cocky. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
- ^ "2021 Transfer portal". 247sports. December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- ^ a b Lawson, Theo (September 14, 2017). "Oh, brother! Washington State backup QB Tyler Hilinski had family far and wide watching his epic comeback". The Spokesman-Review. Cowles Company. Retrieved January 17, 2018.