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Two seasons ago, South Carolina Gamecocks true freshman quarterback Ryan Hilinski was becoming a feel-good story on-and-off the field.
This season, the redshirt sophomore was attempting to start over with the Northwestern Wildcats.
On Tuesday, however, the Wildcats announced their starting quarterback for Week 1, when they host the Michigan State Spartans, would be former Clemson Tiger and current senior QB Hunter Johnson:
QB 1 for Week 1: 1️⃣5️⃣#GoCats | @coachfitz51 pic.twitter.com/tfDSE6rk0x
— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) August 17, 2021
In the 2019 season at South Carolina, Hilinski completed 236 passes (out of 406 attempts) for 2,357 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. Prior to 2020, Hilinski lost the title of starting quarterback in a competition to Collin Hill. Hilinski would only throw for 34 yards on 4 completions (out of 6 passing attempts) for the Gamecocks.
After a disappointing season with South Carolina, Hilinski announced he was transferring to Northwestern and competing for the starting quarterback position. Johnson has been with Northwestern for the past 3 seasons. He played in 8 games in the past 2 seasons for the Wildcats.
