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.

Ryan Hilinski
Hilinski with South Carolina in 2019
Northwestern Wildcats – No. 3
PositionQuarterback
ClassRedshirt Senior
MajorBroadcast Journalism
Personal information
Born: (2000-10-24) October 24, 2000 (age 24)
Orange, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight230 lb (104 kg)
Career history
College
High schoolOrange Lutheran (CA)

Early years

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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]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
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 
Recruiting 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)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "South Carolina Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  • "2019 South Carolina Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 2, 2019.

College career

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South Carolina

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2019

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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

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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

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Hilinski with Northwestern in 2021

On January 19, 2021, Hilinski announced that he had transferred to Northwestern.[10]

Statistics

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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

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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

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b Breiner, Ben (August 21, 2019). "Ryan Hilinski, now one snap away for the Gamecocks". The State. McClatchy. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b Del Bianco, John (September 2, 2019). "Hilinski to start for Gamecocks, Bentley out indefinitely". 247Sports.com. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  5. ^ Bilodeau, Kevin (September 8, 2019). "Jake Bentley to have surgery, miss the rest of the season". WCSC-TV. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Hadley, Greg (September 7, 2019). "Hilinski shines, Gamecocks set records in rout of Charleston Southern". The State. McClatchy. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Ryan Hilinski College Stats". College Football Stats and History. Sports Reference. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  9. ^ Matthews, Joshua. "South Carolina football: Collin Hill named opening day starter". Fansided. Garnet & Cocky. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  10. ^ "2021 Transfer portal". 247sports. December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  11. ^ 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.
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