South Carolina football: Ryan Hilinski to transfer to Northwestern
By Jacob Elsey
Former South Carolina football QB Ryan Hilinski has found a new home.
South Carolina signal caller Ryan Hilinski announced that he planned to enter the transfer portal in late December, amid a coaching change and falling behind Luke Doty on the depth chart. On Tuesday, he unveiled his new landing spot for the 2021 season.
I couldn’t be more excited and grateful for this opportunity. Go Cats! 💜 pic.twitter.com/OX1g0CNzEK
— Ryan Hilinski (@ryan_hilinski) January 19, 2021
Hilinski will join a Northwestern squad fresh off of an appearance in the Big Ten championship game. The team finished the year 7-2, losing to only Ohio State and Michigan State. The Wildcats took down Auburn in the Citrus Bowl by a score of 35-19, and ended the season ranked inside the top 15.
Hilinski started 10 games for the Gamecocks in 2019, passing for 2,357 yards and 11 scores, leading South Carolina to three wins. This past season, he fell behind transfer Collin Hill and incoming freshman Luke Doty in the quarterback competition, only appearing in two games. The California native completed 4-of-6 passes for 34 yards.
Hilinski was always a fan favorite in Columbia, and many wanted him to get his opportunity with the Gamecocks struggling on offense for a majority of the year. For one reason or another, things didn’t work out, so he’s now on the move to Evanston, Illinois.
Wildcat starter Peyton Ramsey is leaving the program following a successful 2020 campaign, meaning Hilinski will be competing with former Clemson passer Hunter Johnson for the starting gig. Hunter is a former five-star recruit, and the top signal caller in the class of 2016. He left Dabo Swinney’s program in 2018.
Hilinski was an accomplished recruit in his own right, ranking as the fourth best quarterback in the class of 2019. He’ll get a fresh start in the Big Ten next year.