PSU would appear on paper to have one of the deepest and most talented quarterback corps in its history and may have attracted some of Oregon's best high school quarterbacks over the last few years.
Four of PSU's six quarterbacks this season are from Oregon. They represent a deepening of the talent pool available from Oregon high schools, a direct result of some top quality high school coaches and emergence over the last 10 or so years of a year-round football camp, said quarterbacks coach Jim Craft, who has been largely responsible for assembling the group.
“You only have to look at our roster to see how the talent pool has deepened. We have a large number of Oregon players,” Craft said.
Although he likes getting Oregon players, Head Coach Jerry Glanville said the program's aim was “to recruit the best athletes, not necessarily just kids from Oregon.”
Having said that, Glanville is doubly glad to get Oregon quarterbacks.
“Oregon quarterbacks can play in the rain. When I was coaching in the pros, I always had quarterbacks from Texas, because they could throw in the wind. You'll notice Oregon quarterbacks in the pros aren't playing in the sunbelt…they're in places like Cleveland and Detroit,” Glanville said.
Having some of the top Oregon quarterback prospects playing for the Vikings is “really pretty impressive, because Oregon is a strong quarterback state,” he said.
The four Oregon quarterbacks include junior Drew Hubel, 6'5”, 205-pounds, from Corvallis High School, and sophomores Connor Kavanaugh, 6 feet, 180 pounds, from Lincoln High School; Justin Engstrom, 6'5”, 210 pounds, Scappoose High School, and Nick Green, 6'2” 200 pounds, Central Catholic High School.
Hubel led Corvallis to the Oregon 5A State Championship in 2006. He threw for more than 2,300 yards and 28 touchdowns and competed in the 2008 Les Schwab Bowl.
Kavanaugh was state 6A offensive player of the year and lead his team to the state championship as a junior. He was Les Schwab Bowl MVP and Gatorade Oregon Player of the Year. During his career at Lincoln, he passed for 6,821 yards and 72 touchdowns and led the state in passing yards and touchdown passes his junior and senior years. He was a finalist for the Oregon Prep Athlete of the Year Award.
Nick Green was “arguably the top (prep) quarterback in the Pacific Northwest,” according to Scout.com (a view seconded by Craft) in 2007. His team reached the 6A state quarterfinals his senior year and he was named Old Spice National Red Zone Player of the Year for Oregon. He was All-League and team MVP.
Justin Engstrom was a two-time first team All-Cowapa League quarterback and earned scholar-athlete honors from the National Football Foundation. He drew interest from Oregon and Oregon State out of high school.
“Connor and Justin were from a particularly deep year in Oregon for football prospects. We liked Drew the previous year to some extent because he had started as a freshman. And, we thought Green was the best quarterback in Oregon the following year… so I guess you could say that we're very high on the potential of this group. Another thing, you want your quarterbacks to be smart. All these guys also are great students,” said Craft.
He also pointed out that the Vikings have two quarterback commitments and another player who might transfer back—it's too early for names—already for next year. So, “for the next few years at least we're going to look pretty strong at quarterback,” said Craft.
The trip to the PSU program is slightly different for each of the four. Hubel and Kavanaugh (who played against each other in the Les Schwab Bowl) took the traditional route, signing letters of intent out of high school. Green and Engstrom transferred from Bowl Division programs.
Drew Hubel—Hubel, the only junior among the group, credits the interest of Coach Craft with being a major influence on his decision. “Then when I found out that Conner was coming, that pretty well solidified my decision,” he said.
Oregon State was interested, but wanted him to walk on. There was Division II interest, but he wanted to play at a higher level.
PSU's coaching change worked to his advantage.
“Coach Walsh announced he was leaving a week after Conner and I signed our letters of intent,” he said. When PSU announced that Jerry Glanville and the recently retired Mouse Davis would take over the program, he thought “what a great deal. I mean, there is all this publicity surrounding the arrival of Coach Davis and Coach Glanville. You're going to be coached by some of the best ever.”
And, he's never looked back. He's enjoying the diversity of the PSU campus and the chance to live in a larger community (“you think Corvallis is small, I was born in Roseburg”).
A criminal justice major, Hubel said “this has been a positive opportunity for me. I've enjoyed myself in sports and in school. It's been a great experience so far and can only get better.”
Connor Kavanaugh—Kavanaugh came to PSU directly out of high school.
“When you go to high school at Lincoln, you can't help being aware of PSU. My parents are big OSU fans (where his brother plays), but I've lived here all my life and you can't help following and knowing about some of the players… and the campus is just a few blocks from my high school,” Kavanaugh said.
His interest in PSU football really picked up when the Viking coaching staff started showing interest. “I thought I'd better learn more about the program. I knew they had really strong quarterbacks,” he said, indicating he'd worked with former PSU standout quarterback Chris Crawford as early as the 7th grade.
“He was so enthusiastic about PSU that it made an impression,” Kavanaugh remembers.
He chose PSU for many reasons (one being that a lot of schools saw him as a defensive back and he wanted to stay at quarterback).
“I have lots of family in the area and they've always come to my games. If I'd gone off to Idaho (he was considering Idaho along with PSU when the Vandals changed coaches), it would have been hard for them to come to games,” he said.
He knew that PSU traditionally had really strong quarterbacks and even had followed Drew Hubel's high school statistics.
“I like being around my family and we have a nice group of guys in this program. I can't think of anyone I don't like…and the quarterbacks…we're especially close. Coach Craft creates a great atmosphere. He's more like our best friend. We're always joking with him and he really supports all of us,” said Kavanaugh, who would like to coach one day himself.
Justin Engstrom—Engstrom, Hubel and Kavanaugh came out of high school the same year. Engstrom accepted OSU's walk-on proposition. Team injuries his redshirt freshman year led to playing time and being second on the depth chart.
“But, I dropped back in the depth chart and was having trouble moving up,” the Scappoose High standout remembers. That led to his contacting several Big Sky schools last summer (“and, Oregon State made a few calls on my behalf, but nothing materialized”), so, when Coach Glanville said there was a spot for him here… along with a scholarship… the decision was easy.
“I was recruited by PSU out of high school and was familiar with the program. I wanted to find a place where I'd fit in and… I wanted to be offered a scholarship,” he said.
Besides being able to play close to home, PSU “is a good fit for me. As soon as I got here, I felt comfortable with the coaches and my teammates. Conner and Drew (who room together) let me sleep on their couch for the first few weeks while I found a house (he lives off campus). They were very welcoming.”
Although he hadn't competed against any of his fellow quarterbacks in high school, he knew about Hubel and Kavanaugh and thought they'd make good teammates… and he knew that PSU had a reputation for good quarterbacks.
Although transferring all his credits from OSU proved challenging, the social science major said he also was drawn to PSU's passing offense.
Nick Green—Green was heavily recruited by PSU out of Central Catholic high school, but accepted an offer from Air Force. An extra rigorous underclassman class regimen and the time required for military training didn't leave enough time to concentrate on football.
The return to PSU was an obvious choice because “it's close to home so my family can watch me play”, he liked Coaches Glanville and Craft and “if you're a quarterback, how can you not like a team that passes 60 times a game.”
A double major in psychology and communications, he's very comfortable here. “I like the atmosphere. It fits my personality. I know the city and I know the people and I'm playing in the same stadium where I played in high school (Central Catholic plays its games in PGE Park).”
Like the others, Green mentioned the closeness of the Viking quarterback corps.
“I like playing with some of the best quarterbacks Oregon has produced recently. We're all on the same page. These guys aren't just great athletes and great thinkers; they're a bunch of really nice guys. We know when to be serious and when we can have fun… and I'm having fun,” Green said.
