Former Clemson QB beats out former South Carolina QB for Northwestern starting job

Hunter Johnson beat Ryan Hilinski for the Northwestern Wildcats starting quarterback job.

Northwestern football entered the offseason coming off a strong 2020 season in which the Wildcats went 7-2 overall, winners of the Big Ten West but had to find a new starting quarterback.

Northwestern lost Peyton Ramsey, who signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent. A transfer from Indiana, Ramsey threw for 1,733 yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago for the Wildcats, while also rushing for 263 yards and three more scores.

The quarterback competition was between one-time 2019 starter Hunter Johnson and South Carolina transfer Ryan Hilinski. Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald announced it’s Johnson who won the job and will star the season opener against Michigan State.

Northwestern football names senior Hunter Johnson as starting quarterback

A former five-star recruit, Johnson originally began his career at Clemson before transferring to Northwestern in 2018. Johnson did not see action with the Wildcats during the 2020 season but did see action in 2019 completing 46.3 percent of his passes for 432 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions in parts of six games.

Johnson winning the job comes as a bit of a surprise considering how poorly his 2019 season went but also because of how Hilinski fared at South Carolina.

Hilinski spent two seasons with the Gamecocks throwing for a combined 2,391 yards and 11 touchdowns with five interceptions.

Johnson will begin the season as Northwestern’s starting quarterback but this competition isn’t over. Should Johnson struggle and Hilinski shows well in practice, don’t be surprised if Fitzgerald makes a switch at some point during the season as the Wildcats chase another division title.

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