(Courtesy: KWCH)
By Matt Turer — mturer@ky3.com @MattTurer
By Justin Sampson — jsampson@ky3.com @JustinLSampson
Springfield, Mo. — Missouri State football may have found its future at quarterback. Garden City Community College national champion freshman quarterback Peyton Huslig announced his commitment to MSU today, not even 24 hours after the completion of his first official visit.
Huslig led Garden City to a perfect record and last year’s NJCAA championship, defeating Arizona Western College, 25-22, in the title game after leading an 85-yard game-winning drive capped off by a one-yard touchdown pass with 30 seconds remaining.
Huslig didn’t even complete the full length of his visit before committing to MSU, alerting head coach Dave Steckel of his decision while having dinner at the coach’s home Wednesday night.
“Right when I got here, it felt just like a home away from home,” Huslig said. “The coaches were amazing.
“I still had half the visit to go and I think it kind of caught [Steckel] off guard to decide that early that I wanted to play here. He’s really excited to get me here.”
Proud to announce my commitment to Missouri State! Thank you to all the coaches at Garden City for believing in me #JUCOPRODUCT @Coach_Stec pic.twitter.com/YXaVd78bGm
— Peyton Huslig (@phuslig15) January 5, 2017
The 6’3″ Andover, Kan. product had offers from Stetson and Valparaiso out of high school and finished his freshman season at GCCC 79-129 for 1,140 yards, 12 touchdowns and one interception. (And at one point going over 100 attempts without throwing an interception). He added 334 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
“Out of high school I was a pocket passer,” he said. “But at Garden I started to run more. My best strength is ball security and making good decisions with the ball.”
Huslig ran for 112 yards and completed 13 of 22 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns in the national title game in Yuma, Ariz.
“After the national championship, recruiting picked up,” Huslig said. “Once Missouri State started talking to me, I was interested. It’s close to home compared to other schools.”
The Bears’ quarterback situation was rattled last season when Week 1 starter Breck Ruddick was suspended for the season after just three games following his involvement in an animal abuse incident. He started just three games before senior Brodie Lambert took the reigns for the final eight.
The quarterbacks listed on Missouri State’s roster that are expected to return include Ruddick (Jr.), Michael Briggs, who saw limited snaps in 2016, redshirt sophomore Brett Geisk, and Sam Hall (So.).
“I still have to come in and compete and prove myself, but the quarterback situation [at MSU] seems pretty good to me right now,” he said.
Huslig said the system he ran at Garden City was similar to the co-offensive coordinator setup he expects with the Bears. After leading the Broncbusters to a title in his first year as a college player, he’s embracing the challenge of turning MSU into contenders.
“The year before I arrived at Garden, they went 3-8. The next year they won the national title. I’m not saying that’s going to happen [at MSU], but I’ve seen what it takes to turn a program around. I’m ready for this challenge,” Huslig said.
Huslig also had offers from Delaware State and Alabama A&M.
SEE HIGHLIGHTS FROM HIS FRESHMAN YEAR AT GARDEN CITY BELOW
