Ryan Hilinski evaluates freshman season, talks Mike Bobo

Coming out of high school, Ryan Hilinski hadn’t ever done a lot of losing on the football field.

The Elite 11 quarterback and four-star prospect was always a winner.

But he dealt with his first test of football-related adversity last season as a freshman. The Gamecocks went 4-8 with Hilinski the starter in 11 of those games.

As he now gears up for his sophomore season, getting back on the practice field as the Gamecocks began spring ball last week, he’s ready to put his freshman season firmly in the rear view.

“It won’t happen again,” Hilinski said. “I got left with a bad taste in my mouth last season. I never had a four-win season in my career. Personally, I will never let it happen again.”

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Because of Will Muschamp’s policy of not allowing freshmen to speak to the media, Hilinski made his first public comments Monday. He spoke in-depth about his freshman year where he was “thrown to the fire” after Jake Bentley was hurt one game into the season.

As he moved further away from the season and was able to digest things a little better than he could as he prepared for opponents, he felt prepared for the opportunity while still seeing room to grow.

“I knew being the backup that I had to go in and execute when it was my time to shine. Coach gave me that opportunity,” he said. “I love Jake and can’t wait to see what he does at Utah. The opportunities came and I had to go in there and execute. I did feel ready.”

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Last season, Hilinski’s play was largely up and down.

Battling a few nagging injuries, he’d throw for 2,357 yards, with just five interceptions, and finish with a 113.4 quarterback rating.

On the flip side, he’d only complete 58.1 percent of his passes and toss 11 touchdowns as the Gamecocks’ offense struggled to consistently score the last half of the season.

He’d get the start and is the quarterback of record for the upset win over Georgia in Athens, but also was the starter in losses to App State and Tennessee.

“I got to play better. Absolutely I have to play better. I had a couple moments where I felt good and a couple opportunities where I said, ‘Hey I’m going out there and throwing some touchdowns,’” he said. “But otherwise I have to play better. That comes down to me and I put that on myself.”

The biggest issue, he said, was less about confidence and more about consistency, and that’s expected for a guy going through his first season of college football.

This spring, he said things are starting to slow down for him and he knows better what to expect.

“Confidence wasn’t an issue. I have to focus more,” he said. “I have to be that practice player 110 percent every day. Consistency is the stuff we’re talking about at the facility. I have to be more consistent in my play, going out there day-by-day to being that guy for this team.”

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This spring he’s getting acquainted to new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo, who’s taken over.

It’s just a few days into spring ball, but Hilinski likes what he’s seen.

“He’s definitely more vocal. That gets guys going more and might light a fire underneath you. You don’t want to get called out,” he said. “That’s what’s going on in a lot of guys’ minds right now trying to be able to execute and not let their teammates down. That’s a big difference coming to his style of teaching.”