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MARYVILLE

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News Brief

Aug. 12, 2024MARYVILLE, Mo.

Coaches keeping eye on Bearcat QBs through camp battle

Northwest Missouri State quarterbacks talk with offensive coordinator Todd Sturdy following the first practice on August 5.

Bearcat quarterbacks talk with offensive coordinator Todd Sturdy following the first practice. (Photo courtesy Northwest Athletics)

 

For the first time since 2018, Northwest Missouri State football opened fall camp without an abundance experience at quarterback.

Chris Ruhnke and Henry Martin each played in four games and made a start early in 2023 after Mike Hohensee got hurt in week two against Emporia State.

Neither Ruhnke nor Martin took the opportunity and ran with it in their first significant collegiate playing time, but each played in big time high school atmospheres and came to Northwest as accomplished quarterbacks.

At Platte County, Ruhnke was a two-time all-state performer and a Thomas Simone Award finalist. He also led the Pirates to a pair of state runner-up finishes in 2019 and 2020. The 6-foot-1, 199 pound signal-caller completed 21-44 passes for 299 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions as a sophomore at Northwest. Prior to last season, Ruhnke had only received playing time in mop-up duty of a win over Lincoln during his redshirt freshman year.

Martin was first team all-state at Blue Valley North, was a two-time state runner-up, and set the Kansas state record with 731 career completions. The Leawood, KS native threw completed 26 passes on 43 attempts for 237 yards, no touchdowns and one interception during his redshirt freshman year with the Bearcats.

With playing time under their belts and another year in offensive coordinator Todd Sturdy's system, the Northwest coaches are now giving Ruhnke and Martin an equal shot to earn the starting job.

"Every practice we're switching them out of the ones and the twos and evaluating all of the snaps – from skelly to team reps and everything that they do," head coach Rich Wright said during the first week of fall camp.

Both Ruhnke and Martin were thrust into last year's home opener when Hohensee went down, but the landscape of 2024 is vastly different. Each player has experienced the speed of an MIAA game and know it's an open competition this fall. They will be ready for their chance this year when the Bearcats meet Minnesota State in week one.