Well-traveled Hosick finds home with Penguins

By STEVE WILAJ

swilaj@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Really, there’s only one way – one simple sentence – for how Trent Hosick can describe his journey over the last three years of going from a highly touted, nationally sought-after high school quarterback in 2013 to the newest (and possibly next starting) Youngstown State signal-caller in 2016.

“It’s been a crazy journey,” Hosick recently told The Vindicator — emphasis on “crazy.”

On Jan. 6, the Penguins announced the signing of the former Arizona Western College – and originally University of Missouri – quarterback. The Springfield, Mo., native began classes at YSU last week with the start of the spring semester greeted by heavy snow, of course.

“The plan is to win a national championship,” said Hosick, who will be a redshirt junior this fall. “If there’s any other expectations, I wouldn’t have even considered it. But Coach [Bo] Pelini shares my passion for winning and I absolutely love that about him.

“So I’m really looking forward to my time here and – as soon as I get acclimated to the weather – I think I’m gonna enjoy myself thoroughly.”

Now, there’s no guarantee Hosick will be under center when the Penguins host Robert Morris on Sept. 1 to begin their 2016 season. YSU returns two-year junior starting QB Hunter Wells, as well as junior backup Ricky Davis.

But after a 2015 season in which pocket-passer Wells was just average and running-threat Davis only showed flashes, it appears a quarterback competition is in the making – especially with the dual-threat Hosick in the fold – when YSU begins spring practices in a few months.

“We talked about it in my recruiting,” Hosick said. “Basically, my focus is just to hone my skills as a quarterback and make sure that – if I’m chosen to be the guy – that I’m as ready as I can possibly be.”

It’s yet another challenge for the 6-foot-1, 225-pound right-hander who has faced many since coming out of Staley High School in 2013 rated as the 19th-best QB in the nation by Rivals.com.

Hosick’s journey included committing to and then transferring from Missouri, joining Arizona Western in 2014 and playing extremely well, committing to BYU before backing out to play another year with the Matadors and then suffering two brutal injuries this past season. The injuries devastated his recruiting stock, although he’s healthy now.

Hosick – a devout Christian – is no stranger to obstacles.

Here’s what he said he brings to YSU: “One of the things that makes me a little different is my personality. I have an unwavering desire to win – that’s the most important thing to me. People have always told me to just have fun playing football, but I’ve always found that winning is fun and losing is not. So I train and play and live in such a way that everything that I do is geared towards winning.

“And I feel like a can make all the throws that the coaches are gonna ask of me. As far as my athleticism goes, I can make plays when they break down, extend plays with my feet, take off and get first downs. But ultimately as a quarterback, it’s your job to facilitate drives and score. By whatever means necessary, I plan on doing that.”

Originally, Hosick figured he’d be doing those things for a BCS Championship-contending Missouri team.

After receiving 21 FBS offers in high school (including Arkansas, Baylor, Iowa and Iowa State), he committed to the Tigers early in the recruiting process. However, just five days before Signing Day, offensive coordinator and QB coach David Yost – the main reason he chose Missouri – resigned.

Fighting the urge to de-commit and go elsewhere, Hosick still signed with Missouri to stay loyal to his word. But he didn’t mesh with the new position coach during his 2013 redshirt freshman season and decided to transfer after 18 months.

“We didn’t fight or I didn’t get in trouble – I had a 4.0 GPA going,” Hosick said. “I just chose to leave because I wanted to play for someone who is like-minded.”

Upon leaving Missouri, Hosick – not wanting to sit out another season because of the transfer requirements – spurned FBS offers and joined junior college Arizona Western. He arrived late in the 2014 season, but was inserted as the starting QB in Week 6 and promptly guided the Matadors to a 7-0 record as he passed for 1,241 yards and 12 TDs and rushed for 628 yards and 11 TDs.

The strong showing drew interest from Ole Miss, which Hosick nearly joined prior to the 2015 season before the Rebels received a commit from Chad Kelly. He also was pursued by Maryland, San Diego State and BYU, verbally committing to the latter before deciding to return to Arizona Western for 2015.

“I was chasing the dream of playing for a school that I felt had a chance to win the BCS National Championship – that’s always been my dream,” Hosick said. “I didn’t feel at peace with going to any of those schools. So I felt that if I went back to Arizona Western for another season and played well again, it would help my recruiting. And it started out great.”

Prior to this past season, Hosick was ranked as the top JC quarterback, named a preseason first-team all-American and was in talks with some of the nation’s top football schools. But he suffered a cracked rib in a Week 1 win and a broken ankle in a Week 2 loss, before losing in Week 3 while attempting to play through the injuries and sitting out for the next eight weeks.

He returned on Nov. 7 for Arizona Western’s playoff finale and threw for 256 yards and three TDs and rushed for more than 100 yards in a victory. He then guided the Matadors to an upset win in their bowl game to end his JC career.

“I ended the season well, but being injured really, really hurt my recruiting,” said Hosick, who finished 2015 with 787 passing yards, six TDs, six interceptions and 216 rushing yards. “No big schools came through with offers. You can’t really blame them, but at the same time, it was really disappointing.

“So when I finally got a call from Youngstown State – considering my dream of playing for a BCS championship – it was kind of tough to come to grips with going to a D I-AA school. But when I found out Coach Pelini was the head coach here, that was a big factor for me.”

Hosick almost joined Pelini at Nebraska in 2013.

After getting an “unofficial offer” from the Cornhuskers, Johnny Stanton committed to Nebraska at the last second, which caused Nebraska to not offer Hosick. Still, he never forgot his interactions with the fiery head coach.

“My dad [Tom] always told me I’d be a good fit for Coach Pelini because of the passion that I play with and he’s a passionate coach,” Hosick said.

Three years later and an unpredictable ride in between, yes, the two are indeed a match.

Pelini and Penguins offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery visited Hosick in Arizona on Dec. 7. Hosick then visited YSU on Dec. 19 before accepting its offer. He was also talking to Virginia (where a majority of BYU’s former coaching staff recently relocated to), Central Florida and Southern Illinois, while Charleston Southern had already offered.

But the next stop for Hosick’s roller-coaster ride is in Youngstown. And injuries in the past – he’s “full-go” and training every day – he simply wants to return the favor to YSU.

“They did their part,” Hosick said. “They recruited me and made me feel special and now it’s my time to reward them. It’s my time to go to work for them and go win a championship for them. That’s exactly what I intend to do.”