Around the Hill: Kevin Hogan

Annually, the Washington D.C. area produces elite level athletes.  By the time these athletes graduate high school, they have already earned a large quantity of awards and even national recognition. Year in and year out, these players go off to various colleges across the country and accomplish a great deal.  From here on out, however, much of what these athletes accomplish seems to go unnoticed.  Every Wednesday, tune in to alloverthehill.com as I spotlight local area athletes that have flourished in their respective sports. This segment will highlight how the careers of local products have progressed and what their next step will be.  It is my pleasure to open the newest Around the Hill segment profiling Gonzaga Alumni, and Stanford University quarterback, Kevin Hogan.

The famous movie, Friday Night lights, concludes with a conversation between safety Brian Chavez and fullback Donnie Billingsley. Chavez begins by saying, “I’m going to miss the heat,” Billingsley casually responds, ”I’m going to miss the lights.”  Chavez continues, “ Yea me too. Stay low, keep those feet moving.”  Finally, Billingsley exclaims, “Hey Chavez. You be perfect!” Of the over a million high school football players, only the select few “keep those feet moving” right into college ball each year.  For Gonzaga College High School Alum, Kevin Hogan, “perfect” came pretty naturally throughout his high school career.  The six foot four quarterback won numerous awards ranging from being named to the All-Metropolitan first team member to DC Player of the year.

Still, however, he was only a three-star recruit and had many critics as he entered Stanford.  It took a bit of time to change their minds, as Hogan spent his first year studying under future first overall pick Andrew Luck.  Entering his redshirt freshman season, Hogan remained behind Josh Nunes and Brett Nottingham on the depth chart and was in serious trouble of not seeing a snap all season.  As the season progressed, Hogan shot up the depth chart and seized the opportunity to start when starter Josh Nunes was injured.  The offense had sputtered under Nunes and Coach David Shaw turned the offense over to Hogan.  Kevin excelled in the Cardinal scheme using both his arm and legs leading Stanford to its first Rose Bowl win in 41 years.  Hogan started fives games and threw for 1,096 yards; running for an additional 263 yards.  After a successful redshirt freshman campaign, Hogan will look for more improvement heading into the 2013 season.  Stanford was ranked fourth by the USA Today Coaches’ poll and big things are expected of Mr. Hogan.

It may be a bit too early to look ahead for the soon to be redshirt sophomore, but many around football see Hogan as an elite quarterback prospect in the future.  Hogan possesses a unique combination of size, mobility, and arm strength.  On top of this, Kevin is extremely accurate from the pocket.  He’s even drawn many comparisons to his predecessor, Andrew Luck.  Much is unknown about the future of Kevin Hogan but one thing is for sure is that Kevin Hogan “ will keep those feet moving.”

Kevin Hogan (Above) will look to guide Stanford to the promise land in 2013.