Ryan Agnew steps out of the shadows as the next in a great line of Southlake QBs. photo courtesy of Bludoor Studios.
The sun was high above the horseshoe grounds of Ford Stadiumbron a cool Saturday afternoon in December. SMU’s home turf is a familiar venuebrto Dragon faithful due to years of historic preseason and postseason showdowns.brOn this particular day, the intensity was high as the Dragons squared offbragainst a then-undefeated and highly ranked DeSoto Eagles team (13-0) in the 5AbrDivision 1 regional finals.
As star quarterback Kenny Hill manufacturedbrthe Dragons’ first offensive drive, he hit a little bump in the road. Hisbrhelmet popped off after a ferocious hit during a 2nd-down play near midfield. Accordingbrto UIL rules, a player who loses his helmet must sit out the next play. EnterbrRyan Agnew, the little-known 6’1” sophomore who had seen plenty of game action throughoutbrthe season as Hill’s backup but never so early and never in a game thisbrimportant.
“When I saw the helmet come off, Ibrreally didn’t think too much of it,” Agnew says. “I just went in as I wasbrcoached to do.” This statement isbrcertainly a testament to the poise of this young man, and the ensuring play abrstatement to his leadership potential. As Hill stood on the sidelines, Agnewbrtook his first big-time playoff snap as the team faced a long-shot third-down-and-12.brThe call: an appropriately safe quarterback sweep. The outcome: a zigzaggingbrrace up the right sideline as the young quarterback found a hole in the defensebrand quickly turned up field. He helped set up a first-and-goal inside the DeSotobr5-yard line, which led to the Dragons’ first score of the game.
With suchbrgood fortune comes lofty expectations. Greatquarterbacks have been a staple of the Carroll program for years — names like Wasson,brDaniel, McElroy, Dodge and Hill have ought hometrophies — and it’s a prestigious honor and a tremendous responsibility to be abrSouthlake Carroll signal caller. On the heels of the grueling offseasonbrpreparation for 2013, Agnew is beginning to better understand what lies ahead.
“It’s exciting, but it also comesbrwith a lot of responsibility,” he admits. “I’ve seen that just by watchingbrthose in front of me handle it the way they did. All I can do is try to handlebrwhat’s ahead to the best of my ability.”
The youngest of four football-starbrbrothers, the Agnew Dragon pedigree dates back to the early 2000s. Each of his brothersbrwas an integral member of three separate state championship Dragon teams, andbrall three received Division I scholarships: Michael with the Air Force; Josephbrwith Rice University; and Justin with Drake University. Learning while watchingbrhis brothers play the safety position, it’s only fitting that Agnew uses hisbrinsider information to extend the family legacy by picking apart opposingbrdefensive backfields.
“Watching my older brothers play,brall I saw was winning and having a good time doing it,” he says. “It made mebrlook forward to doing the same thing. Watching has helped me appreciate thebrprocess and understand how fortunate I am to be a part of this program.”
With his first season as thebrstarting Dragon quarterback officially underway, Agnew continues to feel a responsibilitybrto improve as a leader and to make strides to improve his game. One thing hebraims to improve is throwing deep passes, a necessary skill to master if he’s goingbrto connect with Carroll’s returning group of speedy receivers, including seniorbrRyan Weigel, who runs a sub 4.4-second 40-yard dash. The receiving core alsobrreturns seniors Keaton Duhon and Luke Timian, who with Weigel combined for 1,943bryards and 15 touchdowns last season. In addition to help on the outside, Agnewbrshould have plenty of support from 1,000-yard rusher and returning two-yearbrstarter A.J. Ezzard. With so much returning talent and veteran leadership inbrthe offensive huddle, the lanky gunslinger believes it will make a differencebras he transitions into his first year as the starter.
“Stepping into this role should bebra lot easier knowing I have so many seniors helping me each step of the way,”brhe adds.
The importance of thebraforementioned seniors and the chemistry they built in the offseason bodes wellbrfor the Dragons. Together with Agnew as the quarterback, the Dragons made thebrmost of their offseason by winning the Adidas State 7 on 7 tournament championshipbrin July, something that only former Carroll great and current Texas Longhornsbrassistant Riley Dodge has done before him. br
“It was a tremendous feeling beingbrable to win the tournament,” Agnew says. “Seven on seven is a lot like ourbroffense, so we were able to spread the ball around to multiple receivers, whichbrdefinitely helps us in the long run.”
No stranger to hard work, Agnewbrspent the rest of the offseason mentally preparing and improving his on-field chemistrybrwith his receivers by throwing routes after grueling days at Performance Course,brSouthlake’s summer conditioning program.
“Once you are actually in the system,bryou finally see what has to be done over the off-season and on your own time,”brAgnew explains. “It takes preparation and buying in to the system so we can performbrat the level we want to. By constantly getting reps, we’re able to practicebrthings until we know it’s right.”
Spending the vast majority of hisbrsophomore season as a backup quarterback, Agnew saw more game action than othersbrlike him. Finishing out many of the regular season games that were well out ofbrreach, he was able to throw for 575 yards and five touchdowns while completingbr41 of 60 passing attempts. Making the most of his now 4.5-second 40-yard speed,brhe also ran for 496 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Agnew, who has excelled at sportsbrsince a young age, grew up playing basketball and baseball. He’s always beenbrable to navigate his away around any field with ease. Like Hill before him, hebrplans to also play baseball in the spring. As his brother Justin, a member ofbrthe Dragon team from 2008–2010, puts it, “From the very beginning we he had abrfeeling he wasn’t going to play defense, and what’s really something is webralways felt he was going to become the best athlete out of all of us.” Onlybrtime will tell if his brother’s belief manifests into reality, but as fans, webrcan only be excited about the possibilities.