NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Ricky Rahne has made it somewhat of a tradition to unveil his starting quarterback during the Old Dominion football team's annual media day in August. Intentional or not, this season was no different.
Rahne revealed that redshirt sophomore Colton Joseph will start the season opener at Indiana on August 30. Joseph was competing with Quinn Henicle for the job during preseason camp, though many presumed QB1 was Joseph's spot to lose from the get-go.
"You've got to move forward every day, whether that's the case or not," Joseph said. "Keep grinding and just keeping working on yourself no matter what is the outcome."
"One thing he's done a really nice job of is just understanding where to go with the football when things aren't great," added Rahne. "He's found his check-downs or his second progression really well. He's also done a nice job with direction the protection and understanding what [he] needs to do and seeing some little tells and things like that pre-snap, so I like where he's at right now."
Joseph appeared in nine games during the 2024 season, starting eight of them. He completed 133 of his 222 pass attempts for 1,627 yards and 11 touchdowns, adding just five interceptions. He also displayed his versatility during the campaign, adding 647 yards and 11 scores on the ground.
"All the experiences I learned from last year will help me dive into this season and all my practice and preparation," the quarterback noted. "What I see out there and the feeling of the game, it's hard to get in practice, so it was definitely good to have last year."
Henicle made the most of his limited time last year as well. He appeared in three games, rushing for three touchdowns and throwing for another two scores. The redshirt freshman showed off his explosive ground game ability, rattling off TD rushes of 65 yards and 92 yards during the campaign. Joseph and Henicle say they're pushed to be their best by each other.
"Iron sharpens iron," said Joseph. "Everyone's competing every day. We're out there battling, competing, flying around on the field, so it's always good to have someone push you. I'm pushing him, he's pushing me, every other quarterback in that room is pushing each other so it's good competition."
"Me and Colton are great friends outside of football, too," Henicle pointed out. "Bringing that relationship into the locker room, into the training facility every single day, we push each other to be the best possible versions of ourselves in the weight room, on the practice fields, so it really helps both of us out."
The Monarchs kick off the season at Indiana on August 30 at 2:30 p.m.
