Andover Central QB Peyton Huslig’s debut strong for Garden City

Even if Peyton Huslig had wanted to be the big man on campus this week at Garden City Community College, he knows he wouldn’t have gotten far.

“My roommate and Jayru (Campbell) definitely try to keep me humble,” said Huslig, a freshman quarterback from Andover Central High.

Huslig’s roomie, Harley Hazlett, and Campbell did their part to push Huslig into the spotlight last Saturday. They were among seven Garden City receivers who caught passes from Huslig in his first collegiate start, a 43-0 victory over Butler that improved the Jayhawk Conference-leading Broncbusters to 5-0.

Huslig was named the conference’s offensive player of the week after completing 21 of 30 passes for 311 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran for a 12-yard touchdown to punctuate Garden City’s largest victory margin over Butler since 1995.

That performance earned Huslig another start Saturday night when Garden City, No. 3 in the NJCAA rankings, travels to Coffeyville.

“To be honest, he exceeded my expectations,” Garden City coach Jeff Sims said. “I just wanted him to manage the game and not lose the game. But he was a winning factor in the game. He made winning plays. … He was a weapon for us.”

Huslig, who led Andover Central to a 10-3 record and the Class 4A-I title game last fall, got the start against Butler after playing backup to two quarterbacks through Garden City’s first four games. The first was Campbell, a 6-foot-4 sophomore from Detroit, who got the call in victories over Ellsworth (Iowa), Highland and Independence as the Busters started 3-0 for the first time since 2001.

In the 25-7 victory over Independence, Campbell shared time with Dwayne Lawson, a highly recruited dual-threat prospect out of Tampa, Fla., who left Virginia Tech in August. Lawson joined the Busters after originally planning to transfer to Hutchinson.

Lawson started at quarterback and Campbell played receiver on Sept. 17 in a 16-14 victory over Hutch. But after a bye week, Sims suspended Lawson for the Butler game for a violation of team rules to open the door for Huslig.

“Going into the week, I didn’t know I was going to be starting until probably Wednesday,” said the 6-3, 200-pound Huslig. “Coach called (Jayru) and I in and told us what had happened, and how he wanted us to move forward. Ru said, ‘Coach, I just want to win.’

“That just showed to me how Jayru is willing to sacrifice for this team.”

The Busters, who had relied heavily on the nation’s second-best scoring defense, unleashed the total package on Butler. Huslig directed Garden City to 502 yards, connected with Daniel Davis for two touchdowns, and also had scoring passes to Ben Phillips and Mike Hughes.

Campbell had a season-high seven receptions for 76 yards.

“With a guy like Dwayne, who is 6-6 and 225 pounds, you can see the size and speed and what he brings to the table,” Sims said. “What you can’t see in Peyton until he starts to play is the intelligence.

“A play may have two or three options to it. Some guys can only get to one or two of those options. Peyton has the intelligence level that can take him through progressions.”

Huslig signed with Garden City after exploring opportunities at Football Championship Subdivision schools Drake, Stetson and Valparaiso – all part of the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League. After earning All-Class 4A-I recognition as a senior, Huslig continued to develop his skills working with Steve Cisneros, a private quarterback coach who played at Wichita State.

“He taught me to throw the ball harder and more decisively,” Huslig said. “It was basically getting me in the mindset that I was going to have to be more precise to deal with the speed of the game.”

Huslig performed well enough against Butler that Sims immediately named him the starter against Coffeyville. That’s given Huslig the lion’s share of repetitions in practice this week.

“This is junior college football, and you do your best as long as you can or somebody is ready to replace you,” Sims said. “It’s a weekly paycheck and we talk a lot about being 1-0 every week.

“As long as Peyton goes out there and does his job, he’ll keep playing. But what I like about him is even if I pull him after two series, he’s still the same dude. That’s what makes him special.”

This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Andover Central QB Peyton Huslig’s debut strong for Garden City."