Hildebrand snug in UCA's offense

CONWAY -- They thought their backup quarterback was ready, and it didn't take long to find out.

It was Sept. 26, and the University of Central Arkansas Bears were at Turpin Stadium in Natchitoches, La., for a game with Northwestern State. UCA senior quarterback Taylor Reed had led UCA to an 18-0 first-quarter lead, but he left the game with an injured shoulder shortly thereafter.

Hayden Hildebrand, then a sophomore, jogged onto the field to replace Reed for UCA's first drive of the second quarter. Twelve plays later, including 3 complete passes on 3 attempts for 41 yards by Hildebrand, UCA scored to take a 25-0 lead.

"When he took us right down for that touchdown on his first drive, we said, 'Well, this is what we knew all along,' '' UCA Coach Steve Campbell said. "We knew he was ready to go."

"That was really exciting," Hildebrand said. "I hated it for Taylor, but for me, I just knew it was my chance to help the team and try to progress and get better and see what we could do."

Hildebrand completed 12 of 16 passes for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns in UCA's 49-21 victory. Reed's injury limited him throughout the season, and Hildebrand took charge.

"Hayden's the kind of guy who could've played really early for us," offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Nathan Brown said. "If we would've had to fast-track him, we could've, but we were in good shape at quarterback, so we were able to redshirt him."

There was no doubt UCA's offense was in Hildebrand's hands throughout the spring and summer, and his 238 yards and 2 touchdowns on 17 of 21 passes in UCA's 56-13 home victory over Houston Baptist in the season opener Sept. 1 enhanced his standing.

"My confidence has grown," Hildebrand said. "You know, from your first collegiate snap, through all the games you've played, to the games you start, each game you think, 'Well, I've done this before. I've done this before.' It's finally gotten to a point where, OK, I've done this for more than a year now. I feel like I should go out there and get some things done, be smart, and be more comfortable."

Four of the five starters on the UCA offensive line were newcomers for the opener, but Campbell said they blocked well and Hildebrand put them in good positions.

"Hayden did a good job of moving his feet and getting us into the right protection calls," Campbell said. "Those are some things that he's definitely gotten better at."

Hildebrand said as a youth he was occasionally asked to play at wide receiver, but he has considered himself a quarterback since his peewee league days in the Shreveport-Bossier City, La., metropolitan area.

"I've always wanted to play quarterback," he said.

He was an all-state quarterback for Airline High School in Bossier City as a junior and senior in 2011 and 2012. He drew the attention of several Southland Conference football coaches, including then UCA head coach Clint Conque and Brown. Hildebrand signed with the Bears after he passed for 2,995 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior.

Brown credited Airline Coach Bo Meeks for his work with Hildebrand.

"He was well coached as a high school player," Brown said. "Fundamentally, he was way ahead of the game. He had great feet, but once we got him up here for our summer camp, he just blew the camp away. You could see he had a college-caliber arm. He could make all the throws."

Shortly after Campbell was hired as UCA's coach in 2014, he knew he had a talent in Hildebrand, who was about to begin his redshirt freshman season.

"You could tell he had great ability," Campbell said. "He had great arm talent. He could throw the football and could really run. He had great awareness. I mean, he picked up on things really fast. He's a very smart football player. You could sense that really quickly, and we're still seeing it."

Sports on 09/08/2016