By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Barely a month into his adjustment to college football last season, Washburn University true freshman Sam Van Dyne was thrust into the QB-1 role for the Ichabods, starting the final nine games after starter Kellen Simoncic went down with a season-ending inury in the second game of the year.
Sam Van Dyne
And although the injury-plagued Ichabods struggled through a 2-9 campaign, Van Dyne is counting on the experiences of 2023, both good and bad, to pay dividends for himself and his teammates this fall.
"I definitely think the fastest way to learn is kind of sink or swim, getting thrown into the fire, and I definitely got thrown into the fire last year, but I feel like I learned a lot, so it will help me this year,'' said Van Dyne, a 6-foot-2, 215-pounder. "It would have been nice, obviously, if Kellen hadn't got hurt, but I couldn't say no to playing college football as a true freshman.''
Washburn quarterback Sam Van Dine threw for 2,002 yards and 15 touchdowns last fall as a true freshman. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Van Dyne went through the growing pains that all young players go through, but had a solid year overall, passing for 2,002 yards and 15 touchdowns while completing 166 of 312 attempts.
Van Dyne, a former star at Liberty, Mo. North, had a school-record 98-yard touchdown pass against Northwest Missouri and threw for a season-high 378 yards against Nebraska-Kearney, completing 30 of 45 attempts with three touchdowns.
"I've been a college quarterback for a full year now, so looking back at it you know you did some stupid things and what not and you're like, 'Yeah, I wouldnt do that now,' but all you can do is look back at it and learn,'' Van Dyne said.
Van Dyne will benefit from the return of his top three targets from '23, senior Tyce Brown and sophomores D.J. Bell and Maury Sullivan, while the Ichabods have also added former Highland Park star Tre Richardson, a first-team All-American for Hutchinson Community College last fall.
"We had a great offseason, just finding ways to get them open, finding ways to get them the ball and I'm excited for it,'' Van Dyne said.
Washburn will open its season on Aug. 29 at rival Emporia State and Van Dyne said the goal for all of the Ichabods is to do everything they can to bounce back from the frustration of last fall.
"I just think that kind of puts a chip on your shoulder and motivates you throughout the whole offseason and I think that was really helpful,'' Van Dyne said.
"We had a little bit of a culture change after the season. We felt some things weren't right, so we went in and tried to correct those and we're excited to get going.''
