Ryan Kaul waited three years to be a leader again on the football field.
But the wait is over as Kaul enters the 2005 NCAA Division II football season as the starting quarterback for Ferris State.
‘I’m coming in with a lot of confidence. I know the situation. I know what the coaches expect of me and what the team is expecting from me,? said Kaul.
While Kaul started for the majority of Ferris? games last year, this year is different as he is tabbed as a leader both on and off the field from the start of the season.
‘It means a lot to me that the coaching staff feels I am a good fit,? said Kaul.
‘He was put in position to set up summer workouts by the coaching staff at Ferris,? said Tim Kaul, Ryan’s father.
Kaul’s ascension to #1A on the quarterback depth chart was not an easy journey: and to someone who led Clarkston to a 23-3 record in two seasons (?99-?00) as the Wolves signal caller, an unfamiliar one.
‘It’s a totally different game when you get (to the college level). The pace of the game changes a lot. It was hard sitting out, but it worked out for the best,? said Kaul.
After redshirting his freshman year, sitting out injured in his second year and being used mainly to hold the ball on field goals in his third year, Kaul got his shot to show his mettle in the second game of his fourth year.
With his team down 14-7 against Ashland at halftime, Kaul was inserted into the starting lineup. After maneuvering his team to a 23-17 victory that day, Kaul guided the Bull Dogs on a five-game win streak.
‘He was a great leader and a clutch player,? said Kurt Richardson, CHS head football coach, who remembered how Kaul made big plays on both sides of the ball when the team was in tight spots.
‘I was surprised he didn’t get recruited harder out of high school,? continued Richardson.
Over the course of ten games last season, Kaul amassed 1,375 yards passing, rushed for 204 yards, had 13 total touchdowns against 10 interceptions. Kaul also set the single game rushing record for a Ferris State quarterback with 103-net yards on the ground in a win against Indianapolis on Sept. 18, 2004.
‘I can sit back in the pocket but I’m more of a mobile quarterback,? said Kaul.
While Kaul is looking forward to the season on the whole, the first game of the year against reigning GLIAC champion Grand Valley on Aug. 27 glows red on the schedule.
‘I’d like to get our team back on top. We have been in the middle of the pack the past couple years. I’d like to lead us back to the top of the GLIAC,? said Kaul.
Anticipating their son’s success, Kaul’s parents, Linda and Tim, who is the head golf coach at CHS, will be in the stands cheering him on.
‘We are looking forward to the season. We’ll go to every game,? said Tim Kaul.
While Kaul is poised on the edge of great things with the Bulldogs, he has not forgotten his roots as a Wolf. In each of the last four years, Kaul returned to CHS to assist with Richardson’s passing camp for grades four-nine.
‘He’s great for our young kids to see. He relates well to them,? said Richardson.
‘It makes me feel good having the younger kids looking up to you as a role model,? said Kaul of the camp experience. ‘Talking to them and helping them understand the game helps me understand it as well.?
Because he was redshirted his freshman year and sat out his sophomore year with an injury, Kaul still has another year of eligibility left after this season.
Once his collegiate career is over, Kaul would like to put his course work in secondary education and history to use as a teacher. High on his list of places to go after college is Clarkston, where Kaul said he would enjoy teaching as well as coaching.