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Weber State's offense and freshman quarterback Kingston Tisdell, center right in purple, prepare to snap for a play during the first day of spring camp Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

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Weber State quarterback Jackson Gilkey throws a pass over linebacker Mayson Hitchens (44) during a spring practice Friday, March 21, 2025, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

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Weber State's offense snaps the ball to quarterback Jackson Gilkey, center in purple, for a play during the first day of spring camp Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

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OGDEN — The quarterback position is always in focus for any football team but the scrutiny is amplified for a Weber State squad looking to bounce back from a 4-8 campaign.

That’s largely because two-year quarterback Richie Muñoz is gone, out to the transfer portal and landing at usually potent FCS offense Incarnate Word. Out with him: his 3,622 career passing yards and 34 touchdowns over 17 games.

The Wildcats bring 18 total college yards of quarterback production into the 2025 season; now-junior Dijon Jennings accumulated those last season with two passing completions for 11 yards and five rushes for 7 yards.

So Weber State is starting over. Inexperienced on the field, but at least not as young as those 18 yards would indicate. Jennings himself enters his fourth season of college football after two years at Akron and last season backing up Muñoz.

In camp are four newcomers: two FBS transfers in sophomore Jackson Gilkey and redshirt freshman Cash McCollum, and true freshmen Kingston Tisdell and Easton Comer.

Head coach and offensive coordinator Mickey Mental was chipper in his eagerness to talk about the group.

“Intelligent. Very intelligent. They have grasped probably 70% of our offense already in a short amount of time,” Mental said. “They’re very diligent in their craft. Each one brings something special to the table that is different than the others, which is fun for me. And they love competing. They also encourage one another.

“I love the group, I think it’s a special group. If we can keep stacking days and getting better, I like the trajectory of this group.”

Gilkey brings promise. The 6-foot-2 native of Ennis, Texas, spent two seasons at UTSA before transferring to Weber State. He was a two-time district MVP and threw for 5,725 yards in high school, and he’ll turn 21 this summer.

Mental said Gilkey’s leadership and maturity help “stabilize” things.

“We’ve all just got to keep building our leadership role, getting to know our teammates and pouring into them,” Gilkey said. “I’m up at the older end so just trying to help younger guys in their transition from high school football to college football, help them in that process.”

But the whole group, Mental says, is rising to the occasion so far

“All of them have done a really good job of being mature, handling the offense, handling the player-to-coach stuff really well, communicating at a high level,” he said. “All five of them are stepping into an unfamiliar role, a new offense, new teammates, new terminology and I think they’ve handled it very well.”

McCollum, who spent one season redshirting at North Texas after throwing for 8,691 yards and 112 touchdowns in China Springs, Texas, has four years to play.

Comer, a returning missionary from Lone Peak High School, joins Tisdell as the two incoming freshmen. A 6-foot-1 signal caller from Los Angeles, Tisdell split time with a fellow senior at QB but posted 1,846 yards and 16 touchdowns to three interceptions in just eight games, completing 66.7% of his passes for an Inglewood High team that went 10-1.

Tisdell graduated early and enrolled at Weber State in January.

“Live arm. Shows the ability to make every throw. He should still be going prom so every rep is growth and development for him,” Mental said. “When he gets to learn with three guys who have been in college — Dijon, Jackson, Cash — it’s a really good situation for him to take every rep and get better.”

The optimism will give way to work. It’s five months to go before game time and camp concludes with the final spring scrimmage on April 12.

“It’s all consistency-based. It’s not a one-day, two-day thing,” Mental said. “Consistency over time, through this camp, fall camp, and see where the chips settle come Aug. 30.”