It’s a tale as old as … Well, not time. But at least the average second-grader.
This season will be Mike Christensen’s seventh as head coach at Toledo, and Eli Weeks is set to be his seventh starting quarterback in that span.
“It feels the same this year because we have to start everything again, we have to relearn everything,” Christensen said.
This time, though, the tale is set up for a different sort of ending, because unlike his past six predecessors, Weeks isn’t a senior. Taking the reins as a sophomore, he’s set to be the first Riverhawk quarterback to hold the position for more than one fall since Dalton Yoder, back in 2016.
“I’m excited about his future for sure, and I’m excited to see what he can do this year,” Christensen said. “As far as understanding the offense and his ability to throw the ball, I think he’s right there with the other guys I’ve had, but he’s a sophomore, so there’s a lot of game reps that he needs.”
It’s a process that’s been in the works basically since Christensen began in Toledo, but one that nearly never came to fruition at all.
Weeks started playing quarterback in the Toledo Youth Football system as a third grader; according to Christensen, he’s the first player to stay there throughout elementary and middle school.
That set him up to get JV experience as a freshman before taking over this year, but when he first suited up in the spring of 2022, Christensen had his doubts.
“He was here in the spring, and his form just wasn’t good,” he said. “It was to the point where I didn’t know if he could play quarterback for us.
“I kind of told him a couple of things to change, and I knew that he’d be a quarterback for us when he changed all of those before camp even.”
After the rough start, Weeks got to work, coming to fall camp already improved before leading the JV offense last fall and moonlighting as a wide receiver and defensive back on the varsity squad.
Then when the season ended — and Austin Norris became the sixth Toledo quarterback in as many years to graduate after his only season — Weeks hit the road, going to camps at Pacific Lutheran University and Oregon and working with quarterback guru Seneca Wallace to work on his craft.
“That helped my form a lot,” Weeks said.
Already, Christensen is changing things up a bit to suit his new quarterback. Thursday at just their second practice of training camp, the Riverhawks operated almost exclusively out of the shotgun — a part of the playbook that before had just been a wrinkle.
“I’ve actually had it in my playbook since I first started coaching, and we’ve gone to it periodically,” Christensen said. “We ran it probably the most with Wyatt (Nef) a couple years ago, and still that was only 10% of the time. With Eli’s ability to throw, I think you’ll see us back there more this year.”
For the moment, of course, Weeks has as much varsity game experience under center as his predecessors — that is to say, none. But while the Riverhawks bring back a heaping of experience on the line — led by returning all-area selections Jaih Tilton and Bayron Rodriguez, they’re set to slot as many as six underclassmen in at the skill positions, forcing the new quarterback to quickly get used to a leadership role on the offense.
“I wasn’t expecting it to be as hectic as it is,” he said. “But it’s good.”
