Quarterback Competition Heats Up For Wildkits

Evanston’s football team opened preparation for the 2025 season Monday with a new head coach, a new offense and a new quarterback.

The main issue for the Wildkits? That new head coach --- Miles Osei --- is still waiting for a front-runner to emerge as the new varsity quarterback.

Like most coaches new to a program, Osei is approaching the start of preseason workouts embracing the notion that all of the position battles are wide open. But the fact that none of the quarterback hopefuls --- senior Jake Everds, junior Amare Jones and sophomore T.J. Gant --- was able to dominate during the summer portion of the year means that big decision is still coming.

“You might see one guy starting Week 1 (at home against Niles North on August 29th), another guy starting Weeks 2 through 4, and still another guy starting Weeks 5-6-7,” Osei said. “I think it will be a constant battle throughout the season. All three kids have done a good job in some regard, but I don’t think there’s a clearcut winner right now.

“The players who are most consistent will play the most, and that includes the quarterbacks. The way we run our offense, that’s a significant position. We don’t need a ‘playmaker,’ although that would certainly help. We want someone who will help us run the ball efficiently and control the game, and do things the right way. I think the kids we have are very capable of doing that.

“It takes a tremendous amount of work to be an above average quarterback. It’s the culmination of the work you put in in the summer, and in the off-season. Those that put in the work are the ones who will end up on the field.”

The Wildkits must replace two-year starter Colin Livatino, who graduated after passing for more than 2,600 yards in his career. The current dynamic is definitely a challenge for Osei, who takes over the program after successful tenures at both Elk Grove and Kankakee.

He can reward a senior (Everds) who has stuck with the program for four seasons. Or he can anoint a junior (Jones) or a sophomore (Gant) as the starter early on and figure that position is settled for the next couple of years.

“I want to put them into position to succeed THIS year,” Osei pointed out. “I’d never jeopardize a senior’s season just to build for the future, and I’d never bring up a sophomore if he wasn’t clearly competing to be a starter.”

Osei and new quarterback coach Zak Kustok spent much of the summer trying to find reps for all three challengers at the QB spot. One hurdle they have to overcome is a lack of varsity experience at the highest profile position following Livatino’s graduation.

Everds was the third string varsity signal caller last year, behind Livatino and Daryl Harmon, and was on the field for a total of six snaps in end-of-game situations against Zion-Benton, St. Laurence and Maine South. He never attempted a pass and only had one rushing attempt, in which he was tagged with a 15-yard loss for a safety because of a bad center snap.

Jones did start for the junior varsity squad, and Gant was a backup on the freshman team. All three should benefit from hearing the voices of both Osei and Kustok, who were outstanding high school quarterbacks (Osei at Prospect, Kustok at Carl Sandburg) and at the collegiate level (Osei at Illinois, Kustok at Northwestern), on a daily basis.

“Zak and I are both on the same page,” noted Osei at the conclusion of the summer camp in July. “He’s been awesome and I trust him 120 percent. He aligns right with what I see, and sometimes he sees things I don’t.

“Jake has been so consistent watching film in the off season and he’s doing all of the things I wanted to see off the field. He asks good questions, and he’s always taking notes. He’s a senior who really wants to play and really wants to do a good job. He has sneaky (good) athleticism out there.

“Amare does a good job getting outside the pocket and he’s slowly grown into it with more reps. All three of them have been hesitant to use their feet when the first read isn’t there, and that’s something we’ve stressed to all of them. It’s a big deal if you can take off and run and make the defense pay when a play breaks down.

“T.J. has the best arm of the three of them. Leadership will be huge for all three of them. You can be a playmaker --- that would be great --- but you need to command and control the offense, too. You can’t just worry about YOU. You have to worry about the whole unit out there, and the kid who does that best, with a calm urgency, will start the most.”

With the trend to more 11-on-11 scrimmages now that more contact is allowed per Illinois High School Association summer rules, the Wildkits only participated in one actual 7-on-7 competition, the Central Suburban League 7-on-7 hosted annually by Maine West. The coaching staff was able to divide the repetitions fairly equally among the three hopefuls as ETHS defeated Maine West (28-7), Dundee-Crown (28-7) and Mundelein (28-14) after tying Lyons Township 7-7.

Jones tossed five TD passes and only had one interception while competing 29-of-46 passing attempts. Everds was 17-of-34 with four TDs and three picks, and Gant threw for a pair of scores while connecting on 10-of-24 attempts.

Jones didn’t feel the lack of 7-on-7 matchups in the summer hindered his overall development.

“7-on-7 is helpful because you learn to read the cornerbacks, the safeties, the linebackers,” he said. “But 11-on-11 you get the actual feel of a game, an actual feel for how quick the game speed is.”

The junior hopeful said he knew he had ground to make up in the race to start because he focused on lacrosse during the winter and spring this past year. He ended up being promoted to the varsity lacrosse squad at the end of the season but realized he had to compete harder to earn a spot on the football roster.

“The coaches told me that Jake was probably going to be the starter because he was there in the winter and I wasn’t. That’s what got me more motivated than ever,” Jones said. “I’ve played quarterback since I was 4 years old. I’m pretty confident in my ability and obviously I have talent throwing the ball. I think what separates me from the other quarterbacks is that I’m more athletic, and more mentally disciplined. The offense we’re running now isn’t really that much different --- mostly just the naming (vernacular) --- and it only took me about a week to learn the (new) playbook.

“I do have to be more vocal and communicate better on the field. Sometimes I don’t speak up enough. I do know that nobody’s (starting) spot is promised and that every week will be a competition. If you start one week, and somebody else works harder the next week, then he’s going to start.”

The 6-foot-2, 208-pound Gant certainly looks the part of a varsity quarterback, although when he was younger he wasn’t allowed to play quarterback because he was bigger than the other players.

He showed a knack for zipping passes through tight windows as the summer progressed and could make an impact if he can make the big adjustment from junior varsity ball to varsity.

“That’s been the most difficult thing for me, adjusting to the varsity pace,” Gant said. “It’s very fast. But things are starting to slow down for me now. I’ve started reading the cornerbacks and the outside linebackers better (on pass plays), but it’s still very challenging.

“I want to be a leader for this team, to take command of the offense. I like having to have a sense of leadership, and having everything (relying) on you. I have an opportunity to shine now and I want to take full advantage of that. I just have to show out and show the coaches I can play.”

Kustok, who will serve as a volunteer assistant this fall, thinks it’s a win-win situation for the Kits no matter who emerges as the No. 1 signal-caller. He will add his expertise to the mix after a career in which he excelled as both a runner and passer at Northwestern, where he led the Big Ten in total offense in 2001 and holds the NU records for consecutive games with a TD pass (24). He ranks in the top five all-time in passing touchdowns and total offense for his career with the Wildcats.

“There’s a lack of experience there, but there’s NOT a lack of want to,” Kustok said. “All three of them have been working really hard. Our expectation is just for them to manage the offense and be a leader. We’re not looking for someone to carry the offense, or carry the whole team. You don’t have to be perfect.

“Even at the highest level of the game, I think competition is good for you. All three of them have improved and all three of them have unique skills. But so far there has been too much inconsistency. It’s still a work in progress.”