Monmouth University QB Frankie Weaver Building Off Of Last Season's Experience

WEST LONG BRANCH – Last season as a redshirt freshman, Frankie Weaver was the backup quarterback to All-American Derek Robertson, who was again putting up jaw-dropping offensive numbers, while leading the country in passing yardage and passing touchdowns, and was well on his way to another All-American season.

However, it all came crashing down on October 18th at home against Stony Brook when Robertson was hit hard on a sack, injuring his non-throwing hand/wrist and forcing him out of the game. As it turned out, Robertson was done for the season.

As a backup quarterback, your main responsibility is to be prepared to step in under center on a minute's notice without missing a beat. That’s all well and good, but realistically, that can be a daunting task for any young quarterback, especially if you’re replacing an All-American like Robertson.

Weaver had enough time to strap on his helmet and take command of the huddle; that was it. It was his team now.

“Obviously, big shoes to fill; Derek is a great quarterback,” said Weaver. “I wish I could learn as much as I could off of him. But I was new, and I just got to be myself, not try to be somebody else. Obviously, Derek's a great player, but I’m myself, Frankie Weaver, so I was just trying to be who I am when I’m playing.”

The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Weaver is no stranger to high-level competition. A three-year starter at Our Lady of Good Council High School in Olney, Maryland, he passed for over 4000 yards and had 60-plus touchdowns. In his senior season, he led the Falcons to a 10-1 record and beat powerhouse DeMatha in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship. His team finished ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 19 in the country, according to USA Today. The WCAC was ranked the ninth toughest conference in the country by USA Today. He was a two-time first team All-WCAC selection and an academic All-American.

“It helped a lot facing high competition every day in high school,” said Weaver. “Going at it in practice every day, practice was just like playing a game. And every conference game was like playing a playoff game. Obviously, moving up to college, the speed is going to be a change, but not as much as it could’ve been had I not been playing at the level I played at in high school.”

In the Stony Brook game, Robertson was injured on Monmouth’s first possession of the second half, with the Hawks leading 21-14. Weaver managed the game flawlessly, leading Monmouth to a 49-21 victory. He finished the game completing 4-of-6 passes for 61 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown pass to Tra Neal that pushed the Hawks' lead to 35-21.

It was an auspicious start for the young signal caller, who displayed confidence and leadership qualities from the get-go.

“I felt, as the quarterback, I had to lead from the start,” said Weaver. “All those guys look to you when things go bad. It was now up to me to lead, and I embraced it immediately. I was happy to be in that position; I love all those guys like my brother.”

Weaver feels his leadership traits have evolved over the offseason and spring practices, something he’s consciously worked on.

“I’ve definitely taken on a more vocal approach,” said Weaver. “I feel like last year I was more leading by example. Now I have to be more of a rah-rah guy and give guys a kick in the butt when things are down. I love it, I did that in high school, and I’m ready to do it now.”

Weaver led the Hawks to a 5-2 finish, but a 31-24 loss to last-place Albany in the last game of the season kept the 9-3 Hawks out of the FCS playoffs. Down 31-3 towards the end of the third quarter, Weaver threw three late touchdown passes to pull the Hawks within a touchdown, but the comeback fell short.

In a little under four and a half games, Weaver completed 103-of-156 passes for 1,355 yards, including 14 passing touchdowns and just three interceptions. In the Hawks' 63-19 win over North Carolina A&T, Weaver completed 19-of-27 passes for a career high 428 yards and a program record tying six touchdowns.

The experience Weaver gained last season is invaluable, even if it did come at the expense of Robertson’s injury, which in itself was heartbreaking and tragic.

As they say, there’s no substitute for experience.

Head coach Jeff Gallo has been impressed with Weaver's growth over the offseason and spring practices.

“Frankie’s done a good job of continuing to learn from last year,” Gallo said. "He had some successes and some things he can do better, and he’s learning from it. He’s worked his butt off and taken another step forward in the program, particularly in his knowledge of the offense. His overall technique, overall delivery, ball placement, everything. He’s trying to take it from step one to step two, and he’s taken true ownership of the program and ownership of the offense.”

Weaver is thrilled that senior wideout Gavin Nelson decided to pull his name out of the transfer portal and will be back with the Hawks this season.

“That was awesome, really happy he’s back, I love Gavin,” said Weaver. “Tra (Neal) and I are from the same town, and Gavin is from right down the street in Baltimore. Tra and I played together in sixth grade. It’s huge having those two guys back. They have a lot of paying experience. Their knowledge and my knowledge together, I feel, is a great combo.”

Nelson was third on the team with 30 receptions for 514 yards and six touchdowns. Neal added 29 receptions for 427 yards and seven touchdowns and threw one touchdown pass.

Weaver also mentioned wide receivers Christian Harrison (Lackawanna) and Caleb Newsome (Lafayette) as two transfer portal additions that have impressed and should contribute immediately.

He’s also high on transfer portal running back Nazir Treadwell (Keyport, Holy Cross), who will join redshirt sophomore Elijah Jennings (71-325-6) and redshirt freshman Kenny Smith in the backfield for what looks to be a formidable trio.