SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Unlike last season where Sacramento State entered the year without a quarterback on the roster who had a started a game for the Hornets, the team boasts two QBs in 2024 who saw significant time on the field in Kaiden Bennett and Carson Conklin. Having two quarterbacks you can turn to is closer to a necessity than a luxury in college football. Sacramento State has started multiple QBs in the last six seasons with Garrett Safron (2016) the last signal-caller to go wire-to-wire as the starter in a year.
 

• Bennett appeared in all 13 games, starting 10, last season. The senior compiled 2,767 yards of total offense and accounted for 24 touchdowns while showcasing his dual-threat ability. Bennett had monster performances in two of the team's biggest victories of the season beginning with 279 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in the win at Stanford. In the NCAA FCS first round playoff game, he added 207 passing yards and 126 rushing yards with a pair of touchdowns.
• He finished the season with 2,190 passing yards while completing 64.3 percent of his passes and tossing 16 touchdowns. Bennett's completion percentage ranks second in school single-season history and was the best by a Hornet with at least 200 pass attempts during a year. He also ranked second on the team with 577 rushing yards and was third among Sacramento State players with six rushing touchdowns.
• Conklin played in the final four regular season games allowing him to preserve his redshirt status during the year. He had a memorable debut against Idaho State, completing 14-of-21 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns. Conklin also shined against Cal Poly where he had 313 passing yards — the most by a Hornet during the year — and three touchdowns while completing 17-of-26 pass attempts.
• Behind the pair are a trio of quarterbacks who have yet to appear in a game for the Hornets. Jordan Barton was named the California State Offensive Player of the Year last season while guiding Riverside JC to a state title. Barton led the state with 35 touchdown passes and threw for 3,990 yards while completing 72.6 percent of his passes.
• Joey Cook redshirted in 2023. Cook graduated from Marin Catholic HS and helped his team to an appearance in the NorCal Div. 2-A title game as a senior.
• The newest member to the unit is Luke Baker who graduated from San Ramon Valley HS this past spring. Baker amassed 7,259 passing yards and 83 touchdowns during his career. As a senior, he threw for 3,347 yards and 37 touchdowns and was named the East Bay Athletic League MVP.

NEWS & NOTES

• The team held its first scrimmage of camp on Thursday night and saw some big plays by the offense. Kaiden Bennett connected with Jared Gipson for a touchdown pass over 50 yards but had the play negated by an illegal formation penalty. The offense regrouped and capped the drive with a touchdown pass to Andrerson Grover.
• True freshman Luke Baker showcased his athleticism with a keeper around the left side of the line for a big gain late in the scrimmage.
• The defense was able to slow numerous drives late in the scrimmage but was unable to get a takeaway during the night. A couple of the key plays by the unit included a sack by Josh Cashiola and a TFL by freshman Adam Taylor.
• The team returned to the field for a lighter practice on Friday morning where the defense had an early interception and also recovered a fumble during team periods.