Kevin Thoni / Furman University
Reese Hannon completed 22 of 35 passes for 255 yards and four touchdowns in his college debut. Hannon is excpected to see action on Saturday when Furman plays at Clemson.
Furman University
"I don’t think I was the spark. I think we just started to execute."
Reese Hannon
Southern Conference Freshman of the Week
Hannon, filling in for injured starter Dakota Derrick, helped rally the Paladins from a 22-12 deficit against visiting Coastal Carolina late in the fourth quarter, forcing overtime. After three overtime sessions, the Chanticleers escaped with a 47-45 victory.
Hannon will start for Furman Saturday when the Paladins play Clemson at Death Valley.
“You never want to go into a game like I had to go into the game with a quarterback like Dakota being injured,” said Hannon, a freshman who entered the game in the middle of the second quarter. “But I tried to go in and fill in for him and do the best job I could to give the team a chance to win, but we came up a little short.
Hannon’s pass attempt on a 2-point conversion to tie the game in the third overtime fell incomplete to end the contest.
But before that, Hannon completed 22 of 35 pass attempts for 255 yards and four touchdowns. The four touchdown passes all occurred in the second half and overtime. The contest marked Furman's first overtime game since 2007 and seventh in program history.
“I don’t think I was the spark,” Hannon said. “I think we just started to execute. The running backs ran the ball hard, and the receivers ran great routes and caught the ball . . . we just started executing.
“I tried to go out and execute the game plan like we had worked on it in practice and the offensive line and the receivers, everybody said they were behind me and knew I could do it, and that meant a lot.”
Hannon also said adjusting to the speed of the game was the biggest obstacle he has encountered in running Furman’s pro-style offense.
Hannon became the first Furman quarterback to win Freshman of the Week honors since Jordan Sorrells won the award three times in 2006.
Derrick injured his shoulder late in the first half against Coastal Carolina, and Hannon said he is unaware of Derrick’s prognosis or whether the senior will play Saturday. Either way, Hannon said he does expect to get additional repetitions with the first unit in practice and anticipates playing Saturday when the Paladins (0-2) to face Clemson (2-0).
Those same butterflies Hannon felt upon entering the game against Coastal Carolina could also make the trip to Clemson’s Death Valley.
“There’s always butterflies,” he said. “If there aren’t, I don’t know if you’d be breathing in a situation like that.”