Article

Football Adds New Offensive Coordinator, Former QB

Jamrog tabs former UMD assistant as offensive coordinator; King back from one-year absence.

by Dan Myers
January 27, 2006

A year after leaving the MSU football team in order to allow his ailing right arm to heal, former starting quarterback Ben King is back in the fold for the Mavericks. King, a two-sport athlete who also plays baseball, has two years of football eligibility remaining.

"Watching the games, I just wanted to come back and play," King said. "Around September, my arm got healthy, so I talked to [head coach Jeff Jamrog] and asked if I could come back. I just want to go at it again."

King was a two-year starter for the Mavericks at quarterback in 2003 and 2004, throwing 24 touchdowns and 3,022 yards in that span. The Mavericks went 0-11 during King's freshman season, but he led MSU to a 6-5 mark in 2004.

On the diamond, King's 56 strikeouts in just over 50 innings pitched, led the Mavs in 2004.

"[Jamrog] talked to the team about it, then we sat down," King said. "We went over some guidelines and decide what is best for the team. I have a couple years of eligibility and I want to compete and we'll see what happens."

King is expected to compete for the starting quarterback job with senior Joshua Bryant and redshirt freshman Ryan Fick. Bryant played in seven games this season, throwing eight touchdowns and scoring four more on the ground.

"We've got three quarterbacks that are competing so there is no guarantees," King said. "If I'm not the starter, then I will support whoever is."

Ragsdale Named Offensive Coordinator

Mavericks head coach Jeff Jamrog also named former Minnesota-Duluth assistant Dan Ragsdale as his new offensive coordinator. The 28-year old Ragsdale, who held the same post at UMD, was instrumental in a massive improvement for the Bulldogs' offense in 2005. Known for his affinity for the passing game, Duluth ranked 13th in Division II and second in the NCC last season in passing offense at nearly 281 yards per contest. Scoring 29.8 points per game, UMD finished with an overall record of 8-4, 4-2 in the NCC; sharing the conference title, and making their second Division II national playoff appearance in school history.

"Simply put, I look at it as the best chance to win a national championship," Ragsdale said. "I feel if we do some things offensively, some things I believe in, we can win a national championship."

Prior to his time at Duluth, Ragsdale was a graduate assistant at Stanford, working mainly with quarterbacks and tight ends. A 2000 graduate of the University of Redlands (Cal.), Ragsdale was the 1999 Gagliardi Trophy winner, given annually to the best player in Division III. In the classroom, he was a Rhodes Scholar nominee and graduated Magna Cum Laude. The 1999 Associated Press Little All-American ranked second in the nation in total offense and third in passing efficiency and will look to bring a similar game to Mankato.

"We are going to throw it," Ragsdale said. "That's what I'm know for, and we have a stockpile of capable receivers and quarterbacks to do so. We can be expected to lead the conference and try to lead the nation in throwing next year. That's for sure."

Ragsdale replaces Garin Higgins, who took a similar job at Northeastern State University, located in his home state of Oklahoma.