‘He’s our guy’: Whitworth football coach Rod Sandberg puts his trust in QB Logan Lacio

Whitworth has made a living out of finding first-year wonders at quarterback.

The last two have been Austin Ewing and Ryan Blair, who put up eye-popping statistics in their only seasons as the opening-day starter.

They were also accorded the top postseason honor from the Northwest Conference – Offensive Most Valuable Player.

So when Whitworth coach Rod Sandberg says he’s confident in the next starting quarterback, junior Logan Lacio – who has yet to start a game – consider that Sandberg knows what he’s talking about. This isn’t his first rodeo.

Ewing, who led Whitworth to an undefeated regular season (10-0) two years ago, passed for 2,967 yards, completing 233 of 323 attempts (.721%) with 26 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Blair, who led the Pirates to the NCAA Division III playoffs for a second straight year for the first time in history, played one more game than Ewing, throwing for 3,254 yards and 37 touchdowns against just five interceptions. He completed 268 of 394 attempts (.680%).

If Lacio gets anywhere in the neighborhood of those statistics, Sandberg would be pleased. But more of a mystery than Lacio is the offensive line.

Ewing and Blair played behind the same offensive line. Whitworth will likely start five juniors on a revamped line.

And Blair benefitted from throwing to one of the best wide receivers in the country in graduate Evan Liggett.

So for Lacio to play at an MVP level, it’s not all on him. He has to have help.

Those veteran offensive lines of the past two seasons kept Ewing and Blair off their backs. It opened holes for an effective running game.

As far as Lacio’s abilities, though, Sandberg is sold. He emerged as the favorite to start among eight quarterbacks in spring ball.

A caution about spring ball, though. Division III teams practice without pads. While a depth chart was developed in spring, things could change in preseason contact practices.

Still, Sandberg has much to be happy about with the 5-foot-10 Lacio.

“He’s got to go earn it (in the preseason), but he’s our guy,” Sandberg said.

Lacio had minimal playing time last year behind workhorse Blair. He completed 6 of 11 attempts for 55 yards.

A Hawaii native, Lacio actually had more playing time when he arrived as a true freshman in 2022. That year the Bucs were afflicted with injuries to quarterbacks. Lacio completed 25 of 36 for 263 yards and a touchdown in two games.

He took 2023 off, returning home.

Lacio stayed in Spokane this summer with about 30 other players. But he punctured a foot and suffered a fractured bone in his wrist in an accident goofing off with teammates at a river.

“He was lucky it wasn’t worse,” Sandberg said. “He was swinging around on a rope and fell.”

Sandberg said Lacio has recovered and is ready to get the season going.

“He worked like a dog this summer,” Sandberg said. “He’s a good athlete. We’d like for him to run, but we also want to protect him.”

Sandberg’s confidence level in Lacio is no different than it was in Ewing or Blair.

“Logan can help us win every game on our schedule. He’s just going to have to prove it,” Sandberg said.