Columbus North quarterback Asher Ratliff drops back to pass during the first official football practice of the season at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., Monday, July 31, 2023.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
The future is now in the Columbus North football program, and nowhere is that more evident than at the quarterback position.
The Bull Dogs will take the field for Friday night’s season opener with a sophomore under center. Asher Ratliff steps in to lead the offense against Decatur Central.
“I feel like I’m ready,” Ratliff said. “I know the guys around me have been waiting for this for a long time. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time watching the older guys play. I’m ready to feel the crowd and the environment and go out there and win games.”
Big crowds and environments won’t be anything new to Ratliff. He is a former state champion in youth wrestling and has competed in several national wrestling events.
In February, Ratliff was an IHSAA semistate qualifier at 145 pounds and lost in the “ticket round,” one win short of advancing to state.
“I think it gives me a huge advantage,” Ratliff said. “It’s more calming to me because I’ve wrestled under the lights, being able to stay calm and not letting the environment get to me because I’ve wrestled a lot in those big environments.”
Asher Ratliff
The 5-foot-9 Ratliff said he weighed only about 140 last wrestling season, but has put on about 20 pounds to get up to 160 for football.
“I’m not the biggest guy, but you have to make it work and find ways to win games,” Ratliff said. “I can get out of the pocket, and I have a big offensive line in front of me. Being elusive and making things happen with my legs has always been a big part of my game.”
That doesn’t mean Ratliff can’t throw the ball, as well. Bull Dog fans don’t have to look back too far to find a comparison. Luke Hammons, who was a three-year starter at quarterback from 2019-21, was roughly the same size and same style quarterback as Ratliff.
North coach Logan Haston calls Ratliff a classic dual-threat.
“He’s a cerebral kid,” Haston said. “He understands what the defense is giving him. If everybody drops in coverage, he knows when to tuck and run, and he knows when to keep his eyes downfield and extend plays and find his open guys. He’s the true definition of a dual-threat guy.”
Ratliff started playing flag football at age 6 and started playing tackle football in third grade. He’s always been a quarterback.
“I knew I was smart, and I like understanding offenses and I had a decent arm when I was young,” Ratliff said. “I just like taking command of the offense.”
He’s been able to do that through his time at Northside Middle School and last season with North’s freshman team.
“At Northside with coach (Jason) Perry, we had a quick passing game, and we threw the ball quite a bit for a middle school team,” Ratliff said. “Last year, we had some pretty good receivers, and we threw the ball a lot. I was able to work on my presence in the pocket, and this year, that’s something we’ve been keying on, having that pocket presence.”
Through most of the offseason, Ratliff was competing with senior Hudson Elwood, who was the backup quarterback to Zac Horn last year. But Elwood tore his ACL this summer and was lost for the season.
“Being really competitive with him this summer helped me grow a ton,” Ratliff said. “I knew I had the talent, but having someone to push me helped a lot. Now that he’s injured, he’s been a good leader to the young quarterbacks and everyone on the team.”
Since then, Ratliff took every snap in an informal summer scrimmage against Mt. Vernon and again in the varsity portion of Friday’s controlled scrimmage at Greenwood. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for one on Friday.
“I think I did a really good job of taking care of the ball,” Ratliff said. “We had no turnovers. I connected with my receivers. Braylon (Thoman), Jordan (Briner), Owie (Kibler), Morgan (Knapp) — those are guys I’ve been throwing to for a long time. Our offensive line protected me. I feel like all-in-all, it was a pretty good day.”
“You expect a young guy like him to be nervous and make some poor decisions in a scrimmage, first time under the lights, but he actually handled his composure really well,” Haston added. “He was poised, showed a lot of moxie and a lot of grit. He’s just a competitive kid, and despite his young age, our guys rally around him. They believe in him. He portrays such confidence.”
Haston is hoping that carries over into Friday, when Ratliff will make his varsity football debut against Decatur Central.
“He’s been really impressive with his leadership,” Haston said. “In your quarterback, you want him to understand the offense better than anybody, and he truly does. He’s learned it, and because of that, he’s been able to play really confident. You see him out there even with some or our seniors on offense, he’s telling them how to get lined up correctly and what to run. So the way he’s been able to lead our guys by understanding his role and the roles around him is pretty cool.”
