Canon Racanelli has been chosen as the starting quarterback for the 2018-19 season. 

Racanelli was one of three potential quarterbacks who had to compete for the starting position in the offseason. The toss-up was between Christian Moore, Tai-John Mizutani and him.

The potential quarterbacks had big cleats to fill after the departure of the previous starter Reilly Hennessey. Hennessey set multiple CWU records for rushing yards by a quarterback and touchdowns scored by a quarterback in consecutive games, according to his bio on the Wildcat Sports website. 

Head coach Chris Fisk said that Racanelli put in the work and performed well during spring ball. Fisk said the competition for starting quarterback is never a lopsided one if the athletes have been recruited well. Racanelli was able to stand out by being the most consistent and proving that he could make explosive plays.

Racanelli said one of the things that helped him improve and stand out to the coaches was the fact that he stayed local during the summer. He said he was able to get a job at Suncadia Resort and that allowed him to keep working with the team and to get more comfortable with the receivers. 

“Honestly, we’re getting better every week. And obviously, we still have a lot to work on. But we can see in film that we’re really close. And we know that I personally have to get better. And I think a lot of it does come on if I do my job better,” Racanelli said. “We probably win those first two games. It’s simple things that just need to get executed.” 

The Wildcats have finished their 3-game preseason with one win and two losses. Fisk said that while Racanelli still needs to work on his passing game, he has done a good job of managing the offense and running the ball. During CWU’s win over Western New Mexico University, Racanelli racked up 59 rushing yards, according to the Wildcat Sports website.

“When your quarterback can run for that many yards, you’ve got a chance to be pretty good,” Fisk said.

Last season, Racanelli red-shirted and while he was still putting in work at practice, was unable to participate in any games. He said he couldn’t stand just watching the game and he is enjoying being able to step out onto the field on Saturday evenings.

“I feel super grateful that I am playing and starting. So I’m just gonna do all I can to keep that up and let the team take care of itself. I think that the biggest thing is just do my job and not try and do too much,” Racanelli said.