Scott Quessenberry had a dream growing up.
Quessenberry, the La Costa native, grew up as a Chargers fan, watching his favorite player, Nick Hardwick on a weekly basis at Qualcomm Stadium with the hopes of suiting up in the blue and gold one day.
That dream became a reality when he was selected in the fifth-round of the 2018 NFL draft by his favorite team. He chose the number that Hardwick wore in No. 61 in hopes to have a big impact just like his role model did.
Entering the season, Quessenberry was listed as the third-string center, but injuries happened that resulted in him shooting up the depth chart rapidly.
Mike Pouncey suffered a season-ending injury in Week 5, putting Quessenberry as the backup and then Forrest Lamp’s season came to end two weeks later, which meant that the former UCLA product was now the starting center.
Quessenberry made an impact early on that many may have not been expecting from him when handing him the starting duties. But it became evident that the second-year player benefited from learning from the four-time Pro Bowler.
He’s played very well. I think a lot of it is because he was able to watch Pouncey for a year and a half essentially and learn from arguably one of the best centers in the league. So I think that was a big thing for him,” guard Michael Schofield said about Quessenberry.
Quessenberry has kept pressure away from quarterback Philip Rivers on the inside, using his high football IQ to recognize blitzes and staying true to his technique in pass protection, along with using his stubborn mentality to pave the way for running backs Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler.
Quessenberry’s play has been promising enough that he could very well be the starting center when the 2020 regular season begins.
Pouncey is slated to become a free agent after the 2020 season, which means that the Chargers could move on from him earlier than anticipated to save some money. That is unless Pouncey’s injury is more severe, which could force him to retire, thus likely penciling in Quessenberry as the Day 1 starter.