There is one local high school football name that even if you are not from Boiling Springs or are a fan of another team, you have likely heard plenty of times– Senior Quarterback Lincoln Huskey.
Three years ago, the BSHS football program was in a tough spot. They won just 1 game and struggled as a young and fairly small team. They started the season with a huge question mark at quarterback, with Kairon Hines getting the initial nod. As the season progressed, struggles and injuries led to the ‘Dogs being out of the region race, Coach Rick Tate decided to make a change – which would be the beginning of the story for the then-freshman.
The actual story of his athletic and personal journey goes back much farther than that, with his love for sports being evident from a very early age.
“I’ve always enjoyed being active and being in sports ever since I can remember. I would always be in the backyard and playing outside as I was growing up”, said Huskey.
The youngest of 4 half-siblings, Lincoln says that his dad was a huge influence in his choice to get into sports.
“My parents split when I was about 5. But my dad and I have always been close. We have a lot in common – especially sports and games. He has always been there to help, whether it be playing catch or coming to the gym with me.”
The rest of his family also had a hand in things, even despite some physical distance between him and his siblings.
“My mom and I have a close relationship as well. She helps me to relax when she sees that I am tired or frustrated. We will relax and watch a movie or go out to eat to help me clear my mind”, said Huskey.
“My sister Kaitlyn and I were the closest as I was growing up. Whenever my parents would be at work, she would come watch me, or take me to eat or the park. Now she has a family of her own and is a great mama. My brother Clayton and I were close, but it was difficult to hang out with him because he would go spend time with his dad in Houston. As I have grown older, it has become easier to hang with him when he comes to town or when we call. I wasn’t always close with my other brother, Braxton, but when he’d come home from school, we’d go outside and play catch or I would go watch him play video games. We have gotten a lot closer over time and talk a lot at family functions”, he later added.
Following the 2022 season, Rick Tate retired as head coach of the Bulldogs, and North Myrtle Beach’s Matt Reel was brought in to try and right the ship for the BSHS football program. That fall, Huskey was named the starting Quarterback over Zy Landrum (who is now QB1 at Byrnes), and it is a role that he has grown and excelled at both in skill and leadership ability, ever since.
From the time Lincoln became the starter, the Bulldogs have doubled their win total each season and crossed off small goals that signal growth of the program/culture along the way. In 2022, Boiling Springs won 2 games, an improvement over just 1 in 2021, and earned an at-large bid to the 5A playoffs. Last year as a junior, Huskey was a big part of BSHS going 4-7, snapping a losing skid with region rival Spartanburg, and making the 5A playoffs outright, going 130-230 for 1,707 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also ran the ball 90 times for 229 yards and 4 TDs.
“He has grown in his football IQ by leaps and bounds since my first year here, and continues to daily – constantly in the film room, picking the brain of our Offensive Coordinator Brian Turk, and always striving to find ways to better his game”, said Matt Reel.
But, more remarkable than his development as a QB has been his growth as a leader.
“Lincoln is a humble leader and teammate. He has an amazing work ethic, desire to lead and make everyone else around him, whether coaches or teammates, better. He’s the ultimate competitor in every facet of his life. Lincoln’s tough as nails and that bleeds off on the guys around him. He cares for his teammates and it shows in their relationships on and off the field. He leads vocally and by example. He is well respected amongst his peers, amongst the community, and across the landscape of high school football in the Upstate. And he has earned all of it”, Reel stated with a tone that exudes an immense sense of pride in his senior signal caller.
Asked who he attributes his leadership qualities to, Lincoln was quick to give credit to anyone but himself – notably including his faith.
“I want to thank my coaches and teammates because they’ve believed in me, which has helped me grow as a leader. JoJo Barrett {star linebacker that graduated last year} was always a leader I looked up to, and he helped me to become more vocal and open to my team. I have also always been a religious person, coming from a household where faith was important. I have always had God with me whenever and wherever I go and I do my best to try and spend time with Him in prayer or reading and sharing the Word.”
Huskey’s leisure life off the football field is spent enjoying being outdoors to fish or golf either as a means of relaxing alone or just as a way to hang out with friends. But, his athletic and academic future rests on something completely other than football.
For all his success on the gridiron, he is an even better lacrosse player. He was named Boiling Springs’ first-ever All-American by USA Lacrosse after a 2023 campaign in which he recorded 45 goals and 34 assists, which also earned him South Carolina Midfielder of the Year, first team all-state honors, and region 2-5A player of the year.
“I’ve been playing lacrosse since 7th grade. It has been where my fondest memory from playing sports has happened – winning my first playoff game freshman year. It was such a great experience to play and see the fans support us”, said Huskey.
His accolades on the lacrosse field earned him a chance to play at the collegiate level for Queens University (Charlotte, NC), where he committed earlier this summer.
“I went on a visit to Queens and really enjoyed it. I envisioned myself going there. I was drawn to it because of how close the beautiful campus is to home. The coaches were also a big part of what drew me there. I am trusting that God is putting me there for a purpose, but I am not too sure what I am going to study, although I have a couple of ideas”, he said.
Lincoln would have things no other way than to wrap up the story of his journey through sports and life up to this point than to give some words of wisdom for aspiring young athletes looking up to him. Consequently, I also can’t think of a more fitting way to put a bow on this one. So here are some words that show wisdom beyond years.
“I would tell them to appreciate life and thank God for putting you where you are. Seek out and follow the plan He has for you. Also, thank the people who have helped get you where you are. Enjoy the moments you have with your team because like everyone says, it goes by really fast and you won’t have this forever.”
You can catch Lincoln and his Bulldogs in action this Friday night as Boiling Springs hosts Mauldin with kickoff set for 7:30 PM.
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