Nate Ketteringham, a two-year starter at quarterback at Sacramento State, will transfer to the University of North Dakota, Skyline Sports confirmed on Friday afternoon.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound former three-star recruit from San Diego, received his release from Sac State on April 19. He will sit out the 2017 season per Division I transfer rules and have two years of eligibility remaining. Ketteringham and his father, Kevin, confirmed the transfer.
North Dakota declared in January the Fighting Hawks will leave the Big Sky Conference. The 2016 league champions in men’s basketball and football will join the Missouri Valley Conference in football in 2020. UND will play a Big Sky schedule in 2017, 2018 and 2019 but will not be eligible for the league championship or the Big Sky’s automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs during the two years Ketteringham will be eligible.
UND senior quarterback Keaton Studsrud/ by Brooks Nuanez
North Dakota’s roster features senior Keaton Studsrud, a starter since the end of his true freshman season, along with junior Andrew Zimmerman, a transfer from Fresno City College. Brad Heidlebaugh, a 6-4 in-state product, will be a sophomore next fall. Ben Bolinske, another North Dakota product, was a redshirt freshman last fall.
Ketteringham emerged as Sac State’s top option under center midway through is freshman year. In head coach Jody Sears’ second season, the Hornets brought in SMU transfer Kolney Cassel and Baylor transfer Alexis Robinson to compete with sophomore Daniel Kniffin and Ketteringham for the right to replace All-Big Sky gunslinger Garrett Safron. Kniffin initially won the job but gave way to Cassel due to injury. When Cassel suffered a separated shoulder in the third quarter of Sac State’s loss at Montana State, Ketteringham took the controls.
Ketteringham threw for more than 1,400 yards and 11 touchdowns during the second half of his true freshman season, leading Sac State to its lone Big Sky Conference victory in the process. With the return of the talented quarterback along with the presence of All-Big Sky running back Jordan Robinson in the backfield and an influx of young talent that gained experience in 2015, the Hornets expected to take a sizeable step in Ketteringham’s sophomore season.
But potential never met expectations as the Hornets struggled to protect Ketteringham in the pocket and failed to show much fortitude defensively. By the time the dust settled, Ketteringham had been sacked a Big Sky-high 35 times, the Hornets ranked last in the league in scoring offense and 12th out of 13 teams in scoring defense, and the final 2-9 record included a season-opening loss to Division II Western Oregon.
In the off-season, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Paul Peterson — Ketteringham’s primary mentor and the top reason he chose to attend Sac State as a prep senior at Corona Centennial High — was not retained, moving on to become the head coach at Snow College.
Former Sac St. quarterback Nate Ketteringham (6)/by Sac St. Athletics
Sears and his staff brought in UNLV dropdown quarterback Kevin Thomson and Modesto JC transfer Wyatt Clapper to compete with Ketteringham. Former Eastern Washington and Washington State head coach Paul Wulff, Sac’s offensive line coach last season, replaced Peterson as offensive coordinator and wanted to go in a different direction it seemed to Ketteringham, resulting in the transfers taking almost all the repetitions during Sac State’s spring football practices.
The off-season also included Sac State athletic director Bill Macriss being fired and reassigned within the department.
The collection of uncertainties surrounding Sac State athletics compiled into Ketteringham deciding it was time for a change. The talented sophomore quarterback was granted his scholarship release on April 19. He has three years left to play his final two college seasons.
“’I would really like to thank Coach (Paul) Peterson, Coach (Tyler) Almond, and Coach (Jody) Sears for the opportunity at Sac State,” Ketteringham said on April 20. “Sometimes, things just change.
“My freshman year, everything was good. We weren’t really winning games but we were establishing things, building on youth and moving forward.
“Then sophomore year came and there was some coaching changes they brought in before the year started. It wasn’t until we were upset by Western Oregon that we realized there was a change in dynamic in the building. It was noticeable throughout the season and it kept pushing. It presented to me and some other people that it wasn’t the way the program used to be. I started to think it wasn’t the right fit for me anymore and that a change of direction, a change of plans was a better idea.”
A year after throwing for more than 300 yards against Cal Poly, Northern Arizona, UC Davis and Idaho State, Ketteringham managed to complete just 50 percent of his passes. He threw 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while getting hit more than any quarterback in the league.
Montana junior defensive end Tucker Schye smacks former Sacramento State quarterback Nate Ketteringham/ by Jason Bacaj
Last season’s high and low points for Sac State came against the Montana schools. Ketteringham’s high point of his sophomore season came when he threw for 356 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-38 win over Montana State, one of just two league victories on the season for the Hornets. In a 68-7 loss at Montana, the Grizzlies piled up five sacks of Ketteringham and hit him relentlessly in the second of what would become four straight losses for the Hornets.
Despite the disappointing production, Ketteringham still has confidence in his abilities. He showed as much rallying Sac back from a 27-10 deficit in a 27-19 loss at Northern Colorado the week after the Montana loss, tossing four touchdowns in a 59-47 loss to rival Cal Poly in which the Hornets’ porous defense gave up 527 yards rushing and helping guide Sac to its second league, a 42-35 triumph over Portland State behind 262 yards and four touchdowns from Jordan Robinson.
“I came in young with not that much experience and I feel like I’ve developed over the last few years,” Ketteringham said. “I feel like I know defenses more than I did. The game has definitely slowed down. I have the ability to throw on the run and I feel like I can still play at a high level.”
Thus far in his Division I career, Ketteringham has completed 54.7 percent f his passes for 3,387 yards, 24 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He has also rushed for 258 yards and four touchdowns.
Photos by Brooks Nuanez or noted. All Rights Reserved.
