Norwin alum gets first start
Skyy Moore’s standout career at Western Michigan University may be over, but the WPIAL-to-WMU connection remains alive and well entering the 2022 season. Insert Jack Salopek, a 2020 Norwin grad now in line to make his first-career college start Friday when the Broncos face Michigan State in front of a nationally-televised audience on ESPN.
Salopek, a redshirt freshman, officially won the starting job in training camp, beating out Alabama transfer Stone Hollenbach, among others, to take the reins of first-year coordinator Jeff Thorne’s new offensive system.
“The competition began right away in spring ball,” Salopek told the Post-Gazette. “We were pretty even starting out, but as I had some success, I slowly started to get more first-team reps. That led into camp, and once camp started, I knew there was still a lot of work to do. But I kind of took it from there.”
By the time camp broke, Salopek had earned the definitive respect of his teammates.
“He’s grown tremendously as a player since freshman year when we came in,” said offensive guard Kyle Arnoldi. “He’s been a leader. He’s guided us in the right directions, pushing us in the weight room and on the field. We’re really close outside of football. He’ll schedule cookouts with the OLine. He’s just a great teammate and a great leader. We all respect and look up to him.
“He’s calm, cool and collected. He’ll relay calls to us and if it’s a drop-back pass, we know that if we protect him he’s going to execute downfield. If he has to scramble, we have full confidence that he’s going to get the ball out.”
Salopek is tasked with replacing a two-time All-MAC signal caller in Kaleb Eleby, who was more of a shifty dual-threat option behind center compared to Salopek’s 6- foot- 4, 190- pound frame. But his traditional drop-back quarterback style aligns well with Thorne’s new system, which won’t be as reliant on RPOs as the Broncos were in the past.
Yet, in addition to replicating Eleby’s production, he’ll also need to figure out a way to make up for Moore’s departure in the passing game.
“I think one guy who stood out the most in camp and spring ball is [wide receiver] Corey Crooms,” said Salopek. “He’s a guy who played a lot last season as the No. 2 option. He has really stepped up to fill Skyy’s role from last year, being our No. 1 receiver. I think that’s a big thing for me. Especially as a new starter, it’s important to have a guy you’re always on the same page with.”
In high school that guy was Norwin tight end Tanner Krevokuch. However, he was far from Salopek’s only top target. By the time Salopek’s WPIAL career concluded, he had amassed 6,150 passing yards and 40 touchdowns over three seasons. And as a senior, he broke Norwin’s single-season passing record (2,037 yards) set by Waylon Davis in 1997, finishing with 2,231 yards and 16 scores.
Except there was one caveat — the Knights didn’t win a lot of games.
“I wasn’t as successful team-wise as I wanted to be,” Salopek admitted. “We may not have been as talented as other teams in our section, but we always competed well against the Pittsburgh Central Catholics of the world. That taught me about the importance of taking care of the ball and getting the ball out quickly. Especially at the quarterback position, at the end of the day, you’re running the show. You may not be as talented as other teams, so the outcome is going to rely heavily on you and the decisions you make with the ball.”
Western Michigan will certainly be the less talented team when they take the field against the Spartans in Week 1. But regardless, it’s an opportunity — and a moment — Salopek isn’t taking for granted.
“I won’t lie, I’ll be nervous, but it means everything,” he said. “It’s everything that I’ve ever dreamed for and wanted, to start at a Division I school and play against the highest level of competition. What more can you want than Friday night on ESPN against a top-20 ranked team? It’s an opportunity for us to go out there and show the world what we can do. There’s really nothing to lose — just go out there, play free and try to win the game.”
There’s no denying that Salopek will be playing with a chip on his shoulder this season, especially after the way his high school recruitment process unfolded.
While he received initial interest from a plethora of Power Five programs early in high school, Western Michigan and Massachusetts were the only FBS offers he had entering his senior year. Pitt, in particular, offered Salopek as a sophomore, but rescinded it after his junior season.
“Whenever Pitt decided to go a different route recruiting quarterbacks at the end of my high school career, I definitely used that as motivation,” he said. “I feel like that goes with anybody. Everyone wants to play at the highest level of Power Five schools. It’s something that always used to drive me in the offseasons and still does today.”
Ironically, of the two brief appearances he made last season, most notable was Western Michigan’s 44-41 upset against Pitt at Heinz Field. With Eleby receiving an IV in the locker room for dehydration, Salopek entered for the Broncos’ first drive of the third quarter — connecting on a pair of first-down completions to Moore that moved them into Pitt territory. Eleby re-entered the game after that point, but the experience offered a glimpse of what the even-keeled quarterback from Irwin could eventually become.
Now, he has a chance to prove it.