The body of work that Rylan Cotton can draw upon this fall goes beyond the two years he's been the starting quarterback for Lincoln Southwest.

Cotton played on the Silver Hawks' Class A state runner-up basketball team and also on Southwest's state tournament baseball team last year.

"There are not too many athletes with more experience than Rylan has," football coach Mark King said. "He's been through some great wins and through some tough losses."

The rigors of being a three-sport athlete make Cotton a battle-tested veteran ready to lead his team.

"I played in a lot of real competitive games and a lot of real close games in football, basketball and baseball," Cotton said. "It gives you an edge and makes you more confident."

Cotton was thrown into the fray early, starting at quarterback as a sophomore. That year, he ran for 547 yards and passed for 729. Last year, he rushed for 888 yards and threw for 1,459 yards.

"I enjoy that it's my team. When I was younger, I had some great players like Baker Steinkuhler and Austin Cassidy to look up to and watch them and learn from them," Cotton said. "Last year, because I had already started a year, I kind of felt it.

"I've always enjoyed the responsibility of being a quarterback. I tried to lead by example and let the older guys be the vocal leaders."

His skill set allows Southwest to have a diversified offense.

"His command of the offense is incredible. He knows what I'm going to say before I say it," King said. "He is really on the same page with me and that makes it a lot easier for both of us.

"He was very talented at a young age and got thrown into it. He got in some varsity games as a freshman."

That early experience didn't give Cotton an inflated view of himself, though, according to King.

"He never stopped trying to get better. He never fell into that 'cool duty' where he just rested on what he had," King said. "He has improved a lot in all areas. Athletically, he has improved because of the training he put in."

On the baseball diamond, he pitches and plays shortstop. On the football field, he has the proven ability to run and pass. So which does he consider himself first - a pitcher or a shortstop, a running or a passing quarterback?

"I'm probably a shortstop first, but next spring, I will have to pitch a lot more," Cotton said. "Pitching has more of my mentality of having control, like on the football field.

"I think my running game definitely was my strength at the beginning, but I have tried to work on my passing game. Changing offenses helped me pass more and better."

Cotton is joined by five other returning starters on offense and the Silver Hawks have four starters back on defense, which has Cotton excited about the team's prospects.

"I definitely think we can make some noise. We all have the same goal in mind, which is getting to the state championship," he said. "I think as the season goes along we'll get stronger.

"Last year down the stretch, we started hanging out together and watching movies. In basketball, we had team dinners that turned into just hanging out and playing video games at someone's house. If you feel comfortable with each other and care about the person next to you , you want to do everything to pick that person up and that helps the team."