Cincinnati Elder senior quarterback Kaden Estep is now the most prolific passer in school history. During Elder’s Week 10 game on Friday, Oct. 23, Estep broke the school’s career passing yards record on a scoring pass, passing the mark of 6,708 yards set by Peyton Ramsey, who is now Elder’s passing game coordinator and a member of head coach Doug Ramsey’s staff.
The record has a family thread running through it. Doug Ramsey, a standout quarterback at Reading High School in the 1980s, is in his 30th season as Elder’s head coach, and in those three decades he has named only two three-year starters at quarterback: his son Peyton, and Estep. Peyton Ramsey has coached on his father’s staff for six years and works closely with Estep on running the offense, meaning the record Estep broke on Friday belonged to the coach who helps prepare him every week.
Coaches said the decision to start Estep as a sophomore was made with exactly this kind of moment in mind. Elder went 6-6 in that first season while Estep threw for more than 1,900 yards with 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions, along with 189 rushing yards and two more scores. The staff believed he was good enough to play right away, and wanted an experienced starter in place for the seasons that followed.
His junior season justified that faith. Estep threw for 2,430 passing yards, ran for 924 more, and accounted for 25 total touchdowns, leading the Panthers to an undefeated regular season and a 12-1 finish that ended with a hard-fought loss to St. Xavier in the regional final at Paycor Stadium. He was named the Greater Catholic League South co-offensive player of the year, to the all-district and Division I All-Ohio first teams, and an Enquirer all-city first-team selection.
The senior season has kept the same standard. In Week 2, Estep completed 24 of 30 passes for 357 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for a game-high 106 yards and another score. In Week 7 against Moeller, he completed 21 of 27 passes for 367 yards and three touchdowns, and led an 81-yard game-tying drive in the final minutes, finishing it with a touchdown run and a two-point conversion pass.
Estep has already settled his college future. The Miami University commit announced his verbal commitment to the RedHawks in February, choosing a Mid-American Conference program in Oxford that has reached three straight MAC championship games. He will finish his Elder career, however, as the standard every future Panthers quarterback is measured against — ahead of a record holder who went on to play at Indiana and Northwestern.
Friday’s record-setting scoring pass came on the final night of the regular season, with the state playoffs set to begin next week. Whatever Elder does in the postseason, its senior quarterback has already written his name at the top of the program’s record book, in a season his coaches designed, three years ago, to make possible.