They have the ball in their hands every snap.
They are overrated, or over-criticized, depending on the results of the games.
Most players grow up wanting to play that position, but some are thrust into a position that defines greatness out of necessity.
Quarterbacks are a different breed. The best ones happily accept the responsibility of knowing what every position on offense has to do. The best ones spend hours watching tape of their opponents, studying their slightest tendencies in an attempt to exploit them on the field.
The glow of the Friday night lights starts to separate the championship contenders from the favorites, and it starts to give the local high school football world some names that college coaches will be taking note of.
Like Dane Eisenmenger from Unity.
Luke Dyer as Mahomet Seymour.
Centennial’s Kellen Davis Foltz;
George Rouse, Champaign Central;
Bo Zeleznik of LeRoy;
Cooper Christensen of Sullivan/Okaw Valley;
and Salt Fork’s Jameson LeMoll.Those are just some of the starting quarterbacks returning from the area.
Others will have a chance this fall to make a name for themselves and their futures.
Like St. Joseph Ogden’s Cody McKinney.
Ike Young of Monticello.
Fisher’s Blake Green.
Brody Phillips of Arcola;
Crews Hale of Arthur Lavington Atwood Hammond School;
When asked about McKinney during a recent August practice, SJ-O offensive coordinator Dalton Walsh, who led 2023 News-Gazette All-Area Player of the Year Logan Smith to more than 3,200 yards of offense and 49 touchdowns last season, summed up what he expects from his quarterback each fall: This could be true for anyone in the region, state or playing the position.
“As the game goes on, he becomes my voice, understanding coverages, lining up guys, setting up protections,” said Walsh, a former high school quarterback himself who helped SJ-O reach the Class 3A state championship game in 2013. “He has to be the voice for all of that, always understanding not just his job but everyone else’s job as well.”
Whew, that’s a lot to digest. But the importance of the quarterback at every level of football is also recognized locally. Of the last 10 News-Gazette All-Area Players of the Year, five have been quarterbacks. The last three include Smith in 2023, ALAH’s Caden Feagin in 2022 (yes, Illinois’ starting running back this season played his final season of high school football at quarterback, showcasing his intense running style and passing ability), and Unity’s Blake Kimball in the fall of 2021.
Will there be a new player this season who takes home the title of best player in the region? The answer will become clear in the next two to three months.
Learn how all 36 area programs plan to be under center this season, as well as who the quarterbacks on defense are, what a successful season looks like for each team, when they’ll be playing their schedules, and who’s involved on the coaching staff to get the most out of these players this fall.
Like quarterbacks. They’re not hard to find on the field. Just look for the guy with the ball on every play.