Lindsey’s consistency drove ’Dogs
Drake Lindsey set a new standard for quarterbacks in the state’s top classification in 2023
The Minnesota signee lit up defenses all season to the tune of 3,916 passing yards and 52 touchdowns with a 69.6% completion rate — all while throwing just 4 interceptions.
For the senior’s performance, he is the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s All-Arkansas Preps Offensive Player of the Year.
What was most impressive about his senior campaign is no matter the opponent and the defensive scheme drawn up to shut him and the Bulldogs down, Lindsey rarely looked fazed.
“The crazy thing is I don’t really have a game [that stood out] because they were all really similar,” Fayetteville Coach Casey Dick said. “When you look back at them all, I think the one thing that’s going to define Drake’s career here and legacy here is just how consistent he was.”
Consistency is something Dick has spoken about frequently when it comes to Lindsey’s play. During his senior season, Lindsey averaged just over 300 yards and four touchdowns per game to lead the Bulldogs through an undefeated regular season and the 7A-West Conference championship.
In the Class 7A state championship game, a rematch with Bentonville, Lindsey stepped up once again with 355 yards, one touchdown and the Most Valuable Player trophy as Fayetteville clinched its first undefeated season and its sixth state championship in a 22-16 win.
Lindsey’s 52 touchdowns set the record for the state’s top classification as he became the first player to throw for 50 in a single season.
“He definitely left a legacy,” Dick said. “When you look at the people that have come through Fayetteville High School, whether that’s Brandon and Austin Allen, Taylor Powell. You look at the efficiency of all those guys and you look at Drake, who broke the record for the most touchdown passes in the largest class in the state and did it by taking care of the football.
“I think any time you’re up there with that group of quarterbacks, you’ve done something right.”
As a sophomore, Lindsey was on the sideline as Fayetteville fell four points shy of Bryant in the 7A state championship game. As a junior, he and the Bulldogs fell in the second round to Conway.
“I think we knew once the junior year was over how consistent he was going to be,” Dick said. “When people talk about great quarterbacks and how they’re great and how they lead, they talk about consistency.”
He ended his high school career with 7,636 passing yards and 90 touchdowns on 67.9% passing with just 7 interceptions over three seasons.
Lindsey became a team leader last offseason in order to rally his teammates to the ultimate goal of winning a state championship.
Off the field, he brought Springdale transfer Mason Spencer into the fold to catch the receiver up to speed. Spencer finished with 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns as the Bulldogs’ second-leading receiver.
On the field, he led the Bulldogs to 13 wins, all over 7A teams, on their way to hoisting the school’s first state championship since 2016.
“[He went] from a quarterback that was green, that didn’t really have an understanding of what we wanted to do as a sophomore to a guy that we probably could have turned the offense over to him in some situations and let him call plays because he had such a great understanding of why we were calling certain things in certain situations,” Dick said.
During his senior season, Lindsey threw for 300 yards in a game six times, 400 yards twice and on Sept. 29, against Rogers, threw for 538 yards and six touchdowns to earn statewide player of the week honors.
Lindsey has already graduated from Fayetteville and planned to enroll early at Minnesota for the spring semester. Dick said he has no concerns over Lindsey succeeding at the next level.
“He was such a coachable kid on and off the field,” Dick said. “That made everybody’s jobs a lot easier because we didn’t have to tell him anything twice. It was, ‘Hey, if you get this look next time because the safety’s inside, let’s try to put the ball outside.’ It was just small details that ended up making a big difference for us.”