No problem for depth at quarterback for Tigers
Barry Norton has an interesting opinion about the quarterback position.
“It’s the toughest position in all of sports,” Texas High’s veteran football coach said. “In our system, we put a lot of pressure on that one guy. You don’t want it on everybody else.”
Norton believes the better his quarterback is, the better his football team will be.
The good news for the Tigers is three-year starter Cade Pearson is back for the 2016 campaign. Even better, Pearson has two very capable backups in junior Riley Russell and sophomore Coltin Clack.
“Cade went through the typical struggles of a sophomore quarterback, but he was above average at that age,” Norton said. “He has continued to grow and progress. He understands the game, where the
blitzes are coming from, etc. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Pearson has committed to play his college ball at the University of North Texas in Denton. He’s got offers from at least nine colleges.
After accounting for nearly 2,000 yards his junior season, Norton is expecting even better things this fall.
“He has an outstanding work ethic, and has done everything right on and off the field,” he said. “I’m looking for a great year out of him.”
Pearson is expected to produce immediately this year because the Tigers only return one defensive starter.
He’s got the weapons to do just that. Receivers Quan Hampton and Trvailance Hunt are both college prospects, while running backs DeVuntay Walker and Markese Martin are good targets coming out of the backfield.
If the opportunity arises, look for Norton to play Clack and Russell without hesitation.
“Clack is an extremely talented young man,” Norton said. “He’s tough physically and mentally. Still, he’s a sophomore with great days, making throws that makes you say, ‘Wow!’ He also makes throws that having you saying, ‘I don’t know why we did that.’
“He’s as good a young quarterback as we’ve had, and he’s got a bright future.”
The Tigers’ head coach believes he has a “Gunslinger” in Russell.
“Riley has a real infectious personality,” he said. “You’re drawn to him. The team and kids are drawn to him.
“You don’t always get great protection playing jayvee ball, but he found a way to win ball games for us last season. You couldn’t ask for a finer young man to play that position for you. I think he fell in love with the game last year on the jayvee team.
Norton claims the Tigers can win this year with all three quarterbacks.
“I’ve never been able to say that before. It’s hard to have two you can depend on. The neat thing is all three are pulling for each other. When one makes a great throw in practice, the others are high-fiving him.”
They’re still competing against each other, but root for each other at the same time, which isn’t necessarily normal.
“Usually you don’t like the guy trying to take your position,” Norton said. “The best thing for each of them is that there are good people around them.
“Cade has done a good job of being a leader of that trio. He’s made them better and talked them through things.”
Since there is no depth problem at quarterback, Norton said it allows the team to do more things.
“You don’t have to limit what you do, because you’ve got to protect that one guy all the time. It allows each one of them to be better.”
It’s a win-win-win situation for the Tigers.