USA TODAY International Edition
Georgia QBs more than a passing trend
Better training, rise of passing leagues fuel number of top recruits
Aubrey Solomon is considered the best high school defensive lineman in Georgia. That role has gotten more difficult because of the quarterbacks he faces.
“Those guys are a different breed, and they keep getting better,” said Solomon, a Lee County ( Leesburg) senior ranked the No. 4 defensive tackle in the USA. “They have the ability to play at the next level, and they’re playing younger. I believe ( the quarterbacks) are way better now than when I was a freshman. There are just so many good quarterbacks, and they have the ability to pick and choose the attributes they need to be successful. That just makes them better all- around.”
Georgia has become a hotbed for passers.
In the Class of 2017, Stanford commit Davis Mills is the No. 1 pro- style quarterback recruit in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite. Georgia commit Jake Fromm is No. 4. Florida State commit Bailey Hockman is No. 12 and Clemson commit Chase Brice No. 14. Add in Colorado State commit Ryan Glover, considered a dual- threat quarterback.
“It’s not going away,” said Barton Simmons, the national scouting director for 247Sports. “Every year a young guy pops up. We’re going to have at least four more cycles where Georgia will be home to one of the nation’s best passers.”
The No. 1 recruit regardless of position is Trevor Lawrence, a quarterback from Cartersville who is on pace to set the state career passing record. Emory Jones is committed to Ohio State; Justin Fields has 32 reported offers. Cade Fortin is committed to Texas A& M, Jarren Williams is a Kentucky commit and Gunnar Watson is gaining interest.
Keep on going, and the Class of 2020 has prospects such as Harrison Bailey, who already has 10 offers; Max Johnson, the son of former NFL quarterback Brad Johnson; and Tee Webb, who likely will succeed Lawrence at Cartersville.
And then in the Class of 2021, Aaron McLaughlin, who had Southeastern Conference offers last summer despite not having entered eighth grade; Andrew Van Wie, who threw three touchdown passes in the FBU Youth All- American Bowl in January; and Brock Vandagriff, who is already 6- 2 and 175 pounds.
“Our state has produced some very good quarterbacks lately,” said Cartersville coach Joey King, whose 13- 0 team plays Mary Persons ( Forsyth) on Friday in the state AAAA semifinals. “I feel that this is a testament to the quality of football that is being played and coached in Georgia.”
USA TODAY Sports spoke to quarterbacks, coaches, quarter- back trainers, recruiting analysts and scouts about the trend. Their answers generally fall into three categories: offenses evolving, more quarterback specific training and development, and the rise of 7- on- 7 or passing leagues. THE OFFENSES King: “I believe it is due to the fact that more Georgia schools are throwing the ball now. Our state is evolving just as the game is evolving.”
McLaughlin, a Class of 2021 passer from North Gwinnett: “I don’t think football is a game of just handing it off anymore and pounding down the field. I think it’s a game where the most efficient offenses throw the ball the majority of the time and spread the field, and the coaches in Georgia saw that and changed.”
Fromm, a Georgia signee who finished his senior year at Huston County ( Warner Robins) just 261 passing yards short of Clemson QB Deshaun Watson’s state record of 13,077: “Georgia high school football as a rule is a competitive league. We’ve always had a lot of athletes, so there was a lot of run- first guys, but those athletes have now evolved into passheavy offenses. Guys like me and some of the other guys are becoming something to see. It’s put Georgia on the board as far as the quarterback position.”
Quincy Avery, a longtime Atlanta- based quarterback coach: “Offenses are moving toward a spread style rather than the more run- based style they had previously. All you see now is fourwide sets, three- wide sets, ball in the air 35, 40 times a game in high school and even earlier in middle schools. Kids start doing passing leagues in seventh grade.” TRAINING AND COACHING Erik Richards, national recruiting director for U. S. Army All- American Bowl and longtime Georgia coach: “For years, there was no supplemental quarterback training in Georgia, but you had that in Texas, California and Florida. Then Quincy Avery and Tony Ballard came to the forefront and were two of the first ones in Georgia that started offering private individualized training. Davis Mills was one of Tony Ballard’s first clients in the sixth grade. Now these kids here are afforded the same opportunities that kids in California and Florida had for years.”
Ballard: “It’s about development. Everybody knows California has been pretty much a hotbed in terms of quarterback because the development has been there at such a young age. With early development and early training, that presents an opportunity for these kids to play pretty early as ninth- graders. … I like to get a kid in fifth or sixth grade and help them develop. If you are looking for an overnight success, you’re going to fail, especially at this position.”
King: “I don’t think it’s due to outside quarterback tutors at all. There are plenty of competent high school coaches that are doing a fantastic job molding quarterbacks to fit their systems.” 7- ON- 7 Ballard: “I was really against 7on- 7 for years. I never wanted to be a part of it, but my quarterbacks wanted to do it. … Two years ago, I was asked to be part of it and put a team together called FSS, Fundamentally Sound Sports. We push our quarterbacks to do everything under center in 7- on- 7 — the three-, five- and seven- step drops — and emphasize progressions. It also allows guys to throw in small windows.”
Bailey, who started this season as a freshman at Marietta and was seventh in the state in passing yards: “When you’re playing the top kids from around the nation, it takes decision- making to a whole other level. If you are even a step too slow or throwing it high, it will get picked. It helped me get used to the speed and timing and knowing when to get the ball out now or throw it away. It really helped in my transition to high school.”