kepdawg
12-25-2008, 01:43 AM
The Texas Quarterback. No, not Colt McCoy. Well, actually yes, but not just Colt.
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Our position on the Texas Sports Personality? Quarterback
11:25 PM CST on Wednesday, December 24, 2008
By BARRY HORN / The Dallas Morning News
bhorn@dallasnews.com
Craig James was a pretty fair high school running back at Houston's Stratford High School back in the late 1970s. When he was finished setting a state season rushing record and leading his team to a state championship, he went on to a storied career at SMU and a 1,000-yard rushing season in the NFL.
But James believes that if he were coming up today, he never would have played running back. The speedy James, who also happened to possess a powerful arm, would have been a quarterback.
"No question," he says. "That's how much the game has changed."
Yes, the game – Texas high school football – has evolved. Where, once upon a time, running backs were all the rage from East Texas' Piney Woods to West Texas' un-fruited plains, quarterbacking has now elbowed its way onto center stage.
Just look at the finished products.
There are 119 teams in the NCAA Bowl Subdivision, once known as Division I-A or better yet, big-time college football. This season, 20 of those teams – from Georgia to Florida State to Utah – had Texas high school-bred starting quarterbacks in at least three-quarters of their games.
And most didn't simply start. They flourished.
In recognition of their breakout season, we at SportsDay raise our arms as one in selecting "The Texas Quarterback" as our "Texas Sports Personality" for 2008.
It wasn't an easy decision. How could it be, with contenders in the mix such as Olympic gymnastics champion Nastia Liukin of Parker and Texas Rangers feel-good story Josh Hamilton?
"But it's a good idea," said Grant Teaff, former coach at Baylor and now executive director of the 10,000-member, American Football Coaches Association based in Waco.
Filling 20 of the 119 jobs, Teaff said, "is a mind-boggling number."
Household names
Some of the 20 names should come quickly to the minds of most sports fans. Like Texas' Colt McCoy, the Heisman Trophy runner-up from Tuscola Jim Ned. And Texas Tech's Graham Harrell of Ennis, who completed pass after pass and never came up with a sore arm. And like Missouri's Chase Daniel of Southlake Carroll, a Heisman Trophy finalist last year who had another fine season. And also Matthew Stafford, who was wooed from Highland Park to Georgia and may be the first pick in the upcoming NFL draft.
And then there is the likes of Abilene Wylie's Case Keenum, a sophomore at Houston who threw for more yards – 4,768 – and more touchdowns – 43 – than any of the more prominent names this season. And if you prefer winning percentage to completion percentage, there is Brian Johnson, a senior from Baytown Lee who has guided Utah to an undefeated season.
And was there a more talented freshman quarterback in all the land than Baylor's Robert Griffin of Copperas Cove?
And don't forget Mississippi sophomore Jevan Snead from Stephenville, who may be the Southeastern Conference's premier quarterback next season. And Kansas junior Todd Reesing, an Austin Lake Travis product, who threw for 3,575 yards and 28 touchdowns but could hardly catch much national attention in the pass-happy Big 12.
And on and on ...
"The best high school football in the country is played in Texas," said Tech quarterback Harrell. "Texas high school quarterbacks are playing against the best competition, for the best coaches and in the best programs. That's why they're having success right now.
"The spread offenses have moved into Texas, too, and a lot of colleges are going to spread offenses, and Texas quarterbacks have been groomed into those systems at a young age. When you put all of that together, that has a lot to do why so many of them are having success right now."
Harrell, the son of Ennis High coach Sam Harrell, is correct in his observation, said North Texas coach Todd Dodge.
Dodge grew up playing quarterback in Texas, first at Port Arthur Jefferson High School and then at the University of Texas. As a senior in 1980, he became the first quarterback in state high school history to throw for more than 3,000 yards.
Pass first
While he coached at Southlake Carroll from 2000 to 2006, Dodge's offenses were always pass-first machines. That his teams won four Class 5A state championships in five years forced others to take notice. The success of pass-happy teams at Flower Mound Marcus and Ennis didn't hurt either.
"All the ingredients were in place for Texas to become the premier state for high school quarterbacks," Dodge said.
He pointed to sanctioned spring high school seven-on-seven football tournaments, which began in the mid-1990s and are excellent passing primers. They prepare perfectly for the pass-happy spread offenses that are all the rage in college. And then there are rules that allow quarterbacks to begin working with receivers during athletic periods in early January. And don't forget spring football practice and summer football camps.
Dodge counts Daniel, who played for him at Carroll, Florida State's Christian Ponder of Colleyville Heritage and Mississippi's Snead as graduates of his camp. He agreed that terrific athletes such as Craig James, once designated to play running back, would be destined to play quarterbacks today.
"There was a time that the only thing Texas coaches asked of their quarterbacks was to hand the ball off or run a bootleg," Dodge said. "That's changed dramatically.
"Today, better athletes are being put at quarterback than ever before. They start early and have continued success. Just look at what has happened."
Yeah, just look. The Texas Quarterback has moved to the head of the class.
PAST HONOREES
1996: Michael Johnson
1997: Tom Hicks
1998: Ricky Williams
1999: Lance Armstrong
2000: Mark Cuban
2001: The Fan
2002: Emmitt Smith
2003: Bill Parcells
2004: Carly Patterson
2005: Don Hooton
2006: Vince Young
2007: Jerry Jones
2008: The Texas QB
TEXANS ACROSS THE NATION
Twenty quarterbacks from Texas played at least 75 percent of the games for the 119 Football Bowl Subdivision teams this season (x-team selected for bowl game):
Quarterback Cl. College High School Yards TDs Comp. Pct.
x-Chase Clement Sr. Rice SA Alamo Heights 3,812 41 66.4
x-Andy Dalton So. TCU Katy 2,242 11 59.3
x-Chase Daniel Sr. Missouri SL Carroll 4,135 37 74.0
Casey Dick Sr. Arkansas Allen 2,586 13 57.4
Robert Griffin Fr. Baylor Copperas Cove 2,091 15 59.9
x-Graham Harrell Sr. Texas Tech Ennis 4,747 41 71.5
Chase Holbrook Sr. N.M. State Hurst Bell 3,361 25 67.6
x-Brian Johnson Sr. Utah Baytown Lee 2,636 24 68.3
Jerrod Johnson So. Texas A&M Humble 2,435 21 59.5
x-Case Keenum So. Houston Abilene Wylie 4,768 43 67.4
x-Jarrett Lee Fr. LSU Brenham 1,873 14 53.2
x-Colt McCoy Jr. Texas Tuscola Jim Ned 3,445 32 77.6
Bo Levi Mitchell Fr. SMU Katy 2,865 24 57.6
Kevin Moore So. Tulane FM Marcus 2,194 8 56.0
x-Christian Ponder So. Fla. State Coll. Heritage 1,807 12 55.4
x-Todd Reesing Jr. Kansas Aus. Lake Travis 3,575 28 65.7
x-Jevan Snead So. Ole Miss Stephenville 2,470 23 55.7
x-Matthew Stafford Jr. Georgia Highland Park 3,209 22 61.1
Trevor Vittatoe So. UTEP Euless Trinity 3,274 33 58.9
Giovanni Vizza So. UNT SA Alamo Heights 2,758 15 62.3
Port Arthur Memorial's Donovan Porterie (New Mexico) and Flower Mound's Nick Stephens (Tennessee) started at quarterback this season but did not play 75 percent of their teams' games.
LINK (http://www.hsgametime.com/dfw/sharedcontent/dws/content/topstories/stories/122508dnsposptsnewsmaker.8691ef1.html)
------------
Our position on the Texas Sports Personality? Quarterback
11:25 PM CST on Wednesday, December 24, 2008
By BARRY HORN / The Dallas Morning News
bhorn@dallasnews.com
Craig James was a pretty fair high school running back at Houston's Stratford High School back in the late 1970s. When he was finished setting a state season rushing record and leading his team to a state championship, he went on to a storied career at SMU and a 1,000-yard rushing season in the NFL.
But James believes that if he were coming up today, he never would have played running back. The speedy James, who also happened to possess a powerful arm, would have been a quarterback.
"No question," he says. "That's how much the game has changed."
Yes, the game – Texas high school football – has evolved. Where, once upon a time, running backs were all the rage from East Texas' Piney Woods to West Texas' un-fruited plains, quarterbacking has now elbowed its way onto center stage.
Just look at the finished products.
There are 119 teams in the NCAA Bowl Subdivision, once known as Division I-A or better yet, big-time college football. This season, 20 of those teams – from Georgia to Florida State to Utah – had Texas high school-bred starting quarterbacks in at least three-quarters of their games.
And most didn't simply start. They flourished.
In recognition of their breakout season, we at SportsDay raise our arms as one in selecting "The Texas Quarterback" as our "Texas Sports Personality" for 2008.
It wasn't an easy decision. How could it be, with contenders in the mix such as Olympic gymnastics champion Nastia Liukin of Parker and Texas Rangers feel-good story Josh Hamilton?
"But it's a good idea," said Grant Teaff, former coach at Baylor and now executive director of the 10,000-member, American Football Coaches Association based in Waco.
Filling 20 of the 119 jobs, Teaff said, "is a mind-boggling number."
Household names
Some of the 20 names should come quickly to the minds of most sports fans. Like Texas' Colt McCoy, the Heisman Trophy runner-up from Tuscola Jim Ned. And Texas Tech's Graham Harrell of Ennis, who completed pass after pass and never came up with a sore arm. And like Missouri's Chase Daniel of Southlake Carroll, a Heisman Trophy finalist last year who had another fine season. And also Matthew Stafford, who was wooed from Highland Park to Georgia and may be the first pick in the upcoming NFL draft.
And then there is the likes of Abilene Wylie's Case Keenum, a sophomore at Houston who threw for more yards – 4,768 – and more touchdowns – 43 – than any of the more prominent names this season. And if you prefer winning percentage to completion percentage, there is Brian Johnson, a senior from Baytown Lee who has guided Utah to an undefeated season.
And was there a more talented freshman quarterback in all the land than Baylor's Robert Griffin of Copperas Cove?
And don't forget Mississippi sophomore Jevan Snead from Stephenville, who may be the Southeastern Conference's premier quarterback next season. And Kansas junior Todd Reesing, an Austin Lake Travis product, who threw for 3,575 yards and 28 touchdowns but could hardly catch much national attention in the pass-happy Big 12.
And on and on ...
"The best high school football in the country is played in Texas," said Tech quarterback Harrell. "Texas high school quarterbacks are playing against the best competition, for the best coaches and in the best programs. That's why they're having success right now.
"The spread offenses have moved into Texas, too, and a lot of colleges are going to spread offenses, and Texas quarterbacks have been groomed into those systems at a young age. When you put all of that together, that has a lot to do why so many of them are having success right now."
Harrell, the son of Ennis High coach Sam Harrell, is correct in his observation, said North Texas coach Todd Dodge.
Dodge grew up playing quarterback in Texas, first at Port Arthur Jefferson High School and then at the University of Texas. As a senior in 1980, he became the first quarterback in state high school history to throw for more than 3,000 yards.
Pass first
While he coached at Southlake Carroll from 2000 to 2006, Dodge's offenses were always pass-first machines. That his teams won four Class 5A state championships in five years forced others to take notice. The success of pass-happy teams at Flower Mound Marcus and Ennis didn't hurt either.
"All the ingredients were in place for Texas to become the premier state for high school quarterbacks," Dodge said.
He pointed to sanctioned spring high school seven-on-seven football tournaments, which began in the mid-1990s and are excellent passing primers. They prepare perfectly for the pass-happy spread offenses that are all the rage in college. And then there are rules that allow quarterbacks to begin working with receivers during athletic periods in early January. And don't forget spring football practice and summer football camps.
Dodge counts Daniel, who played for him at Carroll, Florida State's Christian Ponder of Colleyville Heritage and Mississippi's Snead as graduates of his camp. He agreed that terrific athletes such as Craig James, once designated to play running back, would be destined to play quarterbacks today.
"There was a time that the only thing Texas coaches asked of their quarterbacks was to hand the ball off or run a bootleg," Dodge said. "That's changed dramatically.
"Today, better athletes are being put at quarterback than ever before. They start early and have continued success. Just look at what has happened."
Yeah, just look. The Texas Quarterback has moved to the head of the class.
PAST HONOREES
1996: Michael Johnson
1997: Tom Hicks
1998: Ricky Williams
1999: Lance Armstrong
2000: Mark Cuban
2001: The Fan
2002: Emmitt Smith
2003: Bill Parcells
2004: Carly Patterson
2005: Don Hooton
2006: Vince Young
2007: Jerry Jones
2008: The Texas QB
TEXANS ACROSS THE NATION
Twenty quarterbacks from Texas played at least 75 percent of the games for the 119 Football Bowl Subdivision teams this season (x-team selected for bowl game):
Quarterback Cl. College High School Yards TDs Comp. Pct.
x-Chase Clement Sr. Rice SA Alamo Heights 3,812 41 66.4
x-Andy Dalton So. TCU Katy 2,242 11 59.3
x-Chase Daniel Sr. Missouri SL Carroll 4,135 37 74.0
Casey Dick Sr. Arkansas Allen 2,586 13 57.4
Robert Griffin Fr. Baylor Copperas Cove 2,091 15 59.9
x-Graham Harrell Sr. Texas Tech Ennis 4,747 41 71.5
Chase Holbrook Sr. N.M. State Hurst Bell 3,361 25 67.6
x-Brian Johnson Sr. Utah Baytown Lee 2,636 24 68.3
Jerrod Johnson So. Texas A&M Humble 2,435 21 59.5
x-Case Keenum So. Houston Abilene Wylie 4,768 43 67.4
x-Jarrett Lee Fr. LSU Brenham 1,873 14 53.2
x-Colt McCoy Jr. Texas Tuscola Jim Ned 3,445 32 77.6
Bo Levi Mitchell Fr. SMU Katy 2,865 24 57.6
Kevin Moore So. Tulane FM Marcus 2,194 8 56.0
x-Christian Ponder So. Fla. State Coll. Heritage 1,807 12 55.4
x-Todd Reesing Jr. Kansas Aus. Lake Travis 3,575 28 65.7
x-Jevan Snead So. Ole Miss Stephenville 2,470 23 55.7
x-Matthew Stafford Jr. Georgia Highland Park 3,209 22 61.1
Trevor Vittatoe So. UTEP Euless Trinity 3,274 33 58.9
Giovanni Vizza So. UNT SA Alamo Heights 2,758 15 62.3
Port Arthur Memorial's Donovan Porterie (New Mexico) and Flower Mound's Nick Stephens (Tennessee) started at quarterback this season but did not play 75 percent of their teams' games.
LINK (http://www.hsgametime.com/dfw/sharedcontent/dws/content/topstories/stories/122508dnsposptsnewsmaker.8691ef1.html)