Craven: Why the best Week 1 play by high school QBs would make DKR proud

[caption id="attachment_24912" align="alignright" width="350"]friendswoodvskatyFB2015_026 Friendswood QB Tyler Page (Photo by Diana Porter)[/caption] Asking questions was always my thing. I called it curiosity. My parents called it annoying. One of the best gifts in my life is my grandfather. Growing up, he was the head of rehabilitation for the Texas Longhorn football team. It afforded many luxuries for a football-loving child. I got to meet players, sit in on coach’s meetings and watch film with the Longhorns. None of it compared to knowing coach Darryl K. Royal. He was my John Wayne. One day I asked him a simple question, “what is the most important job of a quarterback?” His reply cracks me up to this day – “don’t *** it up.” The piece of advice always stuck. Watching quarterbacks growing up, I paid more attention to their floor than their ceiling. The idea of throwing an interception seemed more impactful than throwing a touchdown. Multiple players could score for a team, but only one could **** it up by throwing the ball to the wrong team. Royal also liked his quarterback to run. His offense was built more around the running game than the passing game, because, you know, only one thing needs to go right in the running game, whereas two things must go right to complete a pass. This was another one of my favorite lines Royal would put on you like most parents teach you to be polite. Flash-forward to Week 1 of the Texas high school football season and those lessons still apply to today’s quarterbacks. Punting isn’t the worst option and a quarterback who can run the ball and threaten a defense with his legs remains invaluable. Our Mr. Texas Football Player of the Week for Week 1 poll has six quarterbacks listed. There are a total of 10 players on the list. Of those six quarterbacks listed, all scored a touchdown on the ground. Gilmer’s Poppy Brown did the most through the air, passing for 569 yards and six touchdowns, breaking a school record. Even he added a touchdown on the ground. Trinity Christian Addison’s quarterback, Court Walker, scored two rushing touchdowns and added nearly 100 yards rushing to his monster night. The rest of the quarterbacks did at least half of their damage on the ground. Friendswood’s Tyler Page rushed for 130 yards and five touchdowns on just 10 carries. Groveton’s Glenn Thornton had 22 carries for 228 yards and three touchdowns. El Paso El Dorado signal caller Cedarious Barfield notched 235 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, while Tre’Von Bradley from Cleburne had seven rushing touchdowns to go along with 431 rushing yards. A quarterback’s job is to lead the team. It is also to put the team in a position to win, and sometimes that might mean not messing it up. More times than not, it means going out and making a play. Those plays at the quarterback position are increasingly coming on the ground. With offenses using spread formations, spying the quarterback becomes increasingly difficult. It puts linebackers in 1-on-1 positions in space against a quarterback running downhill. The advantage in today’s game usually goes to the athletic quarterback. Teams used it in Week 1 to win big games. Westlake’s Sam Ehlinger, a Texas commit, did more damage with his legs than his right arm in a win over Katy. Judson was able to upset No. 1 ranked Lake Travis in large part due to Julon Williams' ability to break the pocket and make plays in the open field. The trend is not new, but it is increasing. More and more, offensive coordinators want their most trusted runner to have the ball in pressure situations. Increasingly across the state, the best runners are also playing quarterback. Dual-threat quarterbacks are the rage in college and pro. A lot of the credit should be placed in the lap of Texas high school football, the increasing use of the spread formation and the added quarterback development in areas it used to not exist. Coach Royal would be proud. He’ll only wince at the fumbles.

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