QB’s give off a feeling they are in total control of every situation.
“Coach, you’ve got to see this kid play.” Literally, if I had a dime for every time someone around the magazine has told me that about a middle school football player, I would be a one-percenter.
Still, that can’t be completely discounted either. Take 7th-grader, Maddox O’Neal, the 5-11, 125-pound signal-caller working his way through the Mayfield Middle School program. He seems to check the boxes.
First of all, any QB’s first job is to win games. The team he led polished off an undefeated season this past Fall, so put a check mark there.
We like our QB’s to be appropriately framed. Well, he’s a Class of ’26 kid who is already 5-11, with length, who sets-up well, gets the ball out quickly, spins-it, and handles the football deftly both in the run-game and play-action. Put a check mark there.
We like our QBs smart, after all they are in charge of the entire offense’s production and efficiency. The kid, reportedly, is sporting a 4.0 GPA in his academic work, so put another check mark in another box.
Plus the fact, he just looks like a top-flight QB. Many people discount what is commonly referred to as the eye-test, but it can’t be totally discounted.
QB’s look a certain way, carry themselves a certain way, have a certain “air” about them. QB’s exude an impression of command. QB’s give off a feeling they are in total control of every situation. Place another check-mark in our fictitious box.
We were asked one-time, on a sports call in show where we were the invited guests, how sure we were some middle school player we featured was “the real thing.” The suggestion is middle school football players are too young to evaluate with any certainty.
Not really. The reality is the age at which you can tell whether a kid either does or doesn’t have the goods is getting younger all the time.
With offseason work, training, the various camps and combines attended even while still in middle school gives us a pretty good idea where a kid will be, development-wise, years down the road. Check out the history of our site, we haven’t missed very much at all.
This kid is a sure-fire program changer. If he continues to work hard and stays as enthusiastic about the game as he is presently, the sky is literally his only limit.
Take it from us. We have proven we know exactly about what we are talking.
This is HB Lyon reporting for Kentucky Prep Gridiron reminding you that WE’RE JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!
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