Best QB's in Tennessee you have ever seen?

[kwc]

A great QB is one who could spin it and had some running ability... There have been some great ones in the Shelby Metro area that could do this... The best QBs I've seen with my own eyes are the following in no particular order:

 

Ced Wilson, Melrose: He signed with UT. He was the man that led Melrose to a state title back in the 90s ('96). He was a one man show. Had a solid NFL career. I think he won titles at every level HS, College (UT '99) and Pro (Steelers '05).

 

Maurice Harris, Whitehaven: He signed with Arkansas State. Currently on the Ole Miss staff. My former coach at Whitehaven. I didn't get to see his games as a child but I did see his game film. That man had a cannon and was super fast. He was recruited by Tom Osborne at Nebraska at one point.

 

Jason Harris, Whitehaven: He signed with U of Memphis. He still holds the record for most TD passes in one game in the Shelby Metro area I believe. He threw 7 against Memphis Southside. I saw his film and I may have got a chance to see a few of his highlights when I was in Elementary. 

 

Will Gross, Melrose: He signed with U of Memphis but I don't know if he ever got there. That young man had one of the Prettiest throwing motion I've seen on a HS kid. Not sure where he is now but I hope he makes it to the level of being a productive citizen.

 

Barry Brunetti, MUS: He signed with West Virginia, saw Geno Smith and transferred to Ole Miss lol. If MUS had let him be the starting QB for all 3 years he was at MUS I think MUS would have won 3 State titles in a row instead of just two. He was a true Dual Threat. Beautiful Throwing Motion and could Run like nobody's business.

 

'T-Money' Tamirious Mitchell, Whitehaven: He signed with Austin Peay. I Had the pleasure to coach this gentleman. Could tell he was gonna be a good one for us once I saw him. 

 

Antonio Heffner, Melrose: He Signed with South Carolina, then Steve Spurrier replaced Lou Holtz and Heffner rightly transferred to TSU (Spurrier was trying to make him an Option QB for some reason). He was a great Dual Threat QB that led Melrose to plenty of wins but couldn't quite get over the hump. I think they lost to Hillsboro in the Semis and/or Maryville in the Title game.

 

Braxton Conard, Ridgeway: Current QB at Ridgeway. Every time I see any highlights and film on this kid I'm impressed. He may be the best QB in the area right now and the best one since Gross and Brunetti.

 

 

HONORABLE MENTION (Guys that I've heard stories about AND they broke records): Kenton Evans, Westwood and Darrell Walker (Sp?), Westwood. 

 

I'm going to co-sign on this post. I agree will all of them. Like you, I never saw Maurice play. However I did see Kenton Evans when he was at Westwood and he's more then an honorable mention in my book. OH MY GOODNESS! He torched secondaries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If he was in the mood, he'd have a secondary for a light snack as well! He was legit. He transfered to Tennessee State from the U of M. He set some records that will take a while to break. He may have even tied or broke Jason's record. The Ridgeway QB who preceeded Braxton was also really skilled. I can't remember his name. I remember watching Heffner's coming out party when he led Melrose back from behind in Tom Nix Stadium. I remember saying 'A star is born' over and over. Spurrier and he were NOT on the same page. Out of all of the QB's mentioned above, my favorite to watch was Cedric Wilson. Pure excitement. Coach Tim Thompson knew what he was doing when he put him under center.

 

I thought Patton Robbinette was a top notch QB when I watched him play in the 2011 title game against Whitehaven. I only had that one game to see him play, but I'll throw him in the mix. He had it all ... size, speed, decision making, and throwing accuracy.

Edited August 1, 2014 by kwc

[kwc]

I respect his coaching ability but I hate his biases but I LOVE The fact he don't hide them 

 

You know I still think Antonio should have gone somewhere else. He went to South Carolina with his best friend off of that Melrose team who was a Safety. I couldn't understand why a pocket passing QB would go sign up with Lou Holtz, of all coaches ... the king of the 'veer' option play.

 

I watched with particular attention when Spurrier took over because I was, and still am an admirer of his. I wondered if he could coach Antonio. I watched in horror, as on national TV when Heffner was thrown into a game because all of the QB's were hurt and he looked BAD. What I saw was NOT the guy I saw in high school. It was horrible to watch. I don't even remember who SC was playing. I remember the side line interview after the game and Spurrier kept saying ... I kept him in the game because i wanted him to have some success, to take something positive. I knew from Heffner's time at Melrose that he was a quiet introverted guy. Spurrier can be fire and brimstone to his QB's. I didn't think that it would be a harmonious marriage. In fact, I thought Heffner would have left SC when Spurrier got there. To his credit he stuck it out.

 

Having said that, I actually believe that Spurrier tried to coach the young man. I just don't think Spurrier had the tools to coach him. I'm a firm believer that not every coach can coach everybody. There are some players and coaches that are oil and water. The two will never mix. Talent gets wasted in those instances. It happens quite a bit actually. I think Heffner may have been caught up in a situation like that. That's just my personal opinion. I have nothing to support what I just said.

 

And yea, I agree Spurrier doesn't hide anything ... What you see is what you get. I love that about him. He says what's on his mind. You ask him a quetion and he'll give you an honest answer. You may not agree, but that's besides the point.

Edited August 1, 2014 by kwc

[BlackHavenSenator]

You've never seen a "best QB" unless he was from Memphis?

 

I played and coached in Memphis so yeah... The topic said TN HS QBs you've seen with your own eyes. What you mean  

[BlackHavenSenator]

You know I still think Antonio should have gone somewhere else. He went to South Carolina with his best friend off of that Melrose team who was a Safety. I couldn't understand why a pocket passing QB would go sign up with Lou Holtz, of all coaches ... the king of the 'veer' option play.

 

I watched with particular attention when Spurrier took over because I was, and still am an admirer of his. I wondered if he could coach Antonio. I watched in horror, as on national TV when Heffner was thrown into a game because all of the QB's were hurt and he looked BAD. What I saw was NOT the guy I saw in high school. It was horrible to watch. I don't even remember who SC was playing. I remember the side line interview after the game and Spurrier kept saying ... I kept him in the game because i wanted him to have some success, to take something positive. I knew from Heffner's time at Melrose that he was a quiet introverted guy. Spurrier can be fire and brimstone to his QB's. I didn't think that it would be a harmonious marriage. In fact, I thought Heffner would have left SC when Spurrier got there. To his credit he stuck it out.

 

Having said that, I actually believe that Spurrier tried to coach the young man. I just don't think Spurrier had the tools to coach him. I'm a firm believer that not every coach can coach everybody. There are some players and coached that are oil and water. The two will never mix. Talent gets wasted in those instances. It happens quite a bit actually. I think Heffner may have been caught up in a situation like that. That's just my personal opinion. I have nothing to support what I just said.

 

And yea, I agree Spurrier doesn't hide anything ... What you see is what you get. I love that about him. He says what's on his mind. You ask him a quetion and he'll give you an honest answer. You may not agree, but that's besides the point.

 

Spurrier has never recruited (correct me if I'm wrong) a Black Athletic QB to play QB... Heffner was a 6'2" dual threat QB that got the Single Wing treatment from Spurrier from my vantage point. Had he stayed at the other USC he would have ended up as a WR or FS 

[DCTIGERFAN]

 No love for Bo Wallace?

[FactsOnly]

I played and coached in Memphis so yeah... The topic said TN HS QBs you've seen with your own eyes. What you mean  

 

Just thought you might have seen someone talented from elsewhere.

[BlackHavenSenator]

Just thought you might have seen someone talented from elsewhere.

 

I'm no different than the other East TN and Middle TN folks talking about what they KNOW. I hadn't been to many games in the Upper Cumberland and the players from the rest of the state I saw were ok. Robinette is the only one that I can say for sure is One of the best I've seen from some place outside of Shelby County.

[AlcoasPaintedBridge]

Spurrier has never recruited (correct me if I'm wrong) a Black Athletic QB to play QB... 

I know of one...Gavin Dickey from Tallahassee Lincoln. (Florida)

So there's that.

(HBC liked them Richie Cunninghams....)

Edited August 1, 2014 by AlcoasPaintedBridge

[BlackHavenSenator]

I know of one...Gavin Dickey from Tallahassee Lincoln. (Florida)

So there's that.

(HBC liked them Richie Cunninghams....)

 

Gavin Dickey was recruited by Ron Zook... If Sprurrier went for him I bet it was to eventually turn him into a Skill Player not under center. The Year Dickey Signed Head Ball Coach took a truck load of money to go to Washington DC... I DON'T stand Correct  

[kwc]

Spurrier has never recruited (correct me if I'm wrong) a Black Athletic QB to play QB... Heffner was a 6'2" dual threat QB that got the Single Wing treatment from Spurrier from my vantage point. Had he stayed at the other USC he would have ended up as a WR or FS 

 

BHS:

 

I do believe that he has recruited a lot of athletic QB's out of high school to play for him. They just aren't going to play QB on his team. I may be wrong, but that's the impression I get.

 

In my opinion, Heffner was a PP and not DT QB. He flourised in the pocket more so then in any other format. He had a cannon for an arm and he was accurate. He just happened to play for Chuck Knoll personified when he was at Melrose. He could have easily thrown for 3,000 yards in a season if given the playcalling. Chuck Knoll won four superbowls at Pittsburg, but he was a '3 yards and a cloud of dust' type of coach.

 

I think Heffner should have gone to Grambling, FAMU, Southern, TSU, or any of the other well established HBCU football proigrams where his skill set would not have been mismanged, to say it kindly, and he could have flourished.

Edited August 1, 2014 by kwc

[BlackHavenSenator]

Gavin Dickey was recruited by Ron Zook... If Sprurrier went for him I bet it was to eventually turn him into a Skill Player not under center. The Year Dickey Signed Head Ball Coach took a truck load of money to go to Washington DC... I DON'T stand Correct  

 

Ron Zook Took over in January 2002. Dickey was his guy

[BlackHavenSenator]

BHS:

 

I do believe that he has recruited a lot of athletic QB's out of high school to play for him. They just aren't going to play QB on his team. I may be wrong, but that's the impression I get.

 

In my opinion, Heffner was a PP and not DT QB. He flourised in the pocket more so then in any other format. He had a cannon for an arm and he was accurate. He just happened to play for Chuck Knoll personified when he was at Melrose. He could have easily thrown for 3,000 yards in a season if given the playcalling. Chuck Knoll won four superbowls at Pittsburg, but he was a '3 yards and a cloud of dust' type of coach.

 

I think Heffner shoukld have gone to Grambling, FAMU, Southern, TSU, or any of the other well established HBCU football proigrams where his skill set would not have been mismanged, to say it kindly, and he could have flourished.

 

I clearly remember being at the Whitehaven vs Melrose Game in Da Haven in 2003 (Soph year in College) and seeing dude do us like Randall Cunningham/Johnny Football where he ran around behind the line of scrimmage then threw a BOMB on the broken secondary... They beat us 53-28 that year... After I saw that I saw Dual Threat lol