The Prep Sports Report previews the 2022 high school football season for Savannah area teams by taking a look at some of the top quarterbacks coming to a field near you this fall. All stats are courtesy of MaxPreps unless otherwise noted.
Forget about the area, Jake Merklinger is one of the top quarterbacks in the country for the class of 2024. The rising junior quarterback at Calvary Day is rated as a four-star prospect by recruiting services Rivals, 247Sports and On3. He has college scholarship offers from the likes of Florida, Auburn, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, NC State and plenty of others.
“It’s extremely early for Jake, as he’s been out to camps to earn offers this month. I’d expect he will get a better feel as we get into July,” said On3 recruiting director Chad Simmons of Merkingler. “Michigan State is a school high on his radar, and I think he’s intrigued by some SEC offers like Auburn. But it’s still too early to really handicap where things stand.”
As a starter for two years already, he has compiled a record of 21-6 and helped to lead the Cavs to the Class A Private Final 4 last year. Merklinger threw for 2,513 yards and 25 touchdowns on 193-of-274 (70 percent) passing as a sophomore. He rushed for 297 yards and 11 scores as a first-team All Region selection.
For his career, the 6-foot, 2-inch Merklinger has thrown for 4,620 yards and 43 touchdowns while rushing for another 407 yards and 16 TD’s.
Merklinger was at the LSU elite camp over the June 18-19 weekend, and his performance there further added fuel to his recruiting flame turned fire. On3 has him rated as the No. 2 quarterback in the 2024 class and a reporter for the recruiting website wrote glowingly about the Calvary signal-caller.
“Merklinger has a pretty deep ball and can drop it with touch and in stride on intermediate routes,” wrote Sam Spiegelman on June 20. “He can also put some spin on his throws and continued to get better throughout the camp’s session. He has one of the highest floors in the 2024 class.”
This season, Calvary and Merkingler will be led offensively by new Offensive Coordinator Russell DeMasi, the former assistant coach and interim head coach at Savannah State University. The Cavs (12-1 in 2021) will be moving up two classifications to play in Region 3-3A with fellow private school members Savannah Christian and Savannah Country Day as well as several area public schools.
Head coach Mark Stroud’s team will open the 2022 season on August 19 with a non-region game at Islands High School.
You can follow Jake on Twitter @JakeMerklinger.
FOLLOW Travis Jaudon on Twitter/Instagram @JaudonSports. Email him at travisLjaudon@gmail.com.
Optim Orthopedics supports Calvary Day School athletics. The team doctor for Calvary Day School is Dr. David Palmer. Remember, Optim Orthopedics gets you back into the game!
