So much focus had understandably and deservedly been on Calvary Day School quarterback Jake Merklinger, a four-star recruit and four-year starter who signed with the University of Tennessee after a stellar high school career.
Perhaps not many noticed his backup last season, a freshman named James Mobley who appeared in seven games. Mobley made the most of his opportunity in the fourth quarter of the Cavaliers’ 49-0 shutout of Thomasville on Nov. 17, 2023, in the GHSA Class 3A second-round playoffs.
After handing off on his first two plays, Mobley kept the ball on third-and-2 and gashed the Thomasville defense for a 42-yard touchdown run.
“A great run and James is a really gifted kid,” CDS coach Mark Stroud said after the game. “We expect big things out of him.”
Mobley can face those expectations as one of the top quarterbacks to watch this coming football season.
They’ll have a difficult act to follow after so many quarterbacks accomplished so much in the 2023 campaign. Merklinger and Benedictine’s Luke Kromenhoek were regarded among the top 10 senior QBs in the country – quite a feat to have two blue-chip prospects from a relatively small town.
Kromenhoek, who signed with Florida State, was part of two GHSA Class 4A state championship teams with the Cadets, a perennial power. He and his longtime friend and peer Merklinger put up huge passing numbers as their teams went deep into the playoffs.
They weren’t the only ones from the Class of 2024. Triston Randall helped guide Bethesda Academy to its first state football crown, the 2023 SCISA Class 2A title.
Sean Kelly Hill was a foundational contributor and leader in four years at Bryan County, pushing through from a winless season as a freshman to the best season in program history as a senior, including the first region title and first playoff win.
Nate Hayes Jr. was spectacular on the field and even more so in the classroom as the Effingham County High senior class president and class valedictorian, among many academic, athletic and community leadership honors.
The list of standout senior quarterbacks in 2023 doesn’t stop there, as it included Memorial Day’s Tyler Kindle, South Effingham’s Kaden De Genaro, Liberty County’s Carlos Singleton and Bradwell Institute’s Christopher Garrett.
The new list, for the returning QBs, is headed by a rising senior who soared up to the top tier in his first year as a starter in 2023.
Rashawn Truell had displayed his big arm when he backed up standout Pauly Seeley, an upperclassman who went on to play at Wofford. The Phoenix had the
luxury of turning to Truell, more than ready to take the team to another level. New Hampstead earned its first playoff victory in five seasons under Kyle Hockman, a very accomplished coach in Georgia.
Truell was 207 of 355 (58.3 percent) for 3,308 yards, 300.7 yards per game, 38 touchdowns and six interceptions in 11 games. He rushed 36 times for 138 yards and four TDS as he was the Region 3-4A Co-Offensive Player of the Year.
He also shared honors as the co-winner of the Michael Finocchiaro Memorial Outstanding Football Player Award as Savannah’s best high school player.
Blaise Thomas, who completed three of four passes as a freshman reserve in 
2022, cemented his position as Savannah Christian’s starting QB last season. Thomas was 117 of 177 (66.1 percent) for 1,968 yards, 131.2 yards per game, 14 TDs and 12 interceptions.
He also rushed for four TDs in helping lead the Raiders to their first state championship game since 2011. Though it fell to perennial power Cedar Grove, SCPS went 12-3 and has a lot of key players returning.
One of the teams the Raiders dispatched was Savannah Country Day, which went through a coaching change this offseason after John Mohring left for 
Wayne County and he was replaced by Roc Batten. Those Hornets of 2023 relied on the bruising quarterback Barton Mixon, now a senior.
Mixon, a 6-foot, 192-pounder last season, was 131 of 217 (60.4 percent) for 1,837 yards, 26 TDs and seven picks thrown in 11 games. He also rushed 115 times for 836 yards, a 7.3 yards-per-carry average and 11 touchdowns.
In two seasons, Mixon has passed for 3,198 yards, rushed for 1,046 yards and accounted for a combined 48 TDs.
Stephen Cannon doesn’t have the numbers yet, but the rising junior at 
Benedictine already has the attention of college programs and some offers after displaying his skills at football camps. The 6-foot-2 ½, 195-pounder appeared in three games at QB last season while playing behind Kromenhoek and was 8 of 14 (57.1 percent) for 144 yards, three TDs and zero interceptions.
Calvary’s James Mobley IV, likewise, saw limited time at QB last season.
Mobley was 4 of 5 (80 percent) for 36 yards, two TDs and no picks. He also had 12 carries for 146 yards, 12.2 yards per carry and one TD.
Richmond Hill’s Kirk Scott returns for his senior season after the Wildcats went 5-6 overall in playing a challenging slate as a member of Region 1-7A and made the playoffs.
Scott was 79 of 136 (58.1 percent) for 899 passing yards, eight TDs and five interceptions. The 5-11, 170-pounder also had 79 carries for 473 yards, 6.0 yards per carry and two TDs.
Jenkins rising junior Demetrius Holloway is another player to watch. After he transferred from Beach, where he was impactful since his freshman season, Holloway was 22 of 63 (34.9 percent) for 338 yards, no TDs and five picks in eight games for the Warriors.
Zayden Edwards didn’t change schools, but the rising senior at St. Andrew’s School won’t be suiting up during football season. Also a star guard for the Lions
basketball team, Edwards will focus on that sport, new head football coach Wes Worthington said.
Edwards was 71 of 136 (52.2 percent) for 1,239 yards, 112.6 yards per game, 13 TDs and seven interceptions in 11 games. He also rushed 62 times for 475 yards and six TDs.
Worthington said that rising junior Amari Cook is the Lions’ quarterback and will be at the controls of a triple-option offense. Cook’s backup is rising freshman Pat Jackson.
PHOTO CREDIT: Various socail media site
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