Owen King, Trey Lance, and the rest of the 2018 quarterbacks

Adam Rossow

February 14, 2017 @ 01:30 PM

For the first time since 2011, Minnesota high school football showcase two Football Bowl Subdivision senior prospects at quarterback this fall. Marshall’s Trey Lance (NFN No. 2 overall in 2018) and Caledonia’s Owen King (NFN No. 3) both have significant Division I interest, much like Mankato West’s Philip Nelson and Lakeville South’s Mitch Leidner in the Class of 2012. Lance and King should keep building recruiting interest throughout the next few months. King is verbally committed to South Dakota State on a basketball scholarship, however, and Caledonia coach Carl Fruechte said Monday via email that he was still firm in his desire to play basketball in college. Fruechte also said King has not been contacted by Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck or his staff since taking over in early January. In other words, King’s senior season will be his last on the gridiron unless the 6-foot-2 senior changes his mind in the next few months. He has not lost (28-0) under center for the Warriors, which includes back-to-back Class AA titles and an astonishing 535 yards and nine touchdowns in the last two Prep Bowls combined. Lance, who posted a 31-inch vertical and sub-4.8 second 40-yard dash last summer, is considered a dual threat quarterback. The 6-foot-3 signal caller already holds scholarship offers from South Dakota State and Northern Illinois. He averaged more than 160 total yards per game for Marshall, combining for 22 total touchdowns (16 pass, six rush). Lance also said via Twitter he had not been contacted by Fleck or anyone on the Gophers staff. Although it’s still early, it doesn’t appear there will be a third quarterback joining Lance and King on the D1 scholarship radar in the Class of 2018, barring a late-blooming prospect or evaluation oversight. Below are four other rising senior quarterbacks to keep an eye on this offseason.