2023 Ranking: Quarterback Breakdown

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! Here in the month of June we’re updating all of our prospect rankings as the 2021 season gets closer and closer. For the 2023 class, we went from a Top 50 to a Top 100 as this class continues to get deeper and deeper. The margin between the ranked players is very close and this class has a chance to be fairly deep from top to bottom. You can check out the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/06/updated-2023-oklahoma-rankings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Top 100 Right Here</a>. Throughout the week, we’ll be adding some analysis on the players that have stood out in the 2023 class with positional breakdowns, newcomers and even prospects on the border of being ranked this time around. Stay tuned for next week when we update the state’s 2022 class. For now, we take an in-depth look at five quarterbacks who stood out to us during this last ranking update. [player_tooltip player_id="38780" first="Steele" last="Wasel"] - Choctaw (Ranked 5th Overall) Choctaw quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="38780" first="Steele" last="Wasel"] came into the 2020 season with pretty lofty expectations. Despite never starting a game, the expectation was that Wasel was the best quarterback in the state’s 2023 class. After 2020, not only did Wasel live up to those expectations, he raised the bar on his profile as an overall prospect. He comes in at number five in our latest ranking update and has earned his spot not only in the top ten but in the top five of overall prospects in the state’s 2023 class. Wasel began the 2020 season trusting his legs more than his arm. As the season progressed, you could see him become more comfortable in the pocket and behind the line of scrimmage in general. Instead of using his legs to take off and run, he would use them to extend plays and wreck defenses with a dagger down field. Plenty of players improved from the start of the season to the end of the year but when we think about the guys who made the biggest jump, it’s hard not to think of Wasel. After a slow start to the year, Wasel and Choctaw would find their way all the way to the state title game where they pushed Bixby to the brink. Now as they head into 2021, they’ll certainly have some unfinished business. [player_tooltip player_id="38790" first="Kirk" last="Francis"] - Metro Christian (Ranked 15th Overall) What a start to the career for Metro Christian quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="38790" first="Kirk" last="Francis"]. First off, he had to replace one of the greatest players in Metro Christian history in Asher Link. How does he respond? By leading the Patriots to a second straight state championship and looking flat out dominant in that state championship game. Francis was a prospect who we were very interested in seeing coming into the 2020 season. We saw his work at the JV level in 2019 and saw a skillset that would be something to watch and we wanted to see how much of it would follow him to the varsity level. It didn’t take long to realize that Francis was the real deal, even though he never really started a game with Metro as a sophomore. He did get the majority of the snaps while a senior would make the start in each game. Francis led the Patriots to another state title and he’ll have Metro at the top of the 2A rankings coming into the 2021 season. He’s an efficient passer who can throw it all over the yard and has earned his spot in the Top 20 for overall prospects. He’s been in this spot for two straight ranking updates and it doesn’t appear that he’s going to go anywhere anytime soon. [player_tooltip player_id="51037" first="Austin" last="Havens"] - Owasso (Ranked 18th Overall) Owasso quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="51037" first="Austin" last="Havens"] came into the 2020 season in a quarterback battle to earn the starting spot. Eventually, Havens would win and took over shortly after the season began. He helped the Rams to an undefeated regular season but they would fall short in the playoffs, getting beaten down by eventual champion Jenks. Havens not only returns but he’ll have nearly all of his weapons back in 2021. He has the potential to put up some big numbers when you look at some of his supporting cast. However, Havens might have to add another element to his game as the Rams enter 2021. Havens is one of the fastest quarterbacks in the 2023 class but not many people know that because he never had to use his legs. But with Owasso having to replace all five starters along the offensive line, Havens might be on the move a little more than fans are accustomed to seeing. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as he has the potential to make even more plays with his legs. Adding that dynamic to his game is going to be fun to watch this fall. [player_tooltip player_id="98172" first="Luke" last="Adcock"] - Eufaula (Ranked 38th Overall) Out of all the quarterbacks in this 2023 group, and it’s a very deep group, Eufaula’s [player_tooltip player_id="98172" first="Luke" last="Adcock"] is the only one that is currently committed. Now, he’s not committed to play football at the next level. He’s committed to Seminole State to play college baseball. We’ve never seen Adcock play baseball but after doing a little research, it’s pretty clear that he’s incredibly talented on the baseball diamond and that might be where ends up. However, we’re not giving up on his abilities on the gridiron anytime soon as he is very clearly one of the more underrated quarterbacks in this 2023 class. We’re marking down 2021 as the breakout year for Adcock as Eufaula has some serious weapons returning around Adcock and they’ll. be airing it out more than they have before. He’s going to become a name in Oklahoma for putting up some monster numbers with his arm and we just want you to know where you heard his name first. We’ve never talked with Adcock and he might just love baseball more and that’s understandable. But he has the potential to be one of the better quarterbacks in this state’s class and we believe that by the time he’s a senior, he’ll have some options. [player_tooltip player_id="51855" first="DeAngelo" last="Irvin Jr"] - Midwest City (Ranked 68th Overall) Similar to Adcock at Eufaula, baseball might be the best sport for Midwest City’s signal caller in [player_tooltip player_id="51855" first="DeAngelo" last="Irvin Jr"]. And just like Adcock, we’ll admit that we’ve never seen Irvin play baseball but find it hard to believe that he can be better on the diamond rather than the gridiron. Irvin enjoyed a breakout season for the Bombers as he led them to an appearance in the 6A-2 semifinals and traded punches with eventual champion Bixby. Irvin is a player that we like a lot because of his ability to extend plays and make throws on the run. You can tell that he’s a baseball talent because he’s not the biggest quarterback prospect but he makes up for it with an absolute rocket launcher attached to his shoulder. The height will be a question when it comes to his full potential but after watching him in person a few times last year, I don’t care what the height is, he was one of the best quarterbacks I saw in person last year. Irvin is one of the best in the state at making something out of nothing. That doesn’t mean he’s a scrambler because he always tried to keep the play alive by escaping the pocket. However, he could burn a defense by tucking the ball and running. Other Ranked Quarterbacks [player_tooltip player_id="54349" first="Blaze" last="Berlowitz"] - Cushing (Ranked 20th Overall) [player_tooltip player_id="157511" first="Todd" last="Drummond"] - Pawhuska (Ranked 41st Overall) [player_tooltip player_id="98174" first="Cal" last="Swanson"] - Ardmore (Ranked 48th Overall) [player_tooltip player_id="51055" first="Carson" last="Laverty"] - Putnam City North (Ranked 66th Overall) [player_tooltip player_id="157515" first="Chance" last="Wilson"] - Rejoice Christian (Ranked 69th Overall) [player_tooltip player_id="38818" first="Carson" last="Trimble"] - Grove (Ranked 70th Overall) [player_tooltip player_id="157517" first="Gage" last="Gundy"] - Stillwater (Ranked 75th Overall) [player_tooltip player_id="69271" first="Lathan" last="Boone"] - Booker T Washington (Ranked 80th Overall) [player_tooltip player_id="62997" first="Justin" last="Humphrey"] - Pauls Valley (Ranked 84th Overall) [player_tooltip player_id="38800" first="Kye" last="Davis"] - Christian Heritage (Ranked 87th Overall)