Behind the Rankings: 2023 Quarterbacks

With the 2023 high school football season getting closer and closer to kickoff, our initial rankings for the class of 2023 are finally complete. Over the next couple weeks, I will go into detail on how the rankings at each position came to be. To kick things off, I will start with the position that is constantly in the middle of the spotlight as the leader of the team. In the state of Kentucky, I found that there are many talented quarterbacks in the incoming senior class, but these are the ones that stood out the most in my eyes.   <h2 style="font-size:17px">1. [player_tooltip player_id=’324205’ first=’Jacob’ last=’Jones’]| 6’2", 200 lbs.| West Jessamine High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12991503/61a5b3e7a0199f0a206dd7e3">Junior Year Film</a></h2>   While this class does have several talented quarterbacks, Jones clearly stood out to me above the rest. He comes from an impressive football bloodline as his father, Pookie Jones, played quarterback at the University of Kentucky. Jacob has stepped out from his dad’s shadow and made quite the name for himself as a true dual-threat quarterback. Last season, Jones threw for 1,700 yards and 18 touchdowns while rushing for 689 yards and 16 scores. His combination of a cannon for an arm and the ability to run both by and through defenders in the open field makes him a very difficult player for defensive coordinators to prepare for. He currently only holds an offer from Kentucky but I expect more to come for him this season.   <h2 style="font-size:17px">2. [player_tooltip player_id=’145760’ first=’Pryor’ last=’Lamb’]| 6’1", 190 lbs.| McCracken County High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12441096/6194658e7bd3670b9c57ff0a">Junior Year Film</a></h2>   [player_tooltip player_id=’145760’ first=’Pryor’ last=’Lamb’] is a name that has caught the eyes of our entire team at Prep Redzone Kentucky this off-season. Lamb is coming off an outstanding junior season in which he finished fourth in 6A in passing with 2,131 yards and 19 touchdowns, along with six rushing touchdowns. The thing that stood out to me the most with him is his ability to move in the pocket and escape when under pressure. He knows when to step up in the pocket and deliver a strike and also has the ability to scramble outside the pocket and make very impressive throws on the run. Lamb also throws an incredible deep ball with impressive arm strength and the ability to place the ball where only his receiver can get it. He doesn’t have any official offers at the moment but I expect them to come soon as he has received a ton of college interest and I believe he could be a great FCS/Division II level prospect at the very least, if not even higher than that.   <h2 style="font-size:17px">3. [player_tooltip player_id=’145761’ first=’Chase’ last=’Crone’]| 6’2", 195 lbs.| Simon Kenton High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11433556/61af9b05ff024a0ba464a193">Junior Year Film</a></h2>   Crone comes into his senior season with high expectations as one of the top quarterbacks in the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati area. He will be looking to improve on a very impressive junior season in which he threw for 1,638 yards and 13 touchdowns. Crone has an impressive arm with the ability to lead his receiver down the field. While he is impressive throwing the ball, he is also dangerous as a ball carrier. He has the speed to scramble to escape pressure and also is used in read option situations where he shows the ability to keep the ball and pick up a ton of yards as a ball carrier. Crone already holds offers from Long Island (FCS), Thomas More (Division II), Ohio Dominican (Division II), Walsh (Division II), and Centre (Divsion III), and I expect many more of those types of offers to come as I believe he can be a very successful college quarterback somewhere.   <h2 style="font-size:17px">4. [player_tooltip player_id=’145758’ first=’Cameron’ last=’Combs’]| 6’1", 190 lbs.| Corbin High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12775852/614b524706609f0808b4dfda">Junior Year Film</a></h2>   While Combs has been getting a lot of attention for his play on the baseball diamond, he is just as special of a player on the football field. He is a true dual-threat quarterback with the ability to use his speed to take off and completely outrun the defense to pick up huge yards on the ground. As a passer, he shows an impressive ability to scramble outside the pocket and keep his eyes downfield to make incredible throws on the run. He puts a great amount of zip on his passes which helps him fit the ball into tight windows where only his receiver has a chance to catch it. As I mentioned, he is a great baseball player and is committed to play catcher at Bellarmine University but he also has a football offer from Eastern Kentucky and could very easily play quarterback at the next level if he were to have a sudden change of heart.   <h2 style="font-size:17px">5. [player_tooltip player_id=’328124’ first=’Travis’ last=’Egan’]| 6’2", 200 lbs.| Bullitt East High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12920065/619e40bb4797960964805b37">Junior Year Film</a></h2>   If [player_tooltip player_id=’328124’ first=’Travis’ last=’Egan’] can somehow improve on or even just replicate his 2021 season, he will have a lot of college coaches making their way to Bullitt East to watch him play. Egan finished second in 6A in passing as a junior, throwing for 2,614 yards and 30 touchdowns last season. He also added 434 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns. Egan is at his most dangerous in the deep passing game. He has an incredible arm with a just as impressive amount of touch on his passes when throwing down the field. He shows the ability to lead his receivers to help them create separation against opposing corners but can also fit the ball in tight windows where only his receiver can get it. While he doesn’t currently hold any official offers, I believe they will start to pile up soon for Egan as he has been receiving interest from multiple college programs.   Best of the Rest (Players included in Top 150):   6. [player_tooltip player_id=’331695’ first=’Tristen’ last=’Hawkins’]| 5’11, 185 lbs.| Ballard High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11226467/6237d70cb3d28608b4fdd4da">Junior Year Film</a>   7. [player_tooltip player_id=’385934’ first=’Gabe’ last=’Nichols’]| 6’0", 200 lbs.| Great Crossing High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11798286/612da760176cfc09cc43a099">Junior Year Film</a>   8. [player_tooltip player_id=’324210’ first=’Cooper’ last=’Stone’]| 6’2", 190 lbs.| Bethlehem High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12974486/616caf5a2aa6e603b8a59569">Junior Year Film</a>   9. [player_tooltip player_id=’324208’ first=’Christian’ last=’Combs’]| 6’0", 175 lbs.| Apollo High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/13524681/6182d9e090f031091cbca34f">Junior Year Film</a>   10. [player_tooltip player_id=’324206’ first=’Cole’ last=’Colony’]| 6’2", 175 lbs.| Paul Laurence Dunbar High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12446407/61990a9004287c02a0528241">Junior Year Film</a>   11. [player_tooltip player_id=’331740’ first=’Hagan’ last=’Harrison’]| 6’2", 200 lbs.| Madison Central High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11339876/61e64c5702b16809c42b67fa">Junior Year Film</a>   12. [player_tooltip player_id=’386197’ first=’Hayden’ last=’Dawahare’]| 6’3", 210 lbs.| Lexington Catholic High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/14306133/614a5f6d8cdddc1488d3eff6">Junior Year Film</a>   13. [player_tooltip player_id=’342947’ first=’Zaccary’ last=’Roberts’]| 5’11", 185 lbs.| Covington Catholic High School| <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FexCavmXyfE">Junior Year Film</a>   14. [player_tooltip player_id=’324207’ first=’Blake’ last=’Van Horn’]| 6’2", 180 lbs.| Henry Clay High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12991496/613a245ebed6e008249ad7ed">Junior Year Film</a>

With the 2023 high school football season getting closer and closer to kickoff, our initial rankings for the class of 2023 are finally complete. Over the next couple weeks, I will go into detail on how the rankings at each position came to be. To kick things off, I will start with the position that is constantly in the middle of the spotlight as the leader of the team. In the state of Kentucky, I found that there are many talented quarterbacks in the incoming senior class, but these are the ones that stood out the most in my eyes.