QB1 Greisen Leads the Way For Top QB Performances From State

State is such an exciting time. Team goals are being accomplished, and it is truly 14 teams that have done the best job of executing their gameplans and utilizing their strengths the best. Those strengths were in a variety of areas. Passing, rushing, defense or a combination of those. We begin our series recapping the Stars of State by looking at the top QB performances from the event. There was no shortage of talent or production at this position. Greisen leads the way with 300+ yards, we have dual threats that went for 100+ with their arm and legs, and we have some very clutch efforts that kept things competitive until the end. Let's dive into what we saw from the best signal callers.    Stats: 16/26, 304 Yards, 2 TDs   It was great to get to watch the best QB in the state ball out one last time before he heads off to South Dakota for his college career. The leader of the best passing offense in the state delivered a great final act, going for over 300 yards and a pair of TDs. It could have easily been 4 TDs as his receiver was drug down at the 1 twice. But from start to finish it was dominance. Patrick spread the ball around, surgically attacked every level of the field with pinpoint accuracy, and flashed the arm strength needed to win a D1 job down the road. Patrick is a natural passer with sharp mechanics. The ball jumps out of his hand, and mentally he has such a great grasp of his offense and knew where every read was and where to go with the ball. It was dominant and earned WDP a D2 State Championship.     Stats: 15/18, 226 Pass Yards, 3 TDs, 2 Rush Yards, 1 TD   In his final football game of his career, SJCA's [player_tooltip player_id='1603927' first='Zach' last='Rizzo'] put on an absolute show to secure the D7 State Championship. Just from the stats alone you can see how surgical Zach was. He hit his man in stride on essentially every pass. The senior was fearless with his decision making too, pushing the ball deep downfield to utilize his mismatches out wide. The senior has an elite frame at 6'5" 240 lbs and was able to put that into his velocity when needed. It was great to see how well he could control that velocity and utilize touch when needed too. Every time Zach dropped back I was expecting a big play and every time he delivered. Good luck to you Zach in your pursuit of baseball at the next level!     Stats: 11/16, 149 Pass Yards, 2 TDs, 22 Carries, 123 Rush Yards, 1 TD   I have been hoping all year that Winneconne would make it to State so that we could get eyes on Iowa WR commit [player_tooltip player_id='700025' first='Brody' last='Schaffer']. Those dreams came true, and Brody went on a tear to help his team secure the Championship. Through the air you got to see his superior athletic talent and how much of a natural passer and overall athlete he is. He has that ability to thrive at any position at the HS level and having him at QB also opened up the ability for him to use his legs. That is what changed the game. At any moment the senior was able to tuck it and pick up huge chunks at a time. His ability to accelerate and his top end speed were a nightmare for the front seven to contain. The overall playmaking we saw from the senior in the biggest moments was elite and clutch. It was the perfect cap to his career since taking over as QB last season. Good luck with the Hawkeyes, Brody, and congrats on the Championship!     Stats: 4/7, 64 Pass Yards, 1 TD, 12 Carries, 133 Rush Yards, 3 TDs   What a showing from Darlington overall and from QB [player_tooltip player_id='1620343' first='Zeke' last='Zuberbuhler']. The passing was minimal, and that is because the rushing attack was so lethal for Darlington. Zeke was a huge contributor to that success. He carries the ball like an RB, showing great vision and acceleration through the gap. Plus the junior is so physically strong that he was able to consistently break arm tackles and end plays falling forward. The 2027 did a great job with his decision making on top of that, knowing when to keep it himself and when to let his backfield mates eat. Zeke has made a massive jump over this past year and is quickly becoming one of the better athletes in the Class of 2027. He is going to be a big riser in the rankings update.     Stats: 10/16, 133 Pass Yards, 25 Carries, 128 Rush Yards, 1 TD   What a gritty performance in the final game of Stevens' career. Matt battled for 48 straight minutes in the D1 Championship game. He was an accurate passer, got the ball out quickly, and demonstrated the arm talent to easy attack the deepest parts of the field with his speedy weapons. The 6'4" 210 lbs senior also was a workhorse as a runner. He was grinding out tough yards and slowly was wearing down the defense. We saw him break a few runs as the game went on, and then also set up defenders to always be wrong with his option carries/decisions. While he and his team came up short it was a heck of a final performance from the uncommitted senior. Coaches, you need to check this kid out. Size, arm talent, dual threat, and a competitive drive up there with the best of them.     Stats: 17/33, 206 Pass Yards, 11 Rush Yards   What a CLUTCH performance from the senior signal caller. Nicholas did a great job of spreading the ball around, ending with 5 athletes having at least 1 reception. He was quick to get the ball out and accurate to all three levels of the field. He picked up first downs and kept things rolling and balanced for the Grafton offense throughout the game. Then came the final minute when he had to make the biggest throws of his life. Schiller would deliver and drive his team down the field and into position for a game-winning field goal. It was a perfect drive. Moving the team downfield, getting guys out of bounds and also in positions to run after the catch. It was as clutch as you could hope for on the biggest stage.     Stats: 13/25, 176 Pass Yards, 1 TD   This was Parker's breakout season. He led C-FC to a 13-1 record and a trip to state while beating multiple strong teams on the way. They came up short on Thursday morning, but the junior is an intriguing small school product to keep an eye on. He is an athletic kid who also plays safety for the team. We didn't see that at State, though. Instead he focused on using his arm to attack short to intermediate and then chose his deep shots wisely. Being such a natural athlete, the junior has an easy throwing motion that is efficient and gets the ball out quickly. He is definitely raw, but that natural athleticism makes things easy for him and is a great tool to lean on when things break down. The 2027 may be best as an ATH, and coaches should definitely be getting him out for camps this spring/summer to verify that athleticism of his.     Stats: 9/16, 202 Pass Yards, 1 TD   This Northwestern offense has been one of the most explosive all season and we saw it in action at different points on Thursday night. Kamden is the general of that attack as QB. Thursday night the junior was very aggressive. He pushed the ball deep downfield to his speedy weapons and did a great job of protecting the ball while giving his guys a great chance to come down with it. That is how he was able to break 200 yards with only 9 completions on the night. The kid is a talented athlete too. We didn't see him take off much in the final game, but that is a part of his game. This is a 2027 to have on your radars for this next year.     Stats: 7/13, 88 Pass Yards, 1 TD   When it comes to the size of the workload Nolan didn't have to do a ton, but what he had to do was deliver when called upon. That is what the rising 2027 did. His TD pass came on a perfectly located pass that dropped right over the shoulder of his WR1 while he was in traffic. The junior also showed off great touch to attack the intermediate level in between defenders. Nolan is a technically sounded passer with a lot of arm talent, and he now has 14 games under his belt to build upon for a big senior season. This is one of the best at the position in terms of returning athletes. He is a need to know athlete.

State is such an exciting time. Team goals are being accomplished, and it is truly 14 teams that have done the best job of executing their gameplans and utilizing their strengths the best. Those strengths were in a variety of areas. Passing, rushing, defense or a combination of those. We begin our series recapping the Stars of State by looking at the top QB performances from the event. There was no shortage of talent or production at this position. Greisen leads the way with 300+ yards, we have dual threats that went for 100+ with their arm and legs, and we have some very clutch efforts that kept things competitive until the end. Let's dive into what we saw from the best signal callers.