Jersey Shore AYF All-Star Tryouts: Quarterback Standouts

On a beautiful, sunny, late-September day, the reigning AYF 14u All-Star Division National Champions held their official tryout for the 2021 season. Jersey Shore AYF had well over 100 players hit the field in Jackson, N.J. in an effort to travel to Florida in December and contend for a national championship. Here’s a look at some of the quarterbacks that shined. <strong><img class="alignleft wp-image-212600 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/10/KahdenDavis-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />[player_tooltip player_id="205460" first="Kahden" last="Davis"] | Red Bank | 2027</strong> Davis is a big, thick quarterback with a pretty strong arm for this level. At 5-foot-9 he doesn’t have ideal height for a quarterback but that has never stopped him from throwing the rock all over the field with relative ease. When Davis gets all of his 170 pounds behind the throw and has time to step and fire it, there aren’t too many throw he can’t make. I was also pleasantly surprised at his ability to create with his legs when pressured or if plays break down. While certainly a pocket passer, what I saw in person and in film, leads him to be a very complete quarterback on this level. To top it all off, when Davis ducks the ball and takes off, he is a load to bring down as well. Just a 7^th grader (class of 2027) it will be interesting to watch him develop. <strong><img class="alignleft wp-image-212601 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/10/LukeIrwin-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />[player_tooltip player_id="212393" first="Luke" last="Irwin"] | Long Branch | 2026</strong> Another quarterback that had a great tryout was Long Branch Green Wave signal caller, [player_tooltip player_id="212393" first="Luke" last="Irwin"]. At 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, Irwin looked to be the most high school-ready quarterback at the tryout. He seemed to have a good rapport with many of the skill guys in attendance and carried himself with the moxy you want to a see signal caller have. The southpaw throws a nice ball with a delicate touch, proving he understands various situations and trusts his arm to make things happen. Another plus with Irwin is his ability to move the pocket and make throws on the run. Even when rolling to his right, he has been trained up to get his feet and shoulders towards his intended target to make the throws happen. <strong><img class="alignleft wp-image-212602 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/10/JackCannon-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Jack Cannon | Holmdel | 2026</strong> When watching Cannon warm up, I was initially impressed by the beautiful balls he was tossing around. Nearly every one of his passes came out of his hand with a tight spiral and with some mustard on it. After already liking what I saw, I really started to be impressed when I saw him move around—with very good speed. He proved to be a true dual-threat quarterback that can hurt defenses with both his arm and legs.  One of my only question marks for Cannon at this stage is his size, standing at only 5-foot-7 and 140 pounds. Obviously the size will come as he matures, but if he can keep his ability and grow a bit, he’s going to be a very dangerous high school player. <strong><img class="alignleft wp-image-212603 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/10/EliCoffman-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Eli Coffman | Jackson | 2026</strong> One of two quarterbacks from Jackson to attend the tryout, Coffman had a nice day at the tryout. Listed at 5-foot-9, he seemed a little taller up close. Coffman didn’t do any one thing at an elite level, but he was quite solid and fundamentally sound at several different things. In particular, I liked what I saw with his arm strength. Early on in the tryout the quarterbacks were throwing to each other and were instructed to continue to back up, as if they were playing long toss in baseball. Coffman was consistently throwing the required distance and the ball arrived with some pop, while other quarterbacks struggled a bit.