Howard may be a surprising choice for our No. 1 spot in the rankings, but I think he’s the clear choice. He has experience, arm talent, and production. He’s thrown for nearly 5,000 yards and 54 touchdowns in two seasons as a starter, and to my knowledge, he’s the most-experienced starter not just in Harnett County, but in the Raleigh-Durham metro.

Harnett Central isn’t though of as a football power, but Howard is doing his best to change that. His rankings bump is the result of extra film study, a session that left me more impressed with his easy velocity and calm demeanor in the pocket. If you’re going to be a pocket passer in this day and age, you better have accuracy and the ability to move around before the throw. Howard’s pocket presence (Few sacks) and accuracy (65% completion percentage on 10 yards per attempt) are up there with the best in the state.

Howard might be the best pure passer in the area, as the ball jumps out of his hand when he lets it go. In a list full of dual-threats, he’s a pocket passer with a quick trigger and good pocket awareness. After a 31-touchdown season last year, Howard will look to build on his sophomore success and eight-win season for Harnett County.

In leading Harnett Central to their best overall season since 2010, Koby had some great production from the pocket. Koby had 2237 passing yards, 31 touchdown passes, and completed 65 percent of his passes. It appears Koby’s top two receivers are returning from an 8-3 overall team, so there is the potential for an even bigger season from Koby. The most impressive I like about Koby’s film is when he is in rhythm in the pocket and not pressured, everything is smooth and he delivers the football with nice accuracy and touch. He looks in command from the pocket with high confidence. Koby also shows the ability to move within the pocket when pressured and keep his eyes downfield to make big throws.