South Jersey rich in quarterbacks

This is one of the best years for South Jersey quarterbacks in recent memory, but trying to pinpoint why this year is different is as difficult as stopping the many wide-open offenses that are becoming commonplace throughout the area.

Improved training techniques and the proliferation of spread offenses are the two main reasons given for the quarterback upsurge.

Those two factors were in play last year, and there were no players recruited as quarterbacks to Football Bowl Subdivision schools (formerly Division I-A).

Even All-South Jersey quarterback Brent Caprio of Mainland, who had one of the better seasons in recent South Jersey history, signed with William and Mary, a Football Championship Subdivision school (formerly I-AA).

So while there is no doubt that the more offense-friendly systems have helped in developing quarterbacks, the bottom line is that this is just one of those special years - like 1988, which featured Cherry Hill East's Glenn Foley and Holy Spirit's Al Mallen - in which there is already one I-A recruit and could be a few more.

The class of the class is Camden Catholic senior Joe Brennan, who has made an oral commitment to attend Wisconsin.

Last year was his first as a starter for the 6-foot-4, 195-pound Brennan. He completed 147 of 255 passes for 2,438 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Audubon's Brandon Hill, who was a teammate in midget football with Brennan, has an offer from Rutgers, along with high-profile I-AA Delaware. Other schools such as Miami, Tennessee and Purdue remain in the picture, as does I-AA Hofstra.

"I want to go where it's the best fit, and it doesn't matter if it is I-A or I-AA," Hill said.

St. Augustine senior Dustin Thomas, who is in line to set several career South Jersey passing records, has been offered a scholarship by I-A Akron of the pass-happy Mid-American Conference. More offers could be in store.

And that doesn't take into consideration Middle Township's Nolan Quinn, who is a fourth-year starter and threw for 1,443 yards and 13 touchdowns in nine games last year.

In addition, Haddonfield's Phil Bhaya might be the best dual threat. Last season, the 6-1, 180-pound Bhaya passed for 1,460 yards and 14 touchdowns and ran for 878 yards (8.28 average) and 14 touchdowns.

While it's likely that Bhaya will be recruited more as a defensive back than a quarterback, it still all adds up to a bonanza at the quarterback position.

"I would call it a really good year for quarterbacks in South Jersey," said recruiting expert Dennis McCarthy, whose "McCarthy Report" is sold to colleges. "All those guys you mentioned are really good, plus I like other guys like Sean Allen at Moorestown and Jordan Raynor at Pemberton."

In this era of specialization, where quarterbacks especially are geared for football and nothing else, this year's group of special signal-callers all have one thing in common - they play at least one other high school sport.

And all of them have versatility to their games. These quarterbacks are not just robotic throwers but can run and pass with equal flare.

Brennan, Hill, Thomas, and Quinn played basketball last winter. Bhaya is an accomplished lacrosse player.

"One of the things that makes a quarterback successful is that the great ones love to compete in more than one sport," said Ed Foley, the Temple recruiting coordinator and former standout lineman at Cherry Hill East whose brother Glenn is a former NFL quarterback from Boston College. "Some of those are really good athletes who are competitors and feel they can't go a season without competing."

While NCAA rules prohibit Foley from commenting on specific players, he acknowledged that it is a good year for quarterbacks in South Jersey.

He says that a combination of things have created this situation.

"Guys do a great job training kids at a younger age," Foley said. "And the coaches have done a good job at the high school level, schools that traditionally ran the ball are now throwing it."

Again, these wide-open offenses have been in place for a number of years, although more teams are incorporating them. It's getting somebody to operate them that is the key.

McCarthy places great emphasis on mobility. He ranks Brennan as the top quarterback in the state, with Thomas third, Hill fourth, and Quinn sixth. McCarthy admits that having four of the top six from South Jersey, is unusual.

He said Brennan's versatility has made him the top-ranked quarterback.

"He can run, makes all the throws, and he is a big kid," McCarthy said, "He has an arm but can also move."

Again, that mobility has no doubt been helped by playing basketball. Brennan was a reserve for Camden Catholic, one of the top basketball programs in South Jersey.

All the quarterbacks realize that this year's class is considered above the norm.

"This is a great group this year," Brennan said. "South Jersey teams are throwing the ball, and I don't think nationally we get as much credit."

St. Augustine's Thomas, who has 51 career TD passes and is well within reach of the South Jersey career record of 64 set by Holy Cross' Tom Reilly, is another player who said that the imaginative offenses have created better prospects.

"Before I got to the Prep, they were in the wing-T, and as soon as I got there, we went in the shotgun," Thomas said. "That helps a quarterback pre-read before the snap. If you are dropping back, it's difficult to make a read, especially as a young quarterback."

Still, colleges recruit on the tape measure and prefer their quarterbacks the size of Brennan or Audubon's Hill, who is 6-5 and 210 pounds.

The system may help for sure, but a quarterback has to make all the throws, and in this era, must have the mobility to escape pressure.

It just so happens several fit that bill this year in South Jersey. Still, despite the more wide-open offenses, it's still considered a good year if even one person from this area has a I-A offer to play quarterback at the next level.

That is why when watching the various aerial circuses in South Jersey, one should bear in mind how difficult it is to throw the football so well and catch the attention of I-A schools at the same time.