2021 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the quarterbacks
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Tuesday, August 17, 2021 | 7:27 AM
Gateway’s Brad Birch throws during practice Friday, Aug. 13, 2021 at Gateway High School.
West Allegheny quarterback Gavin Miller throws a pass during practice on Aug. 16, 2021, in North Fayette.
Armstrong quarterback Cadin Olsen throws during 7 on 7 completion on July 7, 2021 at Freeport Area High School.
Sto-Rox’s Josh Jenkins eludes Western Beaver’s Deondre Robinson during their game on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020, at Sto-Rox.
Mt. Lebanon quarterback Joey Daniels works out during practice on Aug. 11, 2021, in Mt Lebanon.
Bethel Park’s Max Blanc looks to make a pass during a 7 on 7 high school football tournament on Wednesday, July 18, 2021 at Bethel Park.
Starting today, TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here’s a look at the top quarterbacks for the 2021 season.
1. Brad Birch
Gateway
Sophomore, 6-2, 190
Birch already holds a college offer from Pac-12 school Oregon after a title-winning freshman season. He completed 115 of 182 attempts for 1,676 yards and 30 TDs last fall while leading Jeannette to the WPIAL Class A championship. Birch was the first freshman QB to start for the Jayhawks, a program that once produced Terrelle Pryor. Along with all-conference and all-state honors, Birch was named a national MaxPreps Freshman All-American. Now, he makes the jump to Class 5A. Birch moved into the Gateway district in the spring and is fully eligible for the regular season and postseason.
2. Gavin Miller
West Allegheny
Senior, 6-0, 180
Miller is a multi-sport athlete already committed to play college baseball at Auburn. He showed his arm strength on the football field last fall by passing for 1,527 yards and 12 touchdowns. He completed 111 of 200 throws. The Indians are counting on him to lead them back to the WPIAL playoffs after missing the postseason two years in a row. During baseball season, the right-hander went 9-2 with a 1.79 ERA and batted .300.
3. Cadin Olsen
Armstrong
Junior, 6-5, 205
Olsen needed just eight games to surpassed 2,000 passing yards last season while averaging 254 yards per week. He finished his sophomore season with 2,035 and ranked second in the WPIAL overall behind then-senior Cole Spencer of Pine-Richland. Olsen completed 118 of 230 attempts and threw 23 touchdowns with only three interceptions. He topped 300 yards in a game three times and threw four or more touchdowns four times.
4. Josh Jenkins
Sto-Rox
Junior, 6-3, 175
Jenkins was not exclusively a quarterback last season yet finished the year among the WPIAL passing leaders with 1,427 yards and 23 touchdowns. Vikings coach LaRoi Johnson at times used Jenkins at wide receiver, a “slash” role that earned him comparisons to former Steelers QB Kordell Stewart. The left-hander completed 75 of 122 throws and led Sto-Rox to the WPIAL Class 2A finals. He also made 13 receptions.
5. Joey Daniels
Mt. Lebanon
Senior, 5-9, 180
What Daniels may lack in height he makes up for in talent. He topped the 1,000-yard mark for the second year in a row despite covid-19 cancellations that limited his Blue Devils to seven games. He followed a 1,300-yard sophomore season with 1,053 passing yards as a junior. He completed 71 of 101 attempts and threw 14 touchdowns for the WPIAL Class 6A semifinalist.
ONE TO WATCH
Max Blanc
Bethel Park
Senior, 6-5, 210
The Black Hawks went winless last season but Blanc’s emergence was a bright spot for a team now expecting a bounce-back year. Once he claimed the QB job, Blanc completed 49 of 92 attempts for 436 yards and two touchdowns. He drew his first Division I offer from Youngstown State in mid-July and committed there 10 days later.
• • • • •
POSITION BREAKDOWNS
QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | CB | S | K
Top five coaching changes for 2021
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: Armstrong, Bethel Park, Gateway, Mt. lebanon, Sto-Rox, West Allegheny
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