Tulare County has produced some of the top quarterbacks in Central Section history.
Two former signal callers — Farmersville's Sam Metcalf and Tulare Union's Nathan Lamb — culminated their preps career with more than 10,000 yards passing.
Metcalf holds the all-time Tulare County passing yardage record with 11,924. Lamb threw for 11,337 yards. Both went on to play at the collegiate level.
Lamb is currently playing at the NCAA Division I level and is a senior at Western Illinois University.
Just last season, a pair of Tulare County senior passers set individual school records while guiding their team to a state championship game in their respective division.
More: 2024 Tulare County Football: 50 things you need to know before the season starts
Mission Oak's Daniel Gonzalez set the all-time career Mission Oak passing yards record. He finished with 6,073 yards passing and 60 touchdowns to lead the Hawks to the 2023 Central Section Division III championship and an appearance in the CIF State Division 4-A title game.
In his final season at CVC, Brent Kroeze established a single-season school record with 38 touchdown passes while guiding the Cavaliers to the 2023 Central Section Division II championship and a CIF State Division 2-AA trophy.
Tulare County's strong arms tradition will likely continue this season.
Here are seven of the top returning Tulare County quarterbacks with starting experience to watch during the 2024 campaign:
Jordan Crisp, Tulare Union
Crisp is only a junior and is already among the elite quarterbacks in the Central Section. Coming off a 4,000-yard passing sophomore campaign, the 5-foot-9 field general enters his third year as a starter with 5,022 career yards passing and accounted for 63 total touchdowns (56 passing, seven rushing). With 17 starts under his belt, Crisp is the most experienced quarterback in Tulare County this season. He averages nearly 300 yards passing per game in Tulare Union's high-octane spread offense. In stats reported to MaxPreps.com, Crisp was the unofficial passing yards leader in California last season.
Ethan Enriquez, Porterville
Enriquez saw action last season as a sophomore and rolls into his junior year as the starter in Porterville. The 6-foot-1 Enriquez put together his best performances in the postseason during the Panthers' run in the 2023 Central Section Division III playoffs. Against Pioneer Valley in the first round, he threw for a career-high 244 yards and four touchdowns to direct the Panthers to a 41-3 win. Then in a quarterfinal showdown at Mission College Prep, he fired for 217 yards and a touchdown but the Panthers fell short on the final play and lost 15-14. Porterville is one of the top teams in Tulare County this season.
Tony Ibarra, Dinuba
Ibarra started as a freshman in his first season as a high school football player in 2023. In four games, he passed for 262 yards and a touchdown. A year older, he enters his sophomore campaign as the Emperors' starting quarterback and will control the team's pro-style base offense. Dinuba advanced to the Central Section Division II playoffs last season and is coming off a five-win season.
Jacob Molina, Exeter
Molina is one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the Central Section. He was named the 2023 Tri-County Conference Kings Canyon division Most Valuable Player after leading the Monarchs to a share of the league championship. Molina is coming off one of the best seasons for a quarterback in Exeter history. During his junior year, he threw for 2,297 yards and 28 touchdowns against only five interceptions. He also led the team with 11 rushing touchdowns and finished with 677 yards rushing. The Monarchs won 11 games last season.
Jayden Najera, Golden West
Najera saw snaps behind center last year as a freshman and also earned playing time at running back and receiver. In a limited role, he passed for 210 yards and two touchdowns in Golden West's Air Raid offensive scheme. He also rushed for 142 yards and caught 12 passes for 166 yards with four total touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving). The Trailblazers are one of the top-throwing teams in Tulare County under offensive coordinator Michael Machado. The former Mission Oak and Porterville head coach has helped tutor a handful of Tulare County quarterbacks who have posted 2,000-plus passing yards seasons, most recently with former Golden West standout Raymon Velazquez.
Micah Rodriguez, Mt. Whitney
The reigning EYL Offensive Player of the Year, Rodriguez is the most experienced quarterback in Visalia this season. During his breakout junior campaign, he led the Pioneers to an outright EYL championship — the program's first league championship since the 2000 season. Rodriguez passed for more than 1,500 yards with 21 touchdowns last season. He had one of his best performances in the annual Cowhide rivalry game against Redwood, hitting 23-of-36 passes for 179 yards and three touchdowns in a 20-14 overtime victory.
Luke Sanchez, Redwood
Sanchez was a part-time starter as a sophomore last season and led Redwood with 768 yards passing and eight touchdowns. The Rangers won six games in 2023 and advanced to the Central Section Division II playoffs. He had one of his most productive games in a 35-7 win over Golden West when he completed nearly 69% of his passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
More: 2024 Tulare County Football: Cowhide, Bell Game highlight Top 9 games to watch this season
Other Tulare County quarterback names to know:
- Ziler Alamanza, Farmersville
- Jordan Arreola, Redwood
- Isaiah Colunga, Strathmore
- Josh Fraley, Tulare Western
- Ricky Franco, Mission Oak
- Uriah Guerrero, Lindsay
- JuJu Hernandez, Tulare Western
- Angel Hinojosa, Granite Hills
- Michael Lopez, Orosi
- Aldo Rodriguez, Woodlake
- Glenn Smith, El Diamante
- Rhyan Vinson, Granite Hills
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Tulare County Football: Check out the top 7 Quarterbacks to watch in 2024, plus a few extra
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