High school quarterbacks to watch for in Escambia, Santa Rosa counties entering 2024 season

Welcome to the high school football season.

Fall sports within the FHSAA officially kicked off practices on Monday, and football is no exception. As teams kick off their seasons, leaders on the field naturally begin to come out of the woodwork. At quarterback, some of those leaders have already been born after impressive 2023 campaigns.

With a handful of returning quarterbacks in the Pensacola area, plus a few newcomers, the field general position looks bright for northwest Florida.

Here's a list of quarterbacks to watch from the Escambia and Santa Rosa County area for the 2024 season.

Pensacola-area quarterbacks to watch for in 2024 season

Ryan Huff

High school: Pensacola Catholic

Class: Senior

After transferring from Kentucky last season, Ryan Huff was part of a strong Pensacola Catholic team that made its way to the state semifinals, falling in heartbreaking fashion in overtime to Bradford. While the Crusaders focused on a run-heavy presence during the playoffs, Huff was utilized a good amount in that final game. He finished the 2023 season with 2,018 yards passing and 14 touchdowns, completing 56.5% of passes. Now, in his second year with the program – ultimately getting more comfortable with the Crusaders' system – Huff has a few big-time weapons to throw to this fall after a couple receivers transferred into the program. Huff is committed to Old Dominion University.

Taite Davis

High school: Tate

Class: Senior

When asked about Taite Davis, Aggies head coach Rhett Summerford always talks about the big impact the quarterback has on the program. Then he quips, "Well, his name's Taite," as if it was destined to be that way. The spelling may be different than Tate High School, but the influence Davis has on the Aggies is huge. Davis led Tate to its first .500 season last year since 2017. He threw for 1,715 yards and 17 touchdowns, with a completion percentage of .655. Summerford said during the spring that Davis is much more "comfortable" at the position entering his senior season.

Tate Williams

High school: Milton

Class: Senior

Tate Williams was part of a two-quarterback system last year for Milton, pairing up with Ethan Diamond (who transferred in from Pace for his senior season). Williams' numbers weren't as high as some other quarterbacks in the area, throwing for just 924 yards and six touchdowns, completing 56.3% of passes. Now, after the spring, Williams appears to be the man for the job come this fall for the Panthers. Both Williams and head coach Kelly Gillis called the 2023 campaign a "learning lesson," and Gillis said there were some areas the duo helped "shore up" heading into the 2024 season.

Hayden Morris

High School: Jay

Class: Senior

Small-town high school football requires Hayden Morris to play on both sides of the ball, starting at quarterback and safety. At quarterback, Morris threw for 1,022 yards and 13 touchdowns, but also gained some good yardage on the ground with 346 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Jay utilized the run game pretty heavily in 2023 with Brock Stout leading the charge. Morris, now in his third year starting for the Royals, will have a big weapons to throw to in the fall, but can be sneaky on the ground.

Brock Stomps

High school: Gulf Breeze

Class: Senior

New to the Panhandle, and in his first year with Gulf Breeze, Brock Stomps, a rising senior, is the son of the Dolphins' new head coach, Jim Stomps. Brock was the starting quarterback at Westminster Christian Academy in Lafayette, Louisiana, where he was part of Westminster's growth from an eight-man football team, to joining the LHSAA as a probationary member. Brock Stomps will be Gulf Breeze's starting quarterback – standing at 6-foot-3 – and has a "field general" personality on the field, Jim Stomps said. Last year, at Westminster, Brock threw for 2,170 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Nino Freeman

High school: Escambia

Class: Senior

Welcome home, Nino. Freeman, who was last in northwest Florida with Pensacola High during his freshman season, is now at Escambia for his senior year. He spent two years away, playing at IMG Academy his sophomore season as a backup QB, then came closer to home and played his junior year at Niceville, which posted a 9-3 record – defeating a couple area teams in Pine Forest and Navarre during the season. Freeman played in just one game last year, throwing 407 yards in that contest.

Zakavius Andrews

High school: Pine Forest

Class: Sophomore

In his first year starting for Pine Forest, Zakavius Andrews will take over the starting quarterback role for James Clark. However, the Eagles were a pretty run-heavy team in 2023 with Miequle Brock rushing for 1,405 yards and nine touchdowns. Andrews played in a few games as a freshman, going just 2-for-4 in the air with 173 yards rushing. He also ran in for a touchdown. Head coach Tony Carter noted that Andrews "really took the bull by the horns" to prepare for the 2024 campaign.

Roman Marshall

High school: Navarre

Class: Junior

Roman Marshall will be starting quarterback for a Navarre squad that lost a few key members on offense, but has several rising seniors that will look to fill those roles. Marshall is no exception, replacing quarterback Hunter Pfiester, who threw for 1,917 yards and 17 touchdowns, adding 602 yards on the ground while finding the endzone eight times. Marshall, in just four games last year, went 4-for-5 at the varsity level for 33 yards.

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: High school quarterbacks to watch for in Escambia, Santa Rosa counties entering 2024 season