Why Wall starting quarterback Gunnar Dillard won't play the 2024 football season

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Wall's starting quarterback for the last two seasons, Gunnar Dillard, plans to forgo the 2024 football season, head football coach Craig Slaughter confirmed Tuesday.

Dillard helped lead Wall to an 11-3 record last season, recording 1,193 yards and 17 touchdowns passing, adding 673 yards and 16 touchdowns rushing to earn District 2-3A Division II MVP honors and an All-West Texas honorable mention.

The University of Oklahoma commit plans to focus his efforts on baseball in his last year of school. This spring, he was one of West Texas' best hitters, posting a .564 batting average, adding 17 doubles, five home runs and three triples.

Junior Landon York and senior Caleb Braden are the leaders in the clubhouse to take over at quarterback ahead of Aug. 5 when fall practices start, Slaughter said.

The football program will also be without senior running back Luke Kemp this season, as he also prepares for the baseball season. He rushed for 512 yards and seven touchdowns last season and was a first-team all-district kicker for the Hawks football team.

Kemp finished last year's baseball season with a .468 batting average, a .532 on-base percentage, 12 doubles, six home runs and two triples.

Paul Witwer covers high school sports and Angelo State University sports for The San Angelo Standard-Times. Reach him at sports@gosanangelo.com . Follow him on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @Paul_Witwer

This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Why Wall starting quarterback Gunnar Dillard won't play the 2024 football season