Nevada Preps quarterback countdown — No. 3
Whoever wins the Bishop Gorman quarterback battle between Micah Bowens and Donovan Smith comes in at No. 3 on our list of Southern Nevada’s top five quarterbacks.
Bowens and Smith are battling for the open starting spot, and that may not be determined until closer to the first game.
To create the list, we spoke with coaches from the Mountain and Desert Regions in Class 4A. A couple of the base questions were: “Who is the top high school quarterback today?” and “Who would you pick to start a team?”
Then we grabbed the statistics from last season, looked at the player’s collective rankings on recruiting websites and used our own judgment to fill holes.
Stay tuned for our running back, wide receiver/pass catcher and defensive player lists that will be unveiled each week until the end of July.
Nevada Preps Quarterback Rank: Bishop Gorman’s Micah Bowens or Donovan Smith No. 3
Class
Bowens: 2020
Smith: 2020
Vitals
Bowens: 6 feet, 1 inch; 180 pounds
Smith: 6 feet, 4 inches; 192 pounds
Honors
N/A
Recruiting
Bowens has offers from Arizona, BYU, Kansas, Nebraska and New Mexico.
Last year’s stats
Bowens was the backup quarterback for the Gaels, completing 15 of 25 passes for 150 yards and four touchdowns. He rushed 19 times for 183 yards and a touchdown, and had four interceptions with 19 tackles.
Smith was Gorman’s JV quarterback, going 2-for-6 for 16 yards with the varsity squad, and rushed 11 times for 79 yards and a touchdown.
What they are saying
On Bowens:
— “Gorman has a kid that’s pretty talented, I just don’t know that much about him,” a Mountain Region coach said. “I heard some good things about what he’s doing.”
— “Gorman’s guy, I know he didn’t start, but he’ll be pretty good,” a Desert Region coach said.
— “Phenomenal athlete, fits into (their) offense really well and what (they) do at the read-option,” a Desert Region coach said.
On Smith:
— “Really good athlete. I think he took fifth or sixth at state in the 110 hurdles,” a Desert Region coach said. “He’s a bigger quarterback, about 6-3. Was the JV quarterback. He can run the read-option as well.”
Nevada Preps Quarterback Rank: Foothill’s Koy Riggin No. 4
Class
2020
Vitals
5 feet, 11 inches; 160 pounds
Honors
N/A
Recruiting
N/A
Last year’s stats
Riggin grabbed the reigns as a sophomore and completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,917 yards and 20 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. He also ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns. He was 21-for-31 for 207 yards and three touchdowns in a Sunrise Region playoff victory against Las Vegas.
What they are saying
— “What’s good about Koy is that he’s a very smart kid,” a Desert Region coach said. “He’s gotten stronger physically.”
— “He’s got strong blood. His older brother was a quarterback there. I thought he did a really good job for them,” a Desert Region coach said. “They’re arguably our toughest team in our division on paper.”
— “He’s very accurate,” a Desert Region coach said. “He puts the ball in the right place.”
Nevada Preps Quarterback Rank: Shadow Ridge’s Kody Presser No. 5
Class
2019
Vitals
5 feet, 10 inches; 155 pounds
Honors
All-Northwest League Second Team (2017)
Recruiting
N/A
Last year’s stats
Presser attempted only 44 passes last season, but ran the Mustangs’ option offense. He rushed 105 times for 846 yards and a team-high 13 touchdowns. The yards and touchdowns were the most by Class 4A quarterbacks.
What they are saying
— “Gutsy kid. I think he wore No. 33 last year. It’s a linebacker essentially playing quarterback,” a Mountain Region coach said. “He makes a lot of plays for them. Is he traditionally a quarterback or a guy that can stand in the pocket and throw? I don’t know if that’s the case.”
— “Kody can be a monster. I really, truly believe that,” a Mountain Region coach said. “You’re talking about a kid that ran for 900 yards. He has a possibility of rushing for 1,000 yards a the quarterback spot.”
— “The quarterback at Shadow Ridge should be pretty good,” a Desert Region coach said. “He’s real experienced in the offense and a lot of leadership.”
To get involved in the discussion, use #NVPrepsFB on Twitter. You also can follow along @nevadapreps.
