#NVprepsfb top quarterback countdown — No. 1
Liberty’s Kenyon Oblad comes in at No. 1 on our #NVprepsfb list of Southern Nevada’s top five quarterbacks.
To create the list, we spoke with coaches from the Sunrise and Sunset Regions in both Class 4A and 3A. 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.
This resulted in the #NVprepsfb quarterback rank. The list is based off high school productivity and not college or professional potential. 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.
#NVprepsfb Quarterback Rank: Liberty’s Kenyon Oblad No. 1
Class
2018
Vitals
6 feet, 3 inches; 190 pounds
Honors
First-team all state (2016); Southeast League Offensive MVP (2016); first-team All-Southeast League (2016); second-team all-state (2015); first-team All-Northeast League (2015)
Recruiting
Oblad, who is a three-star recruit on Scout.com, is currently uncommitted. The pro-style quarterback has scholarship offers from Brigham Young, Colorado State, San Diego State, UNLV and UNR.
Last Year’s Stats
Oblad passed for 3,784 yards and 38 TDs in leading the Patriots to a seventh consecutive Sunrise Region title last season.
What they are saying?
— “He’s a magician throwing that ball,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He’s sharp. He can make every throw. He just seems to have things down. He calls things out, has total command of the offense. He makes some throws that I would kill my quarterback (for) if he tried to make. I don’t see another quarterback in the valley being better than him.”
— “He’s been playing high-level football since his freshman year,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “His freshman year he was a piece to the puzzle, but I think now he is the puzzle. They build everything around him. That’s not a bad quarterback. You think of a franchise quarterback in high school, that’s a prototypical franchise quarterback.”
— “He’s a rare breed,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “It’s kind of unprecedented (how many career starts he’s made) — kind of like (Anu) Solomon at Gorman a few years ago. As long as he stays healthy, he’ll have every passing record in the state. He’s on another level. I think he’s a pro. Hes got the height, the weight.”
— “He’s a special player,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “Great anticipation on routes and he gets the ball out naturally. He’s a true pocket passer. He could make pretty much every throw.”
— “Overall in the season he’s done a great job each and every year he’s started for varsity,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “His numbers are incredible. … He throws the ball extremely well and he’s very, very accurate.”
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#NVprepsfb Quarterback Rank: Bishop Gorman’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson No. 2
Class
2018 —
Vitals
6 feet, 2 inches; 200 pounds
Honors
Under Armour All-American game invitee (2017); all-state honorable mention (2016)
Recruiting
Thompson-Robinson, who has never started a game at quarterback, committed to UCLA on April 23. The consensus four-star recruit chose the Bruins over scholarship offers from Alabama, Boise State, California, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Louisiana State, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and several more. He is No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the country, according to ESPN.com.
Last Year’s Stats
Primarily a wide receiver last season, Thompson-Robinson caught 22 passes for 397 yards and eight TDs to help Gorman secure its eight consecutive state title and third straight mythical national championship. He also completed 21 of 31 passes (67.7 percent) for 269 yards and three touchdowns in limited duty and ran for 171 yards on 22 carries (7.8 yards per carry).
What they are saying?
— “He’s your prototypical run-pass quarterback,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He’s going to hurt you if you try and take the pass away from him. He can really throw the ball. But I don’t know if he can drop back and throw it 40 times and beat you.”
— “He has all the intangibles and physical attributes,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “It’s just a matter of seeing how he handles the pressure in games. That’s where Tate (Martell) was so great. He didn’t get rattled. When things got difficult, that’s when he upped his game. It’ll be interesting to see how (Thompson-Robinson) handles those first few national opponents.”
— “Great athlete, but he has a tendency to be inconsistent with his mechanics,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “His footwork isn’t always up to par. Tremendous physical gifts and a talented player. He just needs to clean up some technique stuff.”
— “The thing is … he hasn’t played in any pressure situations,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “The only time he played was when the game was out of hand.”
— “He should’ve stayed at receiver,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He has an incredible arm — he can throw the ball like 85 yards. But his accuracy could hurt Gorman. He has an NFL arm, but without that playing time and experience, he just doesn’t have touch. He tries to kill everything. But he’s got one of the best arms I’ve ever seen.”
— “The fact that the kid was a standout receiver and is going to turnaround and take snaps is pretty remarkable,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “There’s not too many guys who can do what he can do.”
— “He’s pretty darn good,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He throws the ball just as good as any kid I’ve seen at this age throw the ball. With his stature, being as big as he is and physically strong as he is, sky is the limit for him.”
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#NVprepsfb Quarterback Rank: Canyon Springs’ Diamante Burton No. 3
Class
2018
Vitals
5 feet, 8 inches; 150 pounds
Honors
All-state honorable mention (2016); Northeast League Offensive Most Valuable Player (2016); second-team All-Northeast League (2016)
Recruiting
N/A
Last Year’s Stats
The speedy Burton started the first four games last season at running back before switching to quarterback during the Sunrise Mountain game. He completed 22 of 30 passes for 367 yards and four touchdowns in that game and also ran for a score that proved to be the game-winner in the Pioneers’ 33-27 road win. He finished the season 103-for-192 passing (53.7 percent) for 1,284 yards, 14 touchdowns and six interceptions. Burton also led the team in touchdowns (13) and rushing yards (698).
What they are saying?
— “That’s a tough kid,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He doesn’t wow you with his size, but that kid plays football. He can beat you with his arms, with his legs. He’s a tiny quarterback, but he’s a legit dual-threat quarterback.”
— “I don’t find him to be a great quarterback, I find him to be an exceptional athlete,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He’s a kid to face (that) is a nightmare, but he ain’t no quarterback.”
— “He’s the one on (that) team,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He’s the playmaker and the man. … Diamante is a better runner than (Desert Pines’ Tyler Williamson). But they both can keep plays alive with their feet and make stuff happen.”
— “They had an injury there and just threw him in there,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He’s just an athlete.”
— “He’s a straight athlete,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “We couldn’t tackle the dude. He won’t throw for 300 yards. But he’s such a threat, and when he drops back or gets loose, he’s tough to defend.”
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#NVprepsfb Quarterback Rank: Desert Pines’ Tyler Williamson No. 4
Class
2019
Vitals
6 feet, 1 inch; 175 pounds
Honors
N/A
Recruiting
N/A
Last Year’s Stats
Williamson took over as the Jaguars’ starting quarterback in the Class 3A state semifinals last season and led them to a 56-7 win over South Tahoe. He completed 9 of 11 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns in the game and ran for another score. In Desert Pines’ 39-6 win over Spring Creek in the state final, Williamson went 16-for-20 passing for 266 yards and three TDs and ran for a TD.
What they are saying?
— “Honestly, he’s probably the third-best quarterback in the city,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “I’m excited to see what he can do this year. Last year, he was the young guy.”
— “Pretty accurate,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “(Desert Pines Coach) Tico (Rodriguez) does a good job with that offense and getting his athletes the ball. And Tyler was pretty impressive.”
— “He has potential to be an excellent quarterback,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “The sky’s the limit with a kid like that. He’s a natural playmaker.”
— “Great athlete, great option quarterback,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He runs the option like it’s nobody’s business — like Turner Gill from Nebraska in the 80s.”
— “The jury’s still out on that kid,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He looks very capable, but it all depends on what they have up front.”
— “I wasn’t really impressed with his ability to throw the football,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “But he looks to be a kid that, when he takes off running, you’ll be in trouble.”
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#NVprepsfb Quarterback Rank: Faith Lutheran’s Sagan Gronauer No. 5
Class
2019
Vitals
6 feet, 1 inch; 170 pounds
Honors
All-Northwest League Honorable Mention (2016)
Recruiting
N/A
Last Year’s Stats
Gronauer completed 112 of 231 passes (48.5 percent) for 1,731 yards and 16 touchdowns last season as a sophomore. He threw just six interceptions and ran for 164 yards and six TDs for the Crusaders.
What they are saying?
— “He should have definitely been all-conference,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “This kid is going to take a lot of people by storm.”
— “He’s probably the top returning quarterback in (the Northwest) League,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He’s got some good targets to throw to, that’s for sure with that (Elijah) Kothe kid. He does a nice job getting the ball out and running that offense.”
— “He delivers a good ball and runs the ball well enough,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He’s a good dual-threat, and (Faith Lutheran) does a good job of mixing it up.”
— “He’s not bad, but it helps that he’s got some very talented receivers,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He throws the deep ball well and uses those big receivers. He struggles with intermediate short passes.”
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