LEGACY QUARTERBACKS

Leaving A Mark

Leaving behind a legacy means more than just people remembering your name. For these quarterbacks, it has meant/does mean that the kids sitting in the stands want to be like them, and while the numbers and stats are important, they aren’t everything. When we may not be able to recall their statistical prowess, we’ll still remember the fact that they got it done on the field under the Fright Night Lights.

CRITERIA

Years of Eligibility – C/O 2010-Present
Schools of Eligibility – Blitz territory only: Banks, Commerce, Dawson, Habersham, Jefferson, Lumpkin, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, White
Statistical Threshold – MUST include a minimum of 4K total yards (passing/rushing) and/or 45 total TD, AND at least 2 years as the starting QB.
Ranked – by total TD (tie-breaker passing yds)

#1 · Gunner Stockton

Rabun County c/o 2022
254 TD State Record

PASSING: 13,652 yds, 177 TD *State Record*
RUSHING: 4,372 yds, 77 TD
TOTAL: 18,024 yds, 254 TD

The 4-time All-American and All-State player had arguably the greatest career in Georgia football history. He ended his career with the most total TD (254) and yards (18,024) as well as most passing TD (177) in state history. His 13,652 passing yards were second only to Trevor Lawrence, and he was 46-7 as a starter. His teams won 4 straight region titles and each season went to the Quarterfinals or deeper. He put up one of the all-time best seasons as a senior with 70 total TD (55 passing and 15 rushing). He had 4,134 passing yards and 956 rushing yards, and a career-best QBR of 151.9. He threw 55 TDs against just 1 interception. He went on to play at UGA, and was the nation’s top 5-star QB.

#2 · Bailey Fisher

Rabun County c/o 2018
170 TD

PASSING: 9,383 yds, 113 TD
RUSHING: 3,075 yds, 57 TD
TOTAL: 12,458 yds, 170 TD

Fisher was a backup for his freshman season, passing for only 435 yds and 3 TD in 2014. What followed was 3 unbelievable seasons, as he closed his career in style with a State Championship game appearance, and scored 70 TD in that 2017 season. At the time of his graduation, he was fifth all-time in passing TD in the state of Georgia, and in the top 10 in passing yards. Fisher went on to play at Tennessee Tech University, then transferred to Gardner-Webb.

#3 · Joseph Mancuso

Union County c/o 2016
109 TD

PASSING: 8,190 yds, 88 TD
RUSHING: 1,998 yds, 21 TD
TOTAL: 10,188 yds, 109 TD

Mancuso didn’t play at QB until his sophomore year, but made the most of his 3 seasons. That included 30 or more total TD in each season, and 39 in both his junior and senior years. He totaled over 10K in yardage, and topped 100 TD to join elite company. His 88 TD passes had him in the top 10 in state history at the time of his graduation, and his passing yards were in the top 15. Mancuso went on to play at Richmond University, and even got an NFL invite to spring camp.

#4 · Coey Watson

Dawson County c/o 2018
106 TD

PASSING: 7,007 yds, 65 TD
RUSHING: 2,052 yds, 41 TD
TOTAL: 9,059 yds, 106 TD

Watson was a gamer at Dawson County, ending his career as the leader in every passing category. He was the heart and soul of the team as it rolled to unprecedented success. He was a dual threat QB who played through injuries with much grit, using his legs when facing shoulder problems, or using his arm when his legs/knees were hurting. Scoring 100+ TD in his career, he remains the top Tiger in Dawsonville. Watson went on to play at Shorter University.

#5 · Kevin Ellison

Habersham Central c/o 2012
98 TD

PASSING: 1,412 yds, 15 TD
RUSHING: 5,100 yds, 83 TD
TOTAL: 6,512 yds, 98 TD

Ellison’s senior season was as ridiculous as you can imagine. He had 3,208 total yards that season with 44 TDs, doing a large portion of that on the ground. A run-first QB, Ellison remains one of the most exciting players to put on the Raiders jersey with nearly 100 TD. Ellison went on to play at Georgia Southern.

#6 · J Ben Haynes

White County c/o 2021
92 TD

PASSING: 7,081 yds, 55 TD
RUSHING: 2,133 yds, 36 TD
TOTAL: 9,214 yds, 92 TD (had one receiving)

Haynes had a solid 4-year career for the Warriors, leaving as the undisputed top QB in school history. He is among elite company with 90-plus total TDs, and had over 2,500 total yards his senior season despite missing two and a half games to injury. He developed the ability to get it done on the ground as well as in the air. Had he not missed time his senior season, he would probably have reached 100 career TD. Haynes went on to play baseball at UNG.

#7 · Kolt Owenby

Union County c/o 2010
92 TD

PASSING: 7,046 yds, 59 TD
RUSHING: 2,507 yds, 33 TD
TOTAL: 9,553 yds, 92 TD

Before Mancuso (above), Allison and Wright (below), Union had big-time QB Kolt Owenby. He collected 92 total TD as a true dual-threat QB, including 37 total TD as a senior in 2009, earning All-State honors. Owenby went on to play at the University of the Cumberlands.

#8 · Bryant Shirreffs

Jefferson c/o 2013
90 TD

PASSING: 5,519 yds, 53 TD
RUSHING: 2,158 yds, 37 TD
TOTAL: 7,677 yds, 90 TD

Shirreffs number-wise falls here, though could go higher considering he led the Dragons to a State Championship in 2012. His senior year saw him tally 38 TD, and he was a 3-year starter with nearly 8K yds of offense and exactly 90 TD.

#9 · Keegan Stover

Rabun County c/o 2023
90 TD

PASSING: 7,493 yds, 86 TD
RUSHING: 75 yds, 4 TD
TOTAL: 7,568 yds, 90 TD

Stover started his sophomore and junior seasons at West Forsyth, tallying 2,409 yards and 25 TD as a junior in 2021 and 1,444 yards and 19 TD passing as a 2020 sophomore. He transferred to Rabun County after Gunner Stockton graduated, giving Stover one year in Tiger. His Rabun debut saw him sling for 368 yards and 5 TD in an opening win. In his third game for the Cats, he put up 8 TD passes against #10 Adairsville (2nd most in state hitstory in a single game; and school record), and threw for 481 yards (school record). He ended his career 31st at the time of graduation on the all-time passing yardage list (7,493), and 20th in TD passes (86). His senior season included 3,605 passing yards and 41 TD.

#10 · Zach Holtzclaw

Dawson County c/o 2022
83 TD

PASSING: 7,322 yds, 70 TD
RUSHING: 285 yds, 13 TD
TOTAL: 7,607 yds, 83 TD

Holtzclaw is a true passing QB, almost exclusively. He passed for at least 2,300 yards in both his sophomore and junior seasons, and had 33 total TD as a junior in 2020. As a senior, Holtzclaw put up 2,149 pass yds and 19 TD, and added 98 rush yds and 5 TD. He went on to play at Cumberland University.

#11 · Tyler Dominy

Dawson County c/o 2013
81 TD

PASSING: 6,548 yds, 69 TD
RUSHING: 1,000 yds, 12 TD
TOTAL: 7,548 yds, 81 TD

Dominy topped 7,500 career yds and over 80 TD! His senior season had him passing for over 2,800 yds and 31 TD, along with 400 rushing yds and 5 TD. He also had a 400-yd passing game that 2012 season. Dominy went on to play at the University of North Georgia in basketball.

#12 · Pierson Allison

Union County c/o 2020
72 TD

PASSING: 6,090 yds, 56 TD
RUSHING: 1,172 yds, 16 TD
TOTAL: 7,262 yds, 72 TD

Allison closed his career with a pair of 3,000+ yd, 30+ TD seasons (rushing + passing). He led the Panthers to great success, including winning the school’s first-ever state playoff game. His numbers were impressive considering he played just 2 seasons at QB. In his first and second years on the team, he threw for 296 yds and 4 TD in very limited reps, rushing for only 40 yds and 2 TD in that span. Allison went on to play at Berry College.

#13 · Caiden Tanner

Union County c/o 2024
71 TD

PASSING: 5,998 yds, 52 TD
RUSHING: 1,066 yds, 19 TD
TOTAL: 7,064 yds, 71 TD

Caiden Tanner spent the first two seasons of his career behind Logan Helcher, thus resorting to a WR/RB combo as a sophomore. He had nearly 400 yards that season with 6 TD, and dealt with an injury. He shined in his junior year as a 1st-year QB, throwing for 2,893 yards and 24 TD while rushing for 284 yards and 8 TD. As a senior, Tanner again led the Panthers to a playoff win and second round appearance. He finished with 3,105 passing yards and 28 TD, adding 623 rushing yards and 8 TD, all career highs. He had 3,700-plus total yards and 36 TDs, which gave his career totals at 5,998 passing yards and 52 TD, and 1,060 rushing yards and 19 TD. Among his best performances were a 5-TD passing game against Towns County in 2023, and 350 passing yards and 3 TD against East Jackson, adding 65 rushing yards and a TD in that one. His senior season saw him surpass 300 yards passing 4 times.

#14 · Cole Wright

Union County c/o 2018
69 TD

PASSING: 3,951 yds, 34 TD
RUSHING: 2,676 yds, 35 TD
TOTAL: 6,627 yds, 69 TD

Wright was a dual threat who spent a couple seasons behind Mancuso (above) before getting his shot, and preceded Allison (above). He was probably the best runner of the trio at Union, evidenced by his 2,676 yds rushing in pretty much just 2 seasons. He tallied 35 TD as a junior and 33 as a senior, nearly hitting 70 for his career. Wright went on to play at Army-West Point.

#15 · Colby Clark

Jefferson c/o 2020
65 TD

PASSING: 1,559 yds, 19 TD
RUSHING: 2,501 yds, 46 TD
TOTAL: 4,060 yds, 65 TD

Photo by Brian Westerholt/Sports On Film

Clark was a QB who missed a large chunk of one season, yet still put up incredible numbers in an option-based offensive scheme. However, he could throw the ball when he had to. His 33-TD senior season was awesome, as he topped 1,100 rushing yards and nearly 600 passing. Clark went on to play at Harding University.

#16 · Tripp Nix

White County c/o 2025
64 TD

PASSING: 4,555 yds, 37 TD
RUSHING: 1,236 yds, 27 TD
TOTAL: 5,791 yds, 64 TD

Nix took off as a freshman starter and never looked back. He had to grow into it, but had 1,347 total yards and 12 TD in 2021. As a sophomore, he had 1,426 pass yds and 9 TD while rushing for 622 and 11. Nix turned it up a notch as a junior with career-highs in passing yards and TD (1,812-16) and rushing yards (2nd-best season) and TD (584-16), with season total yardage of 2,396 and 32 TDs. His signature performance was a 7-TD night in a 4 OT game against Lumpkin in which he threw for 5 TDs and ran for 2.

#17 · Trey Huff

Commerce/Lincoln County c/o 2023
60 TD

PASSING: 2,281 yds, 24 TD
RUSHING: 1,885 yds, 36 TD
TOTAL: 4,166 yds, 60 TD

Trey Huff had a mind for the end zone. The initial Commerce QB switched to Lincoln County for the second half of his career, where he was able to pass the ball a little more. At Commerce as a sophomore, he racked up 1,182 yards and 21 TD, and followed it with 1,295 and 18 his first year at Lincoln. In his sophomore year at Lincoln, Huff had over 1,200 total yards and 18 TD, and finished with a senior year of 1,700 total yards and 20 TD.

#18 · Tre Luttrell

Habersham Central c/o 2019
58 TD

PASSING: 4,113 yds, 42 TD
RUSHING: 1,292 yds, 16 TD
TOTAL: 5,405 yds, 58 TD

Luttrell moved around a good bit, playing his junior season at Gainesville and senior year at Habersham. He had over 3,300 total yards in 2018 for the Raiders and 35 TD that year, leading Hab Central to a second round appearance. Luttrell went on to play at Lenoir-Rhyne University.

#19 · Ben Stowe

Stephens County c/o 2023
56 TD

PASSING: 4,723 yds, 40 TD
RUSHING: 509 yds, 16 TD
TOTAL: 5,232 yds, 56 TD

Ben Stowe guided Stephens County as the QB1 from 2020 through 2022. The dual threat had 1,192 passing yards and 10 TD as a sophomore, adding 195 rushing and 6 TD. The following year, he passed for 1,647 and 12 TD, and rushed for 193 and 8 TD. During his senior season, he eclipsed 4,000 total yards for his career and had the Indians state-ranked at #3 in the polls after guiding them to a region title and second round appearance. He had a career-best 1,884 passing yards, 18 TD, and 2,005 total yards and 20 total TD in 2022. He finished with 5,232 total yards and 56 TD, throwing for 4,723 and 40.

#20 · Cole Segraves

White County/Colquitt County c/o 2012
47 TD

PASSING: 5,152 yds, 36 TD
RUSHING: 1,406 yds, 11 TD
TOTAL: 6,558 yds, 47 TD

Segraves, a 3* QB recruit, only got to shine one year as a starter at White County, helping guide the Warriors to a playoff win at home over LaGrange in 2010. He then went on to Colquitt County, where he was for 2 seasons a force on a state championship caliber team. He threw for over 2K yards as a senior, and was a solid dual threat QB throughout his career.

#21 · Malaki Starks

Jefferson c/o 2022
47 TD

PASSING: 725 yds, 11 TD
RUSHING: 2,418 yds, 36 TD
TOTAL: 3,143 yds, 47 TD

Starks, a 5-star recruit who was at one point the nation’s top overall recruit, went on to UGA. First, he had a sensational career for the Dragons. Unselfishly, he took on the QB role in his junior and senior year after shining as a safety and running back as a freshman and sophomore. He ended up with over 3,200 total yards of offense and 49 total TD (2 receiving), and added 10 picks and 85 tackles on the flip side with another pair of scores. He led Jefferson to a state title game appearance as a junior in 2020.

#22 · Austin Brown

Habersham Central/Flowery Branch c/o 2011
45 TD

PASSING: 4,979 yds, 38 TD
RUSHING: 135 yds, 7 TD
TOTAL: 5,114 yds, 45 TD

Brown had a solid career, and was a 2* QB recruit. Only half of it came at Habersham Central. After passing for over 2,300 yards and 14 TD over two season as a starter for the Raiders, he went to Flowery Branch and had a 1st Team All-Region and All-State kind of year when he threw for 2,588 yards and 24 TD against just 2 interceptions. Brown went on to play at UAB.

#23 · Logan Helcher

Union County c/o 2022
45 TD

PASSING: 3,512 yds, 31 TD
RUSHING: 1,009 yds, 14 TD
TOTAL: 4,521 yds, 45 TD

Logan Helcher had a solid career at QB, starting as a junior and senior. He got his feet wet a little as a sophomore, and barely played varsity as a freshman. But as a junior, he passed for 1,109 yards and 5 TD, adding 370 rushing yards and 5 TD. But everyone knew he was capable of more. Sure enough, his senior year saw him pass for 2,012 yards and 22 TDs, adding 543 on the ground with another 9 TDs. He finished with 31 total TD that season and 2,555 yards, giving him a career total of 4,521 yards and 45 TDs.

#24 · Cooper Scott

Lumpkin County c/o 2023
44 TD

PASSING: 3,286 yds, 25 TD
RUSHING: 1,084 yds, 19 TD
TOTAL: 4,370 yds, 44 TD

Scott is one of the top QBs to play at Lumpkin. The dual threat had 667 passing yards and 4 TD, 93 rushing yards and 2 TD as a sophomore. It was the tip of the iceberg. As a junior, he tallied 1,076 passing with 8 TD and 450 rushing and 6 TD, giving him over 1,500 yards and 14 total TD. His senior year was the best by far. He had 1,543 yards passing and 13 TD, and 541 rushing yards and 11 TD, giving him 24 total TD and north of 2,000 total yards while leading the Indians to a historic turnaround that included hosting a state playoff game for the first time.

#25 · Griffin Goodwin

Banks County c/o 2017
42 TD

PASSING: 4,583 yds, 39 TD
RUSHING: 49 yds, 3 TD
TOTAL: 4,632 yds, 42 TD

Goodwin had a quietly good career for the Leopards, which reached a peak in 2016 as a senior when he threw for 2,142 yds and 18 TD.

#26 · Evan Shirreffs

Jefferson c/o 2015
42 TD

PASSING: 4,080 yds, 39 TD
RUSHING: 84 yds, 3 TD
TOTAL: 4,164 yds, 42 TD

Shirreffs was a 3* recruit and took over under center after his brother, Bryant, had led the Dragons to a state title. In Evan’s 2 years as starter, Jefferson remained a deep playoff team. His senior year was great, as he totaled 2,700 total yards and 24 TDs.

#27 · Jackson Bell

Stephens County c/o 2018
41 TD

PASSING: 3,098 yds, 27 TD
RUSHING: 1,323 yds, 14 TD
TOTAL: 4,421 yds, 41 TD

Bell was a mainstay for his sophomore through senior season at QB for the Indians. He passed for over 3K yards in total, and had 13 or more TD in each of those 3 seasons combined. He proved to be a tough QB to play against due to his ability to run when needed.

Up & Coming

These QBs are on the radar and currently playing.

Cal Faulkner – Lumpkin County c/o 2025 (2,745 total yds, 38 TD)
Ty Truelove – Rabun County c/o 2026 (2,903 total yds, 34 TD)
Gavin Markey – Jefferson c/o 2025 (1,619 total yds, 28 TD)
Davis Glass – Dawson County c/o 2025 (1,682 total yds, 17 TD)
Clay Smith – Banks County c/o 2025 (1,625 total yds, 15 TD)
Preston Bannister – Dawson County c/o 2025 (1,668 total yds, 14 TD)
Tripp Underwood – Stephens County c/o 2025 (1,544 total yds, 14 TD)
Kolby Watson – Banks County c/o 2025 (1,357 total yds, 10 TD)
DJ Pass – Habersham Central c/o 2025 (844 total yds, 8 TD)

Notable Honorable Mentions (25+TD and/or 2,500 total yds)

Wes Holcombe – Rabun County c/o 2014 (3,784 total yds, 40 TD)
Will Brock – White County c/o 2013 (3,710 total yds, 40 TD)
Sevaughn Clark – Dawson County c/o 2019 (3,628 total yds, 40 TD) *1-year starting QB
Mason Long – Stephens County c/o 2015 (3,682 total yds, 37 TD)
Nate Ray – Commerce c/o 2020 (3,386 total yds, 37 TD)
T Bentley – Union County c/o 2013 (3,898 total yds, 35 TD)
Joshua Pickett – Habersham Central c/o 2021 (2,711 total yds, 34 TD) *1-year starting QB
Cole Wilbanks – Habersham Central c/o 2017 (3,211 total yds, 33 TD)
AJ Curry – Habersham Central c/o 2018 (3,171 total yds, 31 TD) *1-year starting QB
Taylor Guthrie – Lumpkin County c/o 2011 (2,146 total yds, 29 TD)
Bryce Moore – Jefferson c/o 2018 (3,699 total yds, 28 TD)
Ryte Woodruff – Habersham Central c/o 2020 (2,502 total yds, 27 TD) *1-year starting QB
Carson Parker – Habersham Central c/o 2024 (3,440 total yds, 24 TD)
Connor Chastain – Towns County c/o 2024 (3,171 total yds, 23 TD)