Coaches face interesting choice as more freshmen quarterbacks start at varsity level

Nazareth quarterback Logan Malachuk was nervous at first when he heard his number called.

The Roadrunners were on the road Sept. 3 at Lemont, and the fans were crazy. The school’s bleachers are raised, which made the task more daunting when coach Tim Racki told Malachuk he’s going into the game.

Any high school player is nervous when he takes his first snaps with the varsity team. This was different.

Malachuk was a freshman taking his first varsity snaps.

He made some mistakes early on, but as the game went on, he realized something: It’s just football.

“It was crazy,” Malachuk said. “Just like the atmosphere and everything around it was crazy. The game was faster, but at the end of the day, it’s just football, and that’s what I’ve realized: The game does get faster, and they’re bigger, but it’s just football at the end of the day.”

Malachuk has continued to grow as the season’s progressed and has become the team’s starting quarterback for most of the second half of the season. He’s part of a trend in the area where varsity coaches aren’t afraid to start freshman quarterbacks.

Racki never had started a freshman quarterback, not even J.J. McCarthy. The coach always was worried about throwing a 14-year-old into a situation where he needs to compete and keep up with 17- and 18-year-olds.

But as the summer progressed and the coaching staff watched the way Malachuk competed and handled himself, Racki became more comfortable with the idea of playing a freshman at quarterback.

“He’s very advanced, not just football IQ-wise, but he’s also tough,” Racki said. “Being able to step up in the pocket when he’s facing a blitz or his athletic ability to escape pressure was very impressive.”

Coaches in the area have realized that more freshmen are ready for the varsity level because of the work they put in before even entering high school. Many families have signed their sons up to work with quarterbacks coaches, such as Greg Holcomb at Next Level Athletix Quarterback Training.

Holcomb has noticed the trend of freshmen starting at the quarterback position because he’s worked with a lot of families in the area who want their sons to be prepared to handle the position as early as possible. Some families have even asked if he would coach their son at 6 years old.

But much of the success comes with the technology players have that they didn’t have even a few years ago. Now athletes can access their own tape and watch what they’re doing right and wrong in seconds. Pair that with the ability to work with plenty of good coaches in the area, and many players are ready to compete for a varsity spot when they arrive to high school.

“Parents are recognizing that their sons need to be given the greatest possible competitive advantage at an early age so that they have the fundamentals and development skills,” Holcomb said. “So by the time they do reach ninth grade, they’re on a scale that years ago they weren’t.”

Brandon Parades has split time at the quarterback position with Plainfield East this season. He, like Malachuk, was nervous when he came into a game this season for his first snaps. But just like Malachuk, he started to ease into the game and realize that it’s the sport that he’s been playing his entire life and he’s ready for this moment.

Parades has learned how to call audibles and read defenses, which has helped his development and is a boost for Plainfield East coach Bradley Kunz, who has started the development process at his team’s most important position at an early age.

“If the freshman is ready, you have to let them play,” Kunz said. “You don’t want to put them in too early where they can’t succeed. But if you put them in and they succeed at the varsity level, you’re looking at someone who’s going to contribute for four years. That should make you feel really good about your near future.”

St. Charles North coach Robert Pomazak had not had a freshman start at quarterback until this season, when Ethan Plumb arrived.

Pomazak had known Plumb for some time. He was friends with Plumb’s parents, and Plumb was a ballboy for the North Stars for many years. Besides Plumb’s skill set, Pomazak said he also possesses the intangibles to be a successful quarterback.

“He is a natural born leader,” Pomazak said. “He is not intimidated to take ahold of the team, he is vocal, extremely hard working and diligent. You take a few seconds and realize that he’s at an elite level. He’s better prepared than any quarterback we’ve ever had in the program. He has a nice mix of elite level talent and a great head on his shoulders.”

Pomazak said his program has had many kids who are physically mature enough to play the position at the young age, but perhaps have not had the mental maturity.

“Ethan has been grooming himself for this for years,” Pomazak said. “He’s a diligent worker, works at his craft nonstop. Just by seeing the work he put in as a fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh grade kid, if anybody would have an opportunity to play as a freshman, it was him. It’s a big risk and difficult when you’re starting a freshman – what does that do for other quarterbacks – but we are trying to create a climate of competition.”

The whole process has been about learning for Racki at Nazareth. He’s watched as his upperclassmen have gravitated toward Malchuk with open arms, having the quarterback’s back out on the field. His freshman quarterback has gone through some growing pains, not as many as Racki expected, but the coach has been careful about factors outside of just playing on the field.

Racki wanted to make sure to surround Malachuk with a support system and knew the quarterback had a good support system at home. There are many external factors such as social media, media coverage and other things that coaches need to worry about as more in the area decide whether they want to build on the trend of playing freshmen quarterbacks at the varsity level.

“I think it could but also think that’s dangerous because you have to be careful about when you make that move,” Racki said. “If it’s not working out and you experience a lot of growing pains, maybe more than you expected, and then a freshman quarterback loses confidence in his abilities to move forward, he’s not where he wants to be. That’s a tough obstacle to overcome if you start going into the reverse. You need a strong support system.”

Malachuk has had that support system, which has helped him progress each week to become the program’s future at the position. He’s helped Nazareth score at least 39 points in each of its four games and will lead the team in a big game against Benet on Friday in order to earn automatic playoff qualification.

Malachuk thinks that more programs in the area might start playing freshmen at the varsity level because of how well prepared they are when they come in. Malachuk has had the support system he’s needed thanks to Racki having the philosophy that the best 11 players who have the best chance to help the team win should play.

“If you have someone, a freshman or an underclassmen that is one of your top players, I would say put them out there,” Malachuk said. “They wanted to ease me into it, but coach Racki, he doesn’t care about what class you are in, he just wants to give us the best chance of winning.”

Because of that, Malachuk’s not so nervous anymore.