Meet Colin Hurley, the Next Great High School QB Prodigy Piquing College Interest
There aren't too many quarterbacks in the country who have the blend of talent, success and unique work ethic of Colin Hurley. The fact that he'll be entering his sophomore season of high school in 2022 at Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville is truly astonishing.
Watching him for just one afternoon in a 7v7 tournament and it's easy to see the long term future and potential Hurley has at the quarterback position. He talks about football in a way that most high school athletes don't begin to learn about until they reach college.
A two time state champion, Hurley started for Trinity Christian as an eighth grader and led the team to a state championship. In 2021, he did it again as a freshman, this time earning accolades including FL High School Class 2A Overall Player of the Year.
Oh and by the way, he's been clocked at throwing a ball 61 mph. As a comparison, Patrick Mahomes tied the NFL Combine record in 2017 by throwing a ball 60 mph. The physical traits on Hurley are astounding at 6-foot-1, 213 pounds and already running a 4.8 40-yard dash with the arm strength and accuracy of a readymade college quarterback.
While he's certainly trying to be his own best self, Hurley sees plenty of comparisons to Josh Allen in his own game. Being a part of a traditional spread offense out of the shotgun formation, Hurley is already gaining those reps and experience for where a lot of college offenses are gravitating as well.
But it's the mental side to the game that is the most advanced and why Hurley has had so much success early in his career. He works with three coaches and a doctor to better understand not only his body but arm angles, off platform throws, drop backs and reading various coverages.
For example, when Hurley gets in the redzone, he has been trained to keep his hips open on drop backs in order to keep all angles of the field open until he's ready to make a decision with the ball.
"You have one, three, five and seven step transitional drops, but we’ve added some different variations to our footwork. We have blended drops, skip steps, straight drops to manipulate defenses, and a bunch of other stuff, to compliment the many different arm angle throws I work on," Hurley said. "We’ve got a lot of tools we use and I believe we do it better than most people out there."
Most recently, he took a visit to Baton Rouge to meet the new LSU coaching staff, in particular new quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan. One of the first things he was asked and wanted to do was get on a white board and draw up various plays against defensive coverages that he's had success with.
Sloan told him how impressive it was that Hurley's football knowledge is already incredibly advanced, with Hurley referencing multiple times how grateful he is to have interest from LSU, a "dream school" for him.
"I went by LSU with coach Sloan and we had a great conversation there," Hurley said. "I was able to go on the white board, draw up some plays for him and that was really a good experience. I told him that's the standard for me. I don't really look at myself as a freshman, that's not how I see myself. I say that I'm built different and that's really what I go by."
While his recruitment has already taken off with offers from the likes of the Tigers, Georgia, Florida, Miami and Ole Miss, Hurley isn't letting himself get caught up in the recruiting side of his football journey. While he's developed great relationships with these colleges, what he also understands is how important it is to stay grounded and be "all in" with his high school team.
"I'm not worried about committing to a school, I'm just worried about my high school team, getting stronger, faster every day," Hurley said. "I hit the film room two or three times a week. That's really what I worry about. I don't worry about the recruiting process because it's already there and I know coaches have interest in me."
The goals for Hurley moving forward are to continue piling up the state championship rings, performing not only on the field but in the class room as well, where he carries a 3.9 GPA.
"I just wanna be the best player I can be. Go in there, work my heart out, I just wanna be recognized as a leader and someone who really worked hard in the weight room, on the field, in the classroom," Hurley said.
