What Were the Top QB Classes in IHSA Football?
- Thread starter Wassup13
- Start date
I will admit to backing into the year I chose: 2011. I wasn't going to have a list that didn't include Wes Lunt, who led Rochester to their first two state titles and had the best combination of arm strength and accuracy I've seen at the high school level. Had Wes been better protected in college and had a bit more mobility, I'm convinced he would've played in the NFL. After an injury filled college career, he still showed enough ability to have a tryout with the Minnesota Vikings.
4 of the 5 on this list won state titles in 2011 from Class 3A up to 8A. All went on to play in college.
Wes Lunt, Rochester. Missed 4 games in 2011 with a broken foot and still threw for over 3,800 yards and 31 TD's. Had 506 yards passing and 3 TD's in the 4A state title game against Richmond Burton. Wes started in college at times for both Oklahoma State and Illinois.
John Rohde, Montini. Threw for over 3,000 yards and 42 TD's for the season. In the 5A title game against Joliet Catholic, Rohde had 587 yards passing and 7 TD's. He went on to play for St Xavier.
Aaron Bailey, Bolingbrook. Had nearly 2,000 yards rushing and over 1,000 yards passing with 40 total TD's in 2011. In the 8A state title game against Loyola, Bailey had 149 yards rushing and 140 yards passing with 2 rushing scores. Bailey went on to play at Illinois.
Anthony Maddie, Aurora Christian. Threw for almost 3,800 yards and ran for over a 1,000 with a staggering 69 total TD's. Had 5 total TD's in the 3A state championship. Played at Northern Illinois.
Brady Huber, Greenville. The only player to not be in a state title game. Greenville did reach the 3A semifinals in 2011. He threw for over 3,800 yards and 46 TD's on the season. Huber went on to play for Illinois College.
4 of the 5 on this list won state titles in 2011 from Class 3A up to 8A. All went on to play in college.
Wes Lunt, Rochester. Missed 4 games in 2011 with a broken foot and still threw for over 3,800 yards and 31 TD's. Had 506 yards passing and 3 TD's in the 4A state title game against Richmond Burton. Wes started in college at times for both Oklahoma State and Illinois.
John Rohde, Montini. Threw for over 3,000 yards and 42 TD's for the season. In the 5A title game against Joliet Catholic, Rohde had 587 yards passing and 7 TD's. He went on to play for St Xavier.
Aaron Bailey, Bolingbrook. Had nearly 2,000 yards rushing and over 1,000 yards passing with 40 total TD's in 2011. In the 8A state title game against Loyola, Bailey had 149 yards rushing and 140 yards passing with 2 rushing scores. Bailey went on to play at Illinois.
Anthony Maddie, Aurora Christian. Threw for almost 3,800 yards and ran for over a 1,000 with a staggering 69 total TD's. Had 5 total TD's in the 3A state championship. Played at Northern Illinois.
Brady Huber, Greenville. The only player to not be in a state title game. Greenville did reach the 3A semifinals in 2011. He threw for over 3,800 yards and 46 TD's on the season. Huber went on to play for Illinois College.
All.... Ahh.... 2011. That year brought back memories rocketnation . Some fun others not so much. lol Anyway....
One that I immediately recall on the plus side was the regular season game against the Springfield Senators. Now there had been quite a bit of yapping on social media from the Senator faithful. More then the usual banter. Some give and take as well before the game with fans tailgating.
If I recall correctly the teams were tied after the first quarter with not much scoring . And that is when Cyclone QB Pat Smith turned it on. At the end of the game he had thrown for 507 yards and 6 td's as SHG clocked my good friends down Washington Street.
This doesn't have anything to do with the thread subject but some memories last forever. ☺️ Ratsy
One that I immediately recall on the plus side was the regular season game against the Springfield Senators. Now there had been quite a bit of yapping on social media from the Senator faithful. More then the usual banter. Some give and take as well before the game with fans tailgating.
If I recall correctly the teams were tied after the first quarter with not much scoring . And that is when Cyclone QB Pat Smith turned it on. At the end of the game he had thrown for 507 yards and 6 td's as SHG clocked my good friends down Washington Street.
This doesn't have anything to do with the thread subject but some memories last forever. ☺️ Ratsy
Maddie was also the starting QB at JCA when they lost to Montini in the 2009 state championship game.
It's a good question and from a recruiting standpoint most years here have been ehhhh at best. I'll do some digging and come up with one soon but this class (2025) and the next (2026) are very promising.
Here are a few of the most recent classes. These names were obtained from the Rivals Illinois Top 30 Rankings. If a QBs name doesnt appear they were not ranked in the top 30 players (not QBs) of that class.
My vote is 2010 as best class in recent memory.
2006
Demetrius Jones – Morgan Park – Notre Dame
Isiah Williams – Vocational - Illinois
Alex Loukas – Deerfield – Stanford
Jared Funk – St Viator – Vanderbilt
**Scott Tolzien - Fremd - Wisconsin (Not in Rivals Top 30)
2007
Teddy Schell – Barrington – Indiana
2008
John Wienke – Tuscola – Iowa
2009
Jon Budmayr – Woodstock Marian – Wisconsin
Evan Watkins – Glenbard North – Northwestern
Darren Jones – Thornton – New Mexico
Charlie Goro – Maine South – Vanderbilt
AJ Hill – DuQuoin – NIU
**Jordan Lynch – Mt Carmel – NIU (Not in Illinois Top 30)
2010
Taylor Graham – Wheaton North – Ohio State
Chandler Whitmer – Downers Grove South – Illinois
Sean Robinson – Rochester – Purdue
Tommy Rees – Lake Forest – Notre Dave
Miles Osei – Prospect – Illinois
**Jimmy Garoppolo - Rolling Meadows - Eastern Illinois (Not in Illinois Top 30)
2011
Reilly Otoole – Wheaton South – Illinois
Adam Pittser – Richmond-Burton – Wyoming
2012
Wes Lunt – Rochester – Oklahoma State
Robert Gregory – Simeon – Purdue
Lamontiez Ivy – ESTL – Jackson State
Anthony Maddie – Aurora Christian – Wetern Michigan
2013
Aaron Bailey – Bolingbrook – Illinois
Matt Alviti – Maine South – Northwestern
Chris Streveler – Woodstock Marian – Minnesota
2014
Clayton Thorson – Wheaton Noth – Northwestern
2015
Demry Croft – Boylan – Minnesota
Jimmy Fitzgerald – Centennial – Illinois
Billy Bahl – Woodstock Marian – Miami-OH
2016
Matt Little – Evanston – W Michigan
Steven Frank _ Oswego – Florida Atl
2017
Chris Katrenick – Jacobs – Duke
Camerson Thomas – Heights Marian – Illinois
2018
Quincy Patterson – Solorio – Viginia Tech
Ben Bryant – Lyons – Cincinatti
Coran Taylor – Peoria – Illinois
2019
Payton Thorne – Naperville Central – Michigan State
2020
NA
2021
Tyler Macon – ESTL – Missouri
Athan Kaliamanis – Antioch – Minnesota
Justin Lynch – Mt Carmel – Temple
**JJ McCarthy – IMG - Michigan
2022
Dontell Jackson Jr – Marist – Coastal Carolina
Kden Cobb – Fenwick – Ball State
2023
Aidan Gray – Naperville North – Northwestern
My vote is 2010 as best class in recent memory.
2006
Demetrius Jones – Morgan Park – Notre Dame
Isiah Williams – Vocational - Illinois
Alex Loukas – Deerfield – Stanford
Jared Funk – St Viator – Vanderbilt
**Scott Tolzien - Fremd - Wisconsin (Not in Rivals Top 30)
2007
Teddy Schell – Barrington – Indiana
2008
John Wienke – Tuscola – Iowa
2009
Jon Budmayr – Woodstock Marian – Wisconsin
Evan Watkins – Glenbard North – Northwestern
Darren Jones – Thornton – New Mexico
Charlie Goro – Maine South – Vanderbilt
AJ Hill – DuQuoin – NIU
**Jordan Lynch – Mt Carmel – NIU (Not in Illinois Top 30)
2010
Taylor Graham – Wheaton North – Ohio State
Chandler Whitmer – Downers Grove South – Illinois
Sean Robinson – Rochester – Purdue
Tommy Rees – Lake Forest – Notre Dave
Miles Osei – Prospect – Illinois
**Jimmy Garoppolo - Rolling Meadows - Eastern Illinois (Not in Illinois Top 30)
2011
Reilly Otoole – Wheaton South – Illinois
Adam Pittser – Richmond-Burton – Wyoming
2012
Wes Lunt – Rochester – Oklahoma State
Robert Gregory – Simeon – Purdue
Lamontiez Ivy – ESTL – Jackson State
Anthony Maddie – Aurora Christian – Wetern Michigan
2013
Aaron Bailey – Bolingbrook – Illinois
Matt Alviti – Maine South – Northwestern
Chris Streveler – Woodstock Marian – Minnesota
2014
Clayton Thorson – Wheaton Noth – Northwestern
2015
Demry Croft – Boylan – Minnesota
Jimmy Fitzgerald – Centennial – Illinois
Billy Bahl – Woodstock Marian – Miami-OH
2016
Matt Little – Evanston – W Michigan
Steven Frank _ Oswego – Florida Atl
2017
Chris Katrenick – Jacobs – Duke
Camerson Thomas – Heights Marian – Illinois
2018
Quincy Patterson – Solorio – Viginia Tech
Ben Bryant – Lyons – Cincinatti
Coran Taylor – Peoria – Illinois
2019
Payton Thorne – Naperville Central – Michigan State
2020
NA
2021
Tyler Macon – ESTL – Missouri
Athan Kaliamanis – Antioch – Minnesota
Justin Lynch – Mt Carmel – Temple
**JJ McCarthy – IMG - Michigan
2022
Dontell Jackson Jr – Marist – Coastal Carolina
Kden Cobb – Fenwick – Ball State
2023
Aidan Gray – Naperville North – Northwestern
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Was going to say we gotta have a class that stacks up well the next few years. Some kids blowing up.
All.... If you keep it to IHSA high school only I have one. College career was so so. Ratsy
Bobby Brenneisen Sacred Heart-Griffin 18-0 in his freshman and sophomore years. AS a varsity starter in 2005 and 2006 a perfect 28-0 passing for over three thousand yards in both of those seasons winning back to back 5A titles.
All.... JCA gave up 50 in that game but scored 56. Coach Leonard and Coach Zeman (who had the gift- could sell snow to Eskimo's as they say....) before the 2001 season had a gentleman's agreement on playing TWO years week one.
Unlike the Hilltoppers scoring more SHG put 30 on them but the Bulldogs scored 38. I remember RB had five very good receivers with one all world. Can't remember his name (McDonough?) but he had one great season. The Cycs really had the game in hand and let one slip away.
With blood in the Rodents eyes (lol) I was already looking forward to the next year rematch. But Otto said nope in 2002. RB ended up playing Nazareth. At that time they were not the powerhouse they are now. Worked out ok for the Cyclones. SHG replaced them with Montini which started a non con series with the Broncos for many years. Ratsy
I would think geometry would be a top class for QBs ... that and PE.
We've degenerated to just naming individual QBS LOL
Well, there was a guy (DadCoachSports) who did a lot of good work up there and came up with a comprehensive list but certain names were missing. I think that's why people started adding names. Certainly, I felt like a guy who was starting in the NFL last season should be mentioned. I'm weird that way.
Glad it was amusing for you guys.
I'll take the 1996 Class had plenty of D1 talent and few really great high school QB's.
D1 Scholarship Players
Antwan Randle El- Thorton
Zak Kustok- Sandberg
Ken Stopka- Palatine
Jeff Welsh- MC
Others
Mark Flourish- NT (Suntimes Player of the Year chose baseball)
Tim Brykla- WWS
Louis Medina- Provi
And Corey Paus at Lincoln Way was a Jr and better then all of them
D1 Scholarship Players
Antwan Randle El- Thorton
Zak Kustok- Sandberg
Ken Stopka- Palatine
Jeff Welsh- MC
Others
Mark Flourish- NT (Suntimes Player of the Year chose baseball)
Tim Brykla- WWS
Louis Medina- Provi
And Corey Paus at Lincoln Way was a Jr and better then all of them
Surprised Jon Beutjer is not on your list! Hell of a guy from my interactions with him over the years and a pretty damn good QB and hooper as well.
I'm not saying it's bad lol, we just quickly went away from the actual thread [in true and solid fashion]
Clown said class of 96 and others but didn’t mention the guy that had the national record for TD passes at 60 in a single season.
Brylka-2 Time State Champ and set almost every record at Millikin University. (D3) Also beat Kustok in the playoffs.
How would those of you who have an appreciation for fine quarterbacks judge the sophomore season highlights of Emmet Dowling? In my view, he deserves to wear his brother's No. 7.
