I like to say that teams are as good as their starting quarterback will take them, and this is our look at who we think are the top 10 quarterbacks in Georgia high school football, all of them good enough to take their team all the way to a state championship.
Collectively, this group of 10 quarterbacks are among the best Georgia high school football has ever seen take the field. Leading the group is the nation’s No. 1-rated QB and the top national recruit for the 2024 class, Dylan Raiola. His offseason transfer to Buford helps make the Wolves one of the favorites to take the Class 7A trophy at season’s end. More on him follows below as we present our Top 10 list.
1. Dylan Raiola, Buford, Senior
Raiola joined the Buford Wolves this summer after transferring from the Wolves of Chandler, Arizona, where he led his team to the state semifinals in 2022. He threw for 2,435 yards and 22 TDs last season as the Chandler starter, completing 64% of his passes (178 for 278). He was almost immediately named the Buford starter, and he’ll lead a Wolves offense oozing with talent at every position. The Buford senior is a five-star recruit and a UGA commit.
2. Prentiss Air Noland, Langston Hughes, Senior
In 2022 Noland led his team to one of the most dominant seasons of any team in recent GHSA history, while himself enjoying one of the best individual performances of Georgia high school quarterbacks. The five-star QB completed 73% of his attempts while tossing 55 TD passes, one shy of the all-time Georgia high school single-season record.
Noland led the Panthers offense to 792 points, the most in state history. Their per-game average of 35 points was another state record as Noland led them to a 15-0 record and a state championship. It was the second straight state title game Noland led his team to – Langston Hughes lost to Buford in the 2021 final.
3. Julian “JuJu” Lewis, Carrolton, Sophomore
Lewis took the state by storm in 2022, emerging as a freshman QB who looked and played like anything but a ninth-grader. He passed for 4,118 yards with 48 TDs while completing 65% of his passes. Lewis’ efforts were the best ever among freshmen quarterbacks in Georgia high school history. He led his team to a 14-1 season, with their only loss coming in the Class 7A state title game. Despite falling to the Mill Creek Hawks 70-35, Lewis threw for 531 yards, making him the first player ever to throw for at least 500 yards in a GHSA state championship game.
4. AJ Hill, Houston County, Junior
Hill will be a three-year starter in the 2023 season, and the talented four-star recruit has been a big part of the rejuvenated Bears program, which has have thrived under offensive-minded head coach Jeremy Edwards. Hill led HoCo to a 10-win season and the GHSA Class 6A quarterfinals last season, including road playoff wins at Brunswick and North Atlanta.
In Edwards’ first season as the Bears’ new head coach, Hill threw for 3,663 yards with 40 TD passes. Perhaps the most impressive stat of all is the mere 3 interceptions Hill threw over the 13-game season. That was on 380 attempts, 268 of which he completed for a 70% success rate. He has thrown for 4,548 yards over the last two seasons combined, clearly establishing him among the best Georgia high school quarterbacks.
5. Luke Kromenhoek, Benedictine, Senior
In 2021, when all eyes were on Benedictine starting QB Holden Geriner, there was already a buzz starting about Benedictine’s future QB. Florida State had seen enough of Luke Kromenhoek as a Cadets sophomore – before he ever took one snap as the team’s starter – to offer him a scholarship.
Now, two years later, the Cadets senior starting QB has proved the Seminoles recruiting staff knew what they had all along. The four-star recruit led his team to a 13-2 record and the Class 4A state championship last season, completing 65% of his passes for 2,576 yards with 24 TDs. The 6-foot, 4-inch senior can also hurt teams with his running skills – last season he ran for 7 TDs and totaled 453 yards rushing. Look for another big season from Kromenhoek in 2023.
6. Jake Merklinger, Calvary Day, Senior
Merklinger is a four-star, pro-style senior QB who’s back for his fourth straight season as the starter at Savannah’s Calvary Day. Over his last three seasons, Merklinger has thrown for 6,607 yards and 75 TDs. Last season, Merklinger showed his precision as one of the state’s most accurate passers, completing 67% of his attempts (97 for 145) with 32 TDs and only 2 INT.
Merklinger can surprise you with his mobility, with the 6-foot, 3-inch signal caller rushing for 690 yards and 20 TDs over his career. Last season, he led the Cavaliers to an 11-1 finish, including a perfect 7-0 region record and the Region 3-3A championship. Calvary Day advanced to the state quarterfinals with Merklinger at the controls of the offense. He has committed to Tennessee.
7. Aaron Philo, Prince Avenue Christian, Senior
Philo is rated as a three-star recruit, and he recently committed to Georgia Tech. But Philo is one of those QBs for whom it doesn’t really matter how many stars are in front of his name. His performances, both individually and on behalf of his team, shows that the Wolverines senior QB is one of the best at his craft. He will attempt to become the state’s all-time leading career passing leader this year; he needs 4,576 yards for the record. Philo has thrown for 9,326 yards over the past two seasons, a per-season average of 4,569 yards. So if he can pass for just 7 yards more than that amount, he’ll overtake Trevor Lawrence as the all-time passing leader among Georgia high school quarterbacks.
In addition to the personal accolades, Philo has led his team to consecutive state final appearances, winning the GHSA Class A-D1 championship last year over Swainsboro. In the Wolverines’ 52-34 victory, Philo threw 6 TD passes, setting the record for most TD passes in any GHSA state championship game. He has thrown for 101 TDs over the last two seasons while leading Prince Avenue Christian to a 27-2 record over that time.
8. Jeremy Hecklinski, Walton, Senior
The Raiders starting QB will return for his senior season, and he is a big reason why Walton is considered one of the favorites to win the Class 7A state championship this season. Hecklinski showed his ability to shine in big moments last year when he led Walton to an upset win over the favored Buford Wolves on the road in the GHSA state playoffs. In that second-round win, Hecklinski threw for 315 yards with 3 TD passes.
For the season, Hecklinski threw for 3,520 yards with 37 TDs, completing 194 of his 305 pass attempts for a 64% completion percentage. He has thrown for 5,752 career yards and 55 TDs. He is committed to Wake Forest.
9. Luke Nickel, Milton, Junior
Nickel is a three-star junior who enjoyed a breakout season in his first year as Milton’s starting QB in 2022. After a 2021 season as Devin Farrell’s understudy, the job became Nickel’s last season, and the sophomore showed he could step in and become the guy.
He led Milton to a region championship and an undefeated 5-0 mark in region play, then he went on to bring the Eagles back from an 0-2 start to a 10-4 season, which included a trip to the Class 7A state semifinals. Nickel threw for 2,507 yards with 24 TDs last season. He also rushed for 208 yards with 3 TDs.
10. Reece Fountain, Rome, Senior
Fountain had one of the highest completion percentages (75%) of any starting QB in Georgia last season, completing an impressive 218 of 292 passes while throwing for just over 3,000 yards and 28 TD passes. His career numbers are also impressive: 6,425 passing yards and a completion percentage of 71%.
Reece thrives when he runs out of the pocket, preferring to throw on the run on the majority of his pass attempts. In addition to the impressive individual stats, he led the Wolves to a perfect 6-0 region record and a 12-2 overall mark. He took Rome to the Class 6A state semifinals last year.
