2023 Herald-Times All-Area Football Team Offense: QB Jarrin Alley leads the way

The reason Jarrin Alley was so good this season is because he was so good last year.

Alley was the backup quarterback at Bloomington South as a junior but didn’t act like it. He prepared like crazy, like he was the starter. And he was good enough to start, but the Panthers went with the senior, Zach David but also sprinkled in playing time throughout each game, no matter the time or score.

“We couldn’t let it be 50-50, but we had to let Jarrin be ready,” South coach Gabe Johnson said.

And he was when his senior year rolled around and he was the clear No. 1. It was on his shoulders now and everything came together for an outstanding season. South went 11-2 before hitting a roadblock at semistate. Along the way, Alley went 180-of-273 for 2,738 yards and 38 touchdowns, both second-best in school history, to just four interceptions.

Given South’s history, that’s a big deal and it’s why Alley is the 2023 Herald-Times Offensive Football Player of the Year.

More: 2023 Herald-Times All-Area Football Team Defense: Ralph Rogers repeats as top defender

Bloomington South’s Jarrin Alley (12) pitches the ball to Gavin Adams (35) during the IHSAA sectional championship football game at Seymour on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023.

“He always prepared like the starter,” Johnson said. “So the game plan, the limited reps his junior year, that only increased as he became the starter. It was clear cut so everything was going to him so we had to find a suitable backup because he was the true No. 1.

“What I tell college guys is so often, you don’t get a kid so cerebral and into our offense to make sure everything that should be happening is.”

Alley recently announced he’ll playing for Butler next year and taking that penchant for film study and deep preparation with him to Indianapolis.

“That was not a suggestion to him, it’s just who he is,” Johnson said….


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/2023-herald-times-area-football-103411662.html

Author : The Herald-Times

Publish date : 2024-02-07 10:34:11

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